Ethical Analysis of the Shawshank Redemption Essay

It has been suggested that a person can a new great deal about a society; its customs, principles, ethical beliefs, etc…, through its ethnical works (art, film, literary works, etc…). In the matter of the year 1994 film, The Shawshank Payoff, a story of 1 man’s wrongful imprisonment and subsequent freedom, the audience can gain a great regarding two honest principles that help to govern society. The Shawshank Redemption provides the viewer with a foundation against which usually to consider the honest principles of justice and power as well as the implications which the way in which those principles will be dealt with in the film can have pertaining to society.

Ethical Principles Ethics can be defined as, “a social, spiritual, or city code of behavior considered correct, specifically that of a certain group, career, or individual” (Ethics). As the individual concepts that cosmetic makeup products such “correct behavior” may be debated via group to group and society to society, particular number of ones that seem to go beyond culture and societal limitations. One of these is “justice. ” Justice can be explained as “the top quality of being good and reasonable/conformity to moral rightness and attitude” (Justice).

It is a feeling that a person is being cured in a manner that is in accordance with a reasonable and fair using both written and unsaid “laws” which can be considered to be righteous and is a nearly universal honest principle. Anybody can see the honest principle of justice inside the Shawshank Payoff from the beginning of the film. The foundation with the movie is the unjust imprisonment of the main character, Andy Dufresne, plus the subsequent injustices that are completed him during your time on st. kitts. These injustices take the sort of sexual strike by different prisoners, a refusal for the warden to admit evidence of his innocence, and a ensuing two-month assignment to solitary confinement when he tries to claim the point.

The other character types are not free from the effects of injustice either. In the new captive who is beaten to death for moaping to Reddish, who his continually turned down for losung despite obviously being “rehabilitated, ” the characters continually face conditions in which they are treated in a fashion that both they and the market would perspective as unjust. The second key ethical rule in the film is that of electric power.

Power is out there any time one person exerts a few advantage more than another. It can take the form of intellect, funds, strength, etc… and with it comes an inevitable moral dilemma showing how to use the strength. As was discussed with justice, generally there appears to be a universal opinion that power should be used in a cautious manner, but that does not often happen.

Manley (2012) suggests that, “…we know that power provides a corrosive influence on those who own it, ” (p. 9) and that kind of behavior is apparent in your film. Warden Samuel Norton abuses his legitimate power, or power of his situation, along with both reward (delivering something of value) and coercive (penalties or punishments) power to make use of and abuse prisoners to get his personal gain, even going in terms of to have one hit in order to protect his economic and personal curiosity (Johnson, 2012, pp. 7-8).

Head guard Byron Hadley abuses his power through coercive procedures, beating and killing criminals and operating the prison through fear and violence. Even the various other guards, although they do not abuse the criminals physically, take advantage of their placement to get absolutely financial job from Dufresn. The use and abuse of power reaches the criminals, as well.

Reddish uses his influence with the guards to get most of his friends on the same function detail. At the same time, Boggs plus the Sisters work with their physical power to push Andy into unwanted sexual acts. Even Andy uses his power, exercising the expert power of his financial talents in against the law ways and, in doing so , gaining privileges for both the other prisoners and himself (Johnson, 2012, g. 8).

Even though the audience may ultimately view these actions more beneficially in light from the injustices experienced by the prisoners, they non-etheless represent actions that, in and of themselves, would be instances of abuse of power. Character Reactions The ethical guidelines of proper rights and power play-out inside the film throughout the reactions from the different personas to the environment of injustice and mistreated power that is present in the prison. It is the prison establishment, represented by the Warden, Hadley as well as the other protections, that provides the catalyst that drives the smoothness interplay.

The Warden and Hadley are definitely the main abusers, but however, other protections, who show fairness and justice for the prisoners once left automatically, fall victim to the challenges of the Warden and Hadley’s evil “shadow” (Johnson, 2012) and join-in to some degree. It can be this situation that causes the criminals to have to choose how they will react. In the face of the unfair treatment and abuse of power, the prisoners want to react in different ways.

