哈尔滨商业大学广厦学院学期论文浅谈电影《肖申克的救赎》中的希望与自由学生姓名程磊指导教师王立新专业英语专业本科一班学院外语学院2011年12 月20 日Guangsha College of Harbin University of CommerceTerm ThesisHope and Free - On the Theme of Shawshank RedemptionStudent Cheng LeiSupervisor WanglixinSpecialty English Major Class 1School School of Foreign LanguagesDecember 20, 2011Hope and Freedom - On the Theme ofShawshank RedemptionThe story may sound simple, but the truth behind the words is remarkable. When some people heard the name of the film first time, most of them considered the Sh awshank to be a man’ name, but in fact it is a jail’s name - a hell in the world. Not only for the inhumanity of the jailors - they behaved brutally; but also for the jail gnawed at people’ heart by keeping them waiting and waiting as life passed. It seeme d that only those utterly worthless people who gave up everything could survive. That’s where the story happened.“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” When Andy Dufresne puts it in such a quiet way, my heart ache because of it. Have you ever felt that way about hope? Hope is the only thing in the wild world not carved out of gray stone. Hope is a small place inside of us anyone can never lock away. That is what I’ve learnt from an excellent movie The Shawshank Redem ption.The story begins in 1947, when Andy Dufresne, a city banker, is wrongfully convicted of his wife and her lover. He is sent to Shawshank prison and receives a double life sentence for the crime. In shawshank, Andy forms an extraordinary friendship with Red, a man who knows how to get things from the outside. Andy gets a 5 inches long rockhammer and a huge poster from Red, by which he secretly puts his pipedream into practice. After 20 years digging, Andy tunnels through the prison wall. Then he crawls 500 yards through the sewer and gets out into a ditch near the field beyond the ground of Shawshank, with no equipment, no one knows.On the first viewing, it’s the story of Andy and his struggle to maintain hope despite his circumstances. However, this is really a movie about Red and his struggle to find meaning and purpose. It seems that we are more or less similar with Red, because we’ve got used to the gray walls around us, which stand for routine, and then more routine. If one day, these walls dessolve away, we’ll be afraid instead of free. We’re afraid of not being ruled? That sounds ridiculous, but we actually are! Fortunately, when Red is faced with the same situation as we are, because of Andy, he can find a different path—the path of freedom that is lit by hope.Sometimes, we feel many things have let us down and don’t hope for the good anymore. But I have to say, suffering is not always a bad thing. Suffering produces perseverance, character, and character, hope. If we can see hope through all the hardship, nothing’s gonna stop us marching towards victory!“Fear can hold you prisoner, hope can set you free.” this is a sentence written on the poster of the movie The Shawshank Redemption. It’s a movie about freedom, friendship and hope. An d the aspect that shakes me a lot is “freedom”.What is freedom? It’s a carefree and content breath under the sun. To us, it just like air, so ordinary that you can’t imagine what it will be when you lose it. But to those prisoners, especially those who w ould live there all their lives, it’s a precious happiness out of reach. Andy finally got rid of Shawshank, what made his redemption come true? Maybe his aspiration after freedom, his believing of hope!What is freedom? It’s that blue sky above the prisoners in the wall; it’s Andy’s pure blue eyes where hope revealed; it’s the vision that the prisoners sitting on the roof drinking beers; it’s the little jack that Norton fed flew out of the window; it’s “Le Nozze de Figaro” flying over the roof of heaven in the prison; it’s the arms Andy stretch out in the lightning day; it’s the ocean the heaven the cockleboat…Freedom isn’t always a good thing especially when it comes to Brooks who was discharged from prison and committed suicide in his room. “Brooks was here”- it turned me to a deep think, it’s not a death of a person but a death of individuality and mentality “These walls are kind of funny like that. First you hate them, and then you get used to them. Enough time passed, get so you depend on them. That's institutionalized.” When freedom comes so suddenly, it may lose its glary and even become a murderer. Because if there is no support from life, no meanings of survive, then freedom will become an even bigger prison to you.Freedom can linger on in a steadily worsening condition relying on compromise, but can be gained by compromise. Freedom may be glary, but darkness is its premise. Andy got his freedom through a 500 yard cesspool, although it’s rough and humiliated, it had the support of faith then showed the luster that it should have.The movie gives me a invisible strength, it let me know what the most precious things in a person’s life. When we face frustration, embarrassment and defeat, shall we be depressed or struggle, persist in or give up, cease all activities or try our best, The Shawshank Redemption give us a clear answer.Life is what? Get busy living or get busy dying.Hope is the chief happiness the world affords. Hope encourages people to keep fighting for dreams, freedom and dignity. Hope helps people to appreciate the beauty of life. “He once is born, that is die.” Everyone is the same. The only difference is whether you get a busy living or a busy dying. Remember we aren’t the birds that meant to be caged, when we spread our wings an d fly away, we’ll appreciate the trembling of the heart, the singing of the mind, the flying of the soul and the hope to be free.。