浅析《肖申克的救赎》的美国式英雄主义.docx

1、浅析肖申克的救赎的美国式英雄主义浅析肖申克的救赎的美国式英雄主义Simple Analysis of American Heroism in The Shawshank RedemptionAbstract(加脚注）Just like love, heroes are eternal themes in the world. If the love pattern is a ritual process of life when people get rid of the barbarism age sufficiently and enter the civilization age, th

2、e hero mode is complex reaction that people seek for achievements and goals. The Shawshank Redemption is acknowledged as one of the most popular American movies; it reflects the core value of American heroism profoundly and deeply. In the thesis, the heroism in The Shawshank Redemption is revealed,

3、so that how the movie reflects the heroism can be better understood by audiences. Furthermore, the author gives a brief introduction of cultural characteristics of heroism in the movie, reasons resulting in heroism and the relationship between the American heroism and American dream in The Shawshank

4、 Redemption so as to indicate the core value of American heroism.Key words: The Shawshank Redemption; heroism; America摘要如爱情一般，英雄也是永恒的主题。如果说爱情模式是人类充分摆脱野蛮时代而进入文明时代后人生的仪式过程，英雄模式则是人生追求成就目标活动投射到心灵中的情结反应。肖申克的救赎一直被认为是最受欢迎的美国电影之一，它深刻地体现出了美国英雄主义核心价值观。本篇论文旨在揭露电影肖申克的救赎中的英雄主义从而让我们更深入的理解电影是如何体现英雄主义的。该论文的论点是电影主要从

5、英雄主义的文化特征，英雄主义产生的原因和肖申克的救赎中美国英雄主义和美国梦之间的关系三个方面来体现英雄主义。关键词：肖申克的救赎；英雄主义；美国Contents1 Introduction1.1 Background about Stephen King(paraphrase）As one of Americas popular, imaginative and most productive writers of our time, Stephen King (1947- ) is a frequent recipient and nominee of literature awards a

6、nd prizes over the past decades since his first novel came out. In 1982, King got the Hugo Award for his non-fiction Danse Macabre (1981), he was nominated Locus Award for forty seven times from 1987 to 2007 and received the awards for four times. In 1986, King received the O. Henry Award for his sh

7、ort story “The Man in Black Suit”. In 2003, the life-time achievement medal was conferred to King; the honor put him in the rank of great authors of America, such as Saul Bellow, Toni Morrison and Arthur Miller etc.Constantly moving around the country, Kings childhood was not happy. He was born in P

8、ortland, Maine in 1947 to a lower middle-class family. Kings mother Ruth and his adopted brother Dave led a restless life after their father had gone out for a pack of cigarettes and never returned. When King was eleven years old, the family moved to Durham, Maine, where King stayed until he graduat

9、ed from the University of Maine in 1970. The place carried so many Kings emotions and memories that “Castle Rock” had been the setting in many of his fictions.Success never comes easily. As the illness in ear and throat, seven-year-old King stayed at home alone and began to imitate the stories he re

10、ad from funny books. Surprised at his performance, Kings mother encouraged him to write stories on his own instead of imitation. In 1960, Kings first story was rejected; however, it did not stop his writings. With an excellent story-telling genius, his stories were popular among his peers and relati

11、ves. When King studied at the University of Maine, he began to write for a weekly column of the school newspaper. After graduation with a B.A. in English, King taught at a high school, but what he earned as a teacher couldnt make both ends meet. Both King and his wife had to do other jobs so as to s

12、upport the family which owns two daughters. During the vacation, King had to work at an industrial laundry, but the salary could not even afford the charge of telephone.Kings wife plays an irreplaceable role in his career. His wife Tabitha believes in his talent in writing, encouraging him to insist

13、 on writing no matter how many times his works were rejected by the press. It was Tabitha who found the manuscript of Carrie in the wastebasket, she picked it out, put it in order, and read it carefully, convincing King that it was an interesting fiction worth working on it. Fortunately, in the spri

14、ng of 1974, the novel Carrie was accepted for publication. King knew from his editor that the success of the fiction could provide enough money to quit his job as teacher and could write full-time. From then on, King began his journey in literary and received almost all the professional awards.1.2 B

15、rief introduction of The Shawshank Redemption(paraphrase）The story of The Shawshank Redemption starts in 1947 when the protagonist, Andy Dufresen (acted by Tim Robbins) arrives at Shawshank prison. He is a soft-spoken banker convicted of murdering his wife and the man with whom she has an affair. He

16、 is serving two consecutive life sentences and is to be imprisoned for the rest of his life in Shawshank Maximum Security Prison, Maine.Soon after Andy arrives at the prison, “The Sisters”, a gang of prison rapists led by Bogs Diamond, turn their attentions to Andy. The story is narrated by Red-Andy

17、s best friend. Red is well known for being able to get almost anything into Shawshank prison. Andy asks Red to get him a rock hammer with the excuse that he is a rock hound. Red is a little suspicious at first, thinking this may be a lethal object (which it is). However, after negotiation, they make

18、 the deal. After some time, Andy comes into the movie theatre and asks Red to get him a poster of Rita Hayworth, who appears on the movie screen that Red is watching (This is the only reference to Rita Hayworth in the story). Andy hangs the big poster on the wall of the prison cell. At the end of th

19、e story, both items turn out to be crucial parts of a scheme that the mild mannered banker prepared for a long time.The prison agrees to provide chances for the prisoners to tar the roof of a building. Whilst on the roof, Hadley, the chief of the guard, is telling the other guards how he has been le

20、ft an inheritance by his wealthy brother. However, Hadley complains about the tax he will have to pay on the inheritance. At this time, Andy approaches Hadley, who nearly throws him off the roof and continues to explain that there is a loophole which allows Hadley to keep his entire inheritance, wit

21、hout paying any taxes. Andy offers to complete the paperwork in exchange for some beers for his fellow prisoners.As his life outside, Andy becomes a successful financial advisor inside the prison. The guards use Andy to complete their tax returns, loan applications and other similar financial tasks.