Boggs and /The Sisters turn into part of the mistreatment through the use of physical strength, beating and sexually assaulting Dufresn and others whenever. Red and the rest of Dufresn’s group are able to maintain a semblance of ethical normalcy but turn into numb to the things occurring around them and begin to take them as a matter of course. It is Dufresn who have refuses to give-in to the injustice and misuse.

He arguements the Sisters, even though this individual does not often win, and building plots behind the scenes to flee, makes use of his position because “financial advisor” to help the other prisoners and, through it all, this individual maintains his inner strength, hope, and ethical outlook. This interplay between the penitentiary establishment and the prisoner, as well as the differing ways in which the criminals choose to react to the situation helps to bring to light some moral implications recommended by the film. Ethical Implications While there are a variety suppositions and implications that may be made from the movie about society and its values, two manage to stand-out.

The first moral implication in the movie is definitely the idea that society takes a practical view of ethics. Within utilitarian procedure, decisions derive from their outcomes (Johnson, 2012, p. 154) and the “ends justify the means. ” There is a feeling that while particular actions, in and of themselves, can be considered unethical, society can be willing to view them more favorably in a certain framework. For example , there will be an inate need for people to feel that justice have been done, and certain unethical behaviors could possibly be acceptable in achieving that end.

This is seen through the movie. Boggs, the leader from the Sisters, is beaten till he is paralyzed for damaging Dufresn. Dufresn escapes from prison and takes $370, 000 of ill-gotten, washed money in the method. Either of such might be regarded as unethical in and of themselves, but the market is willing to applaud both in the interest of justice becoming served.

We see this same practical view in the use of power in the motion picture. The Warden and the protects abuse all their power to differing degrees as well as the audience is supposed to look down on and look askance. However , when Dufresn uses his economic capabilities within an illegal activity and escape or Reddish colored engages in smuggling items in the prison, the group applauds.

In a vacuum, all the acts are unethical. Yet , the activities of Dufresn and Reddish colored seem to serve, in the sight if the market, to balance-out some of the violations of electricity and enhance the cause of justice. As a result, they may be looked at as staying ethical in as much as they will helped satisfy the ethical principle of rights despite getting unethical themselves. The second inference is the benefits of ethical management. This can be noticed in the reaction with the two key groups, the governing power of the Warden and the pads and Dufresn’s group, to their respective leaders.

In the case of the guards, we see the affect that the leadership of the Warden and Hadley has more than them. While was stated earlier, the guards are determined to act in harsh methods towards the prisoners when around the Warden and Hadley, nevertheless we see more ethical and humane interactions when the protection is alone together with the prisoners. Even Hadley alterations once the “spell” of the Warden’s leadership is usually broken, crying and moping like a baby when he is usually arrested.

As a result, one recognizes the length and power of the shadow which the Warden casts. In contrast to the guards, a single sees the positive influence that Dufresn is wearing Red as well as the other prisoners in their group. When he arrives, they are functional and sensible, resigned for the way things are. However , Dufresn shows them that ethical behavior and rightness could exist.

This kind of begins with the first appointment, when he asks for the name of a prisoner who was beaten to fatality. This appears inconsequential to the others although serves as synonymous with Dufresn using the ethics with the outside globe with him into the prison. Despite everything occurs during his stay, he under no circumstances loses those ethics. He never loses hope.

And, in the process, this individual raises the ethical level and standard of hope for almost all members of the group. Both males lead their respective organizations through their very own actions and decision-making. One’s actions lead in an underhanded manner and the other towards a more ethical a single. Through this, it is apparent just how powerfulk the moral decisions of the leader plus the “shadow or perhaps light” they will cast may be (Johnson, 2012).

Thus, resistant to the backdrop with the microcosmic subculture of Shawshank Prison, one sees the value of proper rights and reasonable use of capacity to American society. The adage that, “Power corrupts and absolute electric power corrupts absolutely, ” (Johnson, 2012, g. 11) turns into a reality inside the prison wall surfaces and the character types are still left to make sense of it. In the end and as luck would have it, it is the apparently unethical actions of Dufresn and Reddish colored (who breaks his losung to go to Mexico) that reestablish the balance of justice and power that the audience is seeking and, in doing so , reveal the important role that these honest principles enjoy in world. Justice.

Inside the Free Dictionary by Farlex. Retrieved coming from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ethics