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The Shawshank Redemption Analysis

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One of the most prevalent concepts in Stephen King’s novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption is the tie between hope and freedom. Prisoner Andy Dufresne differs from the other inmates because, unlike the other men, Dufresne never gives up hope, which enables him to resist being institutionalized and maintain a sense of freedom. In the movie adaptation The Shawshank Redemption, director Frank Darabont strategically uses music and sound to symbolize this connection between freedom and hope. From the very start of the film, Darabont incorporates music in order to create an appropriate mood for the viewer. As Andy is transferred to his prison cell, he suffers a loss of freedom, depicted by the demeaning rituals of the guards spraying him with a hose and marching him stark naked to his cell. This process serves to make Andy feel small and powerless, and his demoralized expression clearly displays his lack of hope as the prison bars slide shut behind him with a resounding bang (Darabont 00:15:22 ‒ 00:15:55). As the camera zooms out to show the confining cement walls on either side of Shawshank’s newest prisoner, music starts playing in the background. The music that accompanies this scene captures this feeling of imprisonment, as it uses a slow piano melody with minor chords to create an eerie, ominous mood. Additionally, the audience, along with Andy, hears one of the prisoners sniffling and crying, as well as the mocking jeers and chants of deep voices echoing in

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