2011년 10월 26일 수요일

Prison Break and Shawshank Redemption (Shawshank Redemption Reading Journal-the book)



 Prison Break is a renowned TV show that depicts the process of Michael Scofield in escaping a maximum security prison with his brother Lincoln Burrows.

Prison Break has many similarities to Shawshank Redemption, and it is the similarities and differences that this article will illustrate. The funny thing is that the overall structure of each stories are similar, many of the characters overlap, yet the details differ.

Both stories are set in a similar background- Shawshank and Fox River prison are set as a maximum-security prison.

Both stories have similar characters
1. First, the wardens are similar. They are similar that they ask a favor from the protagonist. In the Shawshank, Andy is asked to launder money for the warden. Similarly, but somewhat more moderately, the warden of the Fox-river asks Scofield's help in preparing a present for his anniversary.

2. Second, the guards both treat the inmates as lowly as cockroaches, screwing them whenever they have the chance.

3. Third, the protagonists are both geniuses/ or expert at some field, and they were both reserved to themselves. Andy was a genius in the field of economics. He foresaw the future and invested his money in all the great stocks before he got to prison. He was a vice president of a bank at the age of 27. He was a hotshot banker. Michael Scofield was also a genius. He enrolled in MIT or some IVY college, majoring architecture. He had an IQ of over 180. His masterplans always seems to work one way or the other. Andy was quite reserved to himself during the entire story. Never does the story show Andy interact with more than 5 characters during the entire story. He is concise with his words. So does Scofield. He makes sure of it that he contacts as little people as possible to make sure that the plan stays secret.

There are some differences as well.
Scofield, first of all, chose to be inside the prison. He was sentenced for aggravated robbery, a crime that he committed to aid the escape of his brother, who will be executed next month.

Andy plans to go to Zihuatanejo, a Mexican region, whereas the Scofield brothers plan to go to Panama.

The entire Prisonbreak is more focused on running from the authorities, rather than just escaping from the prison itself. Shawshank shows not much more development after Andy's escape.

댓글 1개:

  1. I loved Prison Break for about three seasons, then it got REALLY stupid. If you like prison novels, there is only one I can think of that's even better than Shawshank, AND it's a true story: Papillon.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papillon_%28book%29

    But good post and solid comparisons. Chances are that Shawshank had a direct influence on Prison Break.

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