Some thoughts about the movie The Shawshank Redemption PART 2

We are ultimately responsible for what happens in our lives. It doesn’t mean that it’s just or fair. Andy Dufresne is innocent of the crime that he gets convicted for. But he did find himself drunk outside of his house with a gun in his hand. He did toss the gun in the river. He let his emotions run his actions for a while. The punishment does not at all fit the crime. In fact, here there was no crime. Yet, had he remained in control of himself, he wouldn’t have been in prison. 

And we live in a world where punishments seldom fit the crimes. Someone makes a few mistakes and is in financial slavery for life, while those with enough money and/or power can commit genocide and get away with it. Someone commits a victimless crime and is branded a criminal, while someone else acts totally despicably, but within the confines of the law, and no one raises an eyebrow because no juridical transgression has been committed. This is the world we live in and whether or not we have an intent of changing it, we still have to live in it as best we can. And if we want to be free from the injustices of the world, we first need to be free in ourselves. Because this, as Dufresne says in many ways throughout the movie, this is the only freedom that no one can take away from us.

And when we do that we need to chip away at our prison walls one day at a time. We need to be patient with ourselves while doing it. Because our walls are thick and hard and we are going to have to do a lot of things that we don’t want to do on our way to freedom. And on the way, we need to accept where we are and do our best with it. While Dufresne is in prison, he does what he can to improve the situation around him. When he gets raped, he does all he can to fight it, and therefore he can still walk out of it with his head held high. He is always of the lookout for ways to improve his conditions and the conditions of those around him. And when it all comes crashing down, he allows himself a moment of defeat. But then he gets up again.