I heard about the movie ‘the Shawshank Redemption’ many times. Many people saw the movie and told me that they were touched by the movie. They said that it is one of the best movies they have ever seen and recommended me to see the movie. But I didn’t have chance, so I couldn’t. I didn’t even know the existence of original of the movie and this was my first time of reading about the Shawshank redemption. I felt a lot through the book. Among those various topics I could find in the book, I want to talk about the danger of ‘being accustomed to.’
There are many memorable parts in this novel. When Norton found out the hole behind the poster of a woman can be an example of it. One of those impressive parts is too trivial to be impressive, but I can’t forget it. When Red is paroled, everything of the outside world was unfamiliar to him. He couldn’t even go to the bathroom without checking to his boss, because it was natural thing in the Shawshank. Red lived in the jail for several decades, and he got used to check to the boss before he goes to the bathroom. This story is very trivial and minor part of the whole story, but it gave me a shock. ‘What am I different from Red?’
I’m not in the jail, of course. But, sometime, I feel like I’m in the jail because my daily routine is so monotonous. I wake up at 6 a.m. every morning, go to school, go back home, do some homework, and go to bed at 11 p.m. This is all. Sometimes, the day before quiz, I study for it. Same schedule repeats over and over again. I always want something different and special. Contradictorily, on the other hand, I may feel fear of being different. I became too familiar with my monotonous but safe life. I think although a chance to escape from my daily routine is given to me, I may not be able to willingly accept the chance. I may hesitate for a while. And if I’m not brave enough to get the chance, there will be no change, no challenge, and no fun in my life. That is the danger of ‘being accustomed to.’
The danger of ‘being accustomed to’ is applied not only to me but also to everyone in this world. Most people prefer safe and stable things. They don’t want to take a risk and just want to follow the normal procedure in which they know the result of it. To develop, to live meaningful life, I think we should not be accustomed to our unchanging lives. We should be prepared for the small and big changes in our lives.
Very interesting observations, and I'm glad you liked the book and the film. I often feel the same way as you, as my life is also very routine since I started teaching at KMLA. However, I remember feeling "bored" with routine particularly when I was in highschool. It was my dream to go to Australia for some reason. I never did go to Australia, and I had to wait until after university and after saving money for a few years in order to "escape" routine by travelling alone all over Asia for a year. But did I escape routine? Not really. I just ended up inside a new one, even if it was different. And then, after a while, I actually "wanted" a boring routine again. So, my point is, we have to find small things in life to celebrate within a routine. It might be honjeong bread, it might be a TV show once a week. Or maybe even a walk outside. Red and Andy found ways to make Shawshank liveable, so I guess KMLA should be easy to manage in comparison.: )
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