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| Ellis Boy "Red" Redding (left) and Andy Dufresne (right) |
If you seem a little lost with the plot of the movie, hopefully this trailer will help out,
Thursday, December 6, 2012
The Tale of Two Prisoners
Plato, the author of Crito, demonstrates how obedience, in comparison to resistance, is the moral option. Socrates is wrongly accused due to unjust rule and sentenced to execution. Crito visits Socrates and initially tries to persuade him to escape; however after some thought, Crito tells Socrates that it would be better to carry on with the execution.
While reading through Crito, I thought of my personal favorite and popular movie Shawshank Redemption. Similar to Crito, the main character Andy Dufresne is wrongly convicted of murder and is sentenced to life in prison. However, this isn't the only unjust authority that Andy faces. Along with being wrongfully accused, Andy faces brutal beatings, treatment, and conditions while in Shawshank State Prison. While in prison, Andy meets a fellow prisoner named "Red". Red, played by the outstanding Morgan Freeman, is a prison smuggler who obtains items to satisfy prisoner needs. Red smuggles a rock hammer in for Andy. Andy uses the rock hammer, slowly but surely, to make his escape. Andy followed Crito's arguments for escape. Crito initially says that an individual should, given the choice, do what he knows is right. Andy knows that he is innocent, and he is willing to fight and escape for that innocence. If Andy were to stay in prison, according to Crito, he would be unmanly and acting unjustly.
However, Crito's theories of obedience are also displayed throughout the movie. Also serving a life sentence, Red displays why obedience is key. For forty years, Red has done what he has been told to do, followed the rules set for him (except for the smuggling, which the guards don't know), and hasn't had any problems with the prison authority. In this context, Crito would label the guards and the prison system as the experts. Crito states that individuals should obey experts since they have all the knowledge. Red is entirely obedient to the experts throughout the movie. He believes that the only way to fight evil is through obedience. This eventually works in his favor and after forty years, is released from the prison.
If you seem a little lost with the plot of the movie, hopefully this trailer will help out,
If I was wrongly accused and given a life sentence, I would go against Crito's ideals of obedience and try to escape. My main reason for this choice is because I would have a tough time knowing that I was innocent and still taking the punishment for it. Self-pride and doing what I know is right are important to me. Therefore, I would disregard the rules and obedience and make my attempt to escape. If you were in Socrates' or Andy's position, what would you do? Would you be obedient like Red, or resistant like Andy?
If you seem a little lost with the plot of the movie, hopefully this trailer will help out,
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I'm with you and Andy on this one, but my main reason for escaping is different. After living a free life prior to being detained, there's no way I would agree to be passive and not try to escape, especially if I was innocent. While Red followed the rules of Crito's experts, he has not achieved anything fruitful by doing this. On the other hand, Andy took advantage of the situation and busied himself with digging through the wall of his cell while more or less acting in accordance with the prison rules and going unnoticed. He made productive use of his time and achieved what Red could not in 40 years.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Crito may be right in saying that individuals should obey 'experts' who have knowledge, there are situations in which these 'experts' should be bypassed in order to further one's knowledge. Think about it: what if Crito's experts were trying to stop us from having as much knowledge as possible? This can be related to the movie. The experts in the prison situation are the correction officers and other prison personnel who are all trying to keep the prisoners within the confines of the facility. Andy's jailbreak can be viewed as symbolic of his pursuit for higher knowledge or more 'knowledge' than the prison can offer him.
Btw, Shawshank is a great movie. Those of you who haven't seen it should consider watching it.
Jeffrey, this was a great post, especially because it involves one of my favorite movies of all time. I think you draw a great comparison between Socrates and Andy. Personally, I would also disregard the rules and attempt to escape if I were wrongfully accused. In a way, this vaguely relates to dirty hand politics and the idea of the ends justifying the means. You're doing something that may be morally or ethically "wrong" but for the right reasons. You were wrongfully accused, so you should rightfully be free even if that means disobeying authority and law. However, as Andy was, I would be tame and appear to be completely obedient. The last thing to do is raise flags and have an extra eye on you. Stealth and subtlety are required. I believe that Andy makes the absolute best of an absolutely horrible situation. While in prison, he continues his pursuit for knowledge through learning from fellow prison mates, reading numerous books, etc. All the while, he is slowly planning and pursuing his escape. I view the character of Andy as an extremely intelligent individual with great traits, and he is definitely someone that everyone should look up to.
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