Shawshank Redemption and Existentialism

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Existentialism examines human nature and makes human beings question what it means to be human; existentialism makes us questions our choices and actions as humans. To give meaning to our existence we must experience freedom. The movie, Shawshank Redemption, embodies a lot of the themes of existentialism. The characters negotiate the existential concept of choice, by taking responsibility for their own actions. Shawshank Redemption is a movie about prisoners finding solace, redemption, and freedom. The main character Andy Dufresne is put in Shawshank prison for supposedly murdering his wife and through acts of decency he is able to devise a way out of prison. Along the way he meets another prisoner, Red, who undergoes trials and tribulations to receive parole. Finally when he receives parole he finds it hard to adapt in the real world without the institution of prison and violates his parole to find Andy in Mexico where he is happily reunited with his friend. Through the characters effort to find freedom and solace they experience a lot of significant themes of existentialism. Sartre examines what it means to be human. Part of Sartre’s ontology includes radical freedom and the coexistence of freedom in an absurd world. He believes everyone is indebted to unlimited freedom. The prisoners at Shawshank do not have full freedom because they must live by the rules of prison and not their own. Andy Dufresne experienced unlimited freedom before he came to prison and he came up with a plan to regain that freedom back so he could understand his existence. Existentialism tries to answer the question of mankind’s value in society. Andy once told Red, “You get busy dying, I’ll get busy living.” This quote embodies Andy’s idea of life in prison that by staying within the prison walls, like Red had planned, he will never find freedom; this quote insinuates that without freedom
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