The Shawshank Redemption

The movie The Shawshank Redemption is about an innocent man, Andy Du Fresne, who is sentenced to two life sentences for supposedly killing his wife and her lover. Whilst in the Shawshank prison he discovers the how the presence of hope and fear can dramatically affect the outcome of any situation. People who feel fear often lack self-confidence. People can use fear to control people with intimidation and violence. On the other hand hope is an emotion that can help someone believe in their self and help them to overcome difficult obstacles in their life. Fear and hope are opposing emotions while fear can hold you prisoner, hope can set you free.

Hope is essential for people to look forward and beyond difficult circumstances. If people do not hope for what they want, they wont be able to visualise what they want and how to achieve it. An example of this is when Andy starts to tunnel through the wall of Shawshank. If he did not hope that he would finally get through the wall he would not have kept on trying for almost twenty years. Although he could only get through a small amount at a time he kept hoping that he would get through the next night. Night after night he kept going because he still had hope that he would eventually get through.

Fear is a dangerous feeling and can limit your ability to achieve your goals. When you fear that you will fail it can stop you from trying to achieve your goals and dreams. For example,