Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption Essay Example for Free

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption Essay When comparing the novel and the film of Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Steven King there are many similarities. The film follows the novel plot very closely in many aspects of the book. The similarities found in the film and novel is character portrayals, key scenes and overall messages. The film accurately captures the essence of the novel. In both the film and the novel, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, the characters are portrayed in a very similar manner. The first character that was well represented was Andy Dufresne. I could see why some of the boys took him for snobby. He had a quiet way about him, a walk and a talk that just wasn’t normal around here. He strolled like a man in a park without a care or a worry in the world. Like he had an invisible coat that would shield him from this place. † In both the film and the novel, this was how Andy’s fellow prison mates perceived him as. In addition, Hadley was portrayed as a very harsh and strict man. â€Å"Your only problem is going to be how many bones you still got unbroken. You can count them in infirmary†¦ We’re throwing this sucker over the side. (King, 45) In the film he was also portrayed as the same character with the same characteristics. â€Å"You eat when we say you eat. You shit when we say you shit. And you piss when we say you piss! † Likewise, Sam Norton was a â€Å"biblical man† who was also cold and stern. â€Å"No one had ever seen him crack a smile. He had a thirty year pin from the Baptist Advent Church of Eliot†¦ made sure that each incoming prisoner had a New Testament. † (King, 56) In the film, his characteristics were exactly the same as the book. â€Å"I believe in two things: Discipline and the Bible. † All in all, the characters in the novel and film were portrayed in the same way. Secondly, the main messages in both the film and novel were captured in the same way. The first theme that is apparent in the film and novel is imprisonment and isolation. â€Å"These walls are kind of funny. First you hate ‘em, then you get used to ‘em. Enough time passes, gets you to depend on them. That’s institutionalized. † This was an apparent theme because most of the prisoners in Shawshank became so dependent on the daily structure within the prison that most of them were scared of the outside. â€Å"Twenty days on the grain and drain train for Andy down there in solitary. † King, 67) Solitary was a form of punishment frequently used in both the novel and film. On the other hand, hope was the most prominent message portrayed in the novel and film. â€Å"†¦I hope† (King, 107) hope was found in many various parts of Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, such as, the hope to be free, hope to survive and so on. â€Å"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. † Another theme that is very obvious in Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is crime. Crime is found all throughout the film and novel because the setting takes place in a prison. Tommy Williams came to Shawshank in 1965†¦ Cops caught him sneaking TV sets out the back door of a JC Penney. † Every crime that was committed in the novel and film stuck to the same details and explanation, making both the novel and film very similar. â€Å"I committed murder. I put a large insurance policy on my wife†¦ then I fixed the brakes of the Chevrolet coupe. † (King, 15) Given these points, the director of the movie included all of the same messages and themes that were in the novel. Furthermore, the film was so similar to the novel that most key scenes were word for word. One key scene, being Andy’s murder trial, seemed to be directly taken out of the novel. â€Å"Since I am innocent of this crime, I find it decidedly inconvenient that the gun was never found. † In this scene, the dialect is the same for both the novel and the film, for example, â€Å"It’s neither convenient nor inconvenient. Only the truth. † (King, 24) Equally important, Andy’s escape scene was captured similarly in the film when compared to the novel. â€Å"Geology is the study of pressure and time. That’s all it takes really†¦ pressure†¦ and time†¦That, and a big goddamn poster. Andy spent years on end working away at his escape hole in the novel and the film; Andy knew what it took because of his knowledge in geology. â€Å"Ripped the poster from the wall†¦ and revealed the gaping, crumbled hole in the concrete behind it. † (King, 87) Lastly, when Andy meets tommy, tommy realizes that Andy is innocent and he kn ows who actually committed the murders. This is another scene that plays out the same in both the novel and the film. â€Å"It’s my life. Don’t you understand? IT’S MY LIFE! † in the film Andy begs Warden Norton to understand his situation and pleads that he is innocent. He began refreshing Norton on the details of the crime he had been imprisoned for. Then he told the warden exactly what Tommy Williams had told him. † (King, 64-65) in the novel Andy hopes that Norton will listen to the information he has heard and that Norton will be understanding, but instead Norton shut him down. As shown above, the key scenes in the novel and film have the same details and context. In conclusion, the film Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Steven King portrayed the novel in a very similar way. It does so by portraying the characters, key scenes and messages in similar ways in both the novel and film.