22、 In return, the guard protects Andy from the harassment of the “Sisters”. When Brooks, the librarian is paroled, Andy takes over the librarian role. Andy sends weekly letters to the State Senate asking for funds and books. The other inmates and guards think he is wasting his time until one day he do

23、es receive response. As the librarian, Andy also plays the role of teacher and helps several other inmates to get their high school diplomas.The arrival of a young prisoner called Tommy ruins Andys peaceful life. By chance, Tommy tells Andy that he had a cellmate at a different prison who bragged ab

24、out killing a rich golfer and some hot-shot bankers wife, and the banker getting jailed for it. This is clearly the real killer of Andys wife. Andy sees the possibility of a new trial since this evidence would prove his innocence. After Andy puts forward the request to the Warden Norton, he is turne

25、d down and is placed in solitary confinement for two months alone. Because Norton wants to keep him in the prison to work for him, he kills the insider Tommy.After he is set out from the confinement, Andy tells Red of his dream of moving to Mexico, and settling in the small town of Zihuatanejo on th

26、e Pacific coastline and asks Red to go to a specific tree when he gets out of Shawshank.The next morning, Andy is discovered missing at roll call. An initial search does not find Andy. A moment later, Norton finds a big hole behind the poster covering the wall, now Raquel Welch. It shows that Andy h

27、as spent his evenings, since getting his rock hammer, slowly digging through the prison walls. On the night of his escape, Andy breaks into a sewage pipe, crawls 500 yards and finally gets out of Shawshank prison.A short time later, Red is paroled and begins to make a life for himself outside of the

28、 prison. He finds the tree that Andy has told him. Under the tree, Red finds a buried tin with a sum of money and a note which encourages Red to join him. Red violates his parole and catches a bus to Mexico, hoping to find his friend Andy.At the end of the film, Red walks across a sun drenched beach

29、 in Mexico, toward Andy who is working on his boat. This is the whole story of The Shawshank Redemption.1.3 The concept of heroism所谓英雄主义指的是迷信个人力量，脱离人民群众去完成一定社会人物的思想和行为。它的原则是个人主义，不适当或夸大地强调历史活动和社会生活中个人的作用。平等和个人主义等常常被冠以美国社会最为显著的特征。英雄主义是美国精神的精华与核心，当个人利益和自由遭受威胁时，抗战便迅速爆发。当前，一种普遍理念存在于美国，即独特性是存在于任何一个人，其拥有平等

30、的机会去实现自身的追求，也正是这一追求的存在，而吸引了无数的国际友人到此淘金，而美国亦无疑成为世界人民理想的国度。美国电影中一个一个的英雄形象恰恰就是随这一大众愿望应运而生的。美国的好莱坞有世界梦工厂之称，它曾创造出无数的英雄神话，塑造出多种类型的英雄形象，他们无所畏惧，无所不能，去完成着常理看来几乎难以实现的任务，对他们来讲，成功是其追求的惟一目标，就如民间传说中的佐罗，一个蒙面侠客的形象，不畏强权、劫富济贫，又如在电影 终结者中，由阿诺施瓦辛格扮演的外星人终结者，始终以挽救世人为己任，在影片中每次都代表正义战胜邪恶; 还有阿甘正传中的阿甘，虽然天生智障，然而他以其不懈的努力和乐观积极的世界

31、观，不断地在生活中创造奇迹，传奇般地鉴证了每个历史瞬间; 影片中阿甘质朴可爱形象的背后，表达的是积极进取和坚忍不拔的精神，真真切切地得到了美国公众的共鸣，阿甘式的超凡才能亦为世人所向往。总体而言，美国电影中的英雄人物或关乎国家命运、民族利益，或捍卫平等、自由与正义，或贴近现实，体现着美国人向往民主、尊严、和平的美好愿望，处处闪耀着人性光辉。但是剥去其奢华的外衣，就能够很简单的发现，个人英雄主义始终是美国电影的主角，深化一直在被无限延伸，美国式的理想主义和英雄主义在这些英雄人物身上得到了充分的体现。在美国英雄电影中，对于英雄主义元素可谓有着强烈的反映，英雄人物始终是自立、自强的存在，在追求自由与

32、平等的道路上，伸张正义、除弱扶强。在美国人的眼中，成果的惟一途径大概只有自我奋斗，通过坚持不懈的努力取得的成果才是人活于世的意义和价值的体现。亦只有依靠自我奋斗所实现的成功，才会受到每个人的由衷赞叹和尊敬。1.4 The Structure of the thesisThe thesis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter relates to the background about Stephen King, a brief introduction of The Shawshank Redemption and the con

33、cept of heroism. The second chapter refers to the cultural characteristics of heroism in The Shawshank Redemption, such as taking liberalism as an eternal goal, being as a leader, being an image of a redeemer, showing greatness of a hero through powerful enemy and needing love of female. Then reasons leading