The Simmilarities in Character Traits of Red and Brooks in The Shawshank Redemption Essay

Red and Brooks are characters with many similar traits and had gone through many of the same circumstances, but one main difference allows on man to survive outside of Shawshank and the other unable to cope with the outside world. That one main difference was a man named Andy Dufresne. Both Brooks and Red entered the confines of the Shawshank Correctional Facility as youths, but left its walls as old men. They both had seen many dozens of prisoners come and go as well as the tenures of three wardens. They spent decades behind a small walled enclosure and got used to it. Prison life, although similar in many aspects to the outside world, is its own society. Prison is a microcosm of outside society. There are fewer people and the roles they play are more defined. Life for the prisoners is much more controlled. In the beginning, the prisoners loathe prison life. They come to feel restricted in everything they do. Simple activities that they once took for granted, such as using the restroom, are taken from them granted only when told to do so. As time progresses, they come to accept prisons daily routine. The prisoners grow accustomed to being told what to do, then doing it. When enough time passes, prison life is all the life that they know. Acceptance of their controlled life becomes dependence as they are no longer able to function on their own, but rely on being told what to do. In the final stages, the prisoners loose their individual wills. Red understood the dynamics of prison all too well and labeled the process as being institutionalized. "These walls are funny. At first you hate them, then you get used to them. Enough time passes, it gets so that you get to depend on them." Brooks and Red are both institutionalized men. They lived out most of their lives in prison and were out of touch...