Shawshank Redemption
... released Red realizes he institutionalized, and it is almost impossible for him to adapt to the outside world because so much has changed. However, he remembers an invitation that Andy had given him to come and live with him in Mexico, which he does, and they live “happily as possible ever after.” I believe this film has a lot of underlying meaning and can demonstrate many perspectives on the human person. I think one of the easiest themes to pick up is that we are born into and or live in a world of sin, as said by St. Augustine. I do believe that this movie speaks about sin and original sin and easy comparisons can be made, however, I will take a different and hopefully more interesting route and talk about the questions this film brings about the purpose of life. More specifically I would like to look at and question the Stoics viewpoint and relate it to this film. First, I will talk about how this film fits into the Stoics belief of the purpose of human life. I feel that Andy fills this role perfectly. According to the Stoics “Every created thing, from the acorn to the cobbler to the king, is created for a function, a purpose. Nature shapes everything to achieve its form or end – for example, the end of the acorn is to be an oak tree.” Under this premise I believe Andy had a purpose at Shawshank, and I feel his main purpose was the “redemption” of Red. Shawshank was a lonely place and the warden made it lonelier, and many of the inmates had been so institutionalized they didn’t know what it was to be human anymore. Andy was a spark for them an inspiration. Andy was the redeemer; he redeemed a sense of purpose back into many of the inmate’s lives. The Stoics believe that goodness resides in the practice of performing your task well. And it is my belief that Andy had a purpose, which was to be a redeemer of faith and hope, and he performed his task well, therefore achieving his end. His end can be seen at the end of the movie when he escapes and fulfills his dream in his earthly paradise along the pacific coast of Mexico. From the Christian perspective I would say that this view is not wrong but, not quite accurate. It can be viewed in a different way by saying that we each have talents and have a responsibility to practice stewardship with those talents. In this way it could be seen as in accordance with Christianity. However, it is my belief that God does not have set purpose for us, but he does guide us on our road. To say that we have set purpose is a little to close to the ideals of predestination for me. Furthermore, it is stated that “Reason is intrinsic to our being human.” This statement demonstrates our free will in our God given ability to reason. Reason gives us the ability to ...