Life Pause

 

   “I just can’t do it. There just ain’t enough time!” I hollered in the street.
The workload and things to do has become overwhelming these days and I was beginning to crack. Only if I only had more time everything would solve out…
“Please god! Give me time!” I wailed.
Exhausted and depressed I went home and collapsed on my bed. Then just as I felt asleep a voice rang in my head and started to tell me a story.

       
     Once upon a time there existed a boy who could stop time. He would be able to freeze time whenever he wanted.
He would never be late to school, sleep whenever he wanted, and always got 100 on every exam. However to this awesome and amazing skill he had there was a huge downfall which he realized too late...


     It was a hot summer day when he realized the critical flaw in his ability to stop time. After he enjoyed playing basketball with his friends he looked into the mirror. He was pretty content with the handsome and masculine face he saw in the mirror. But one thing that made him irritated was the day by day increasing wrinkles around his eye and forehead.


     Even though he could stop time, he could not help his time passing by which means even though he stops time for 10 years, he would age every second of those 10 years. He went fanatic and decided not to use his ability ever again.
However one day he found out that not using his ability meant he had to give up all the things he have enjoyed until now. Good scores, no late to school, those things were escaping from his grasp.


     He fell into deep confusion and chaos. He felt regretful about the past that he used his skill so often, but rationalized himself after few minutes that he had to use the skill not to be late, receive awards and get out from inescapable situations. He was crying unconsciously. He started to complain to god about why he got this suffocating skill. Suddenly, he fainted and dreamed.

    

Then I woke up from my deep dream and found myself lying on my bed. It was a dream, I thought. I pondered a lot about time and how I spend it. I realized that more time wasn’t what I needed but actually will power and skill to use time efficiently. However I still want that time pausing skill…

Andy's Journey

Andy Dufresne the main protagonist of our story starts his life in an ordinary world as a hotshot banker. He had a lovely wife, a lot of money, and a overall good life. However unfortunately to our Heroes’ journey script he gets’s called into a life of adventure.

Well to put it more precisely it wasn’t a really a call to the other world but rather a kidnap. He gets convicted for killing his wife and her lover and gets 2 life sentences in the end. He does try to refuse this call by trying to persuade the Juries to his story but fails due to his unfortunate circumstances. Thus he ends up in Shaw shank prison crossing the threshold of his ordinary life. These steps take place in a very short time during the movie making it somewhat different than the normal Heroes’ Journey movies.
Now after crossing into the unknown world of Shawshank our main heroes meets his friend/mentor Red. Red, one of the first people that Andy talked to, supplies Andy many vital objects that helped Andy through prison life. Red had contributed much to Andy’s escape and had always been a very good friend to him.

Andy faces great challenges through prison life and meets enemies such as the sisters, the wardens, and Hadley. He meets allies such as Red, Brookes, Tommy, and his friends at Shawshank. One of the most important test that Andy had to encounter through was with Hadley. During the tarring of the roof Andy takes a gamble and talks to Hadley about how he can help Hadley to manage his money. Though Andy almost gets thrown off the roof, he succeeds in persuading Hadley and creates a turning point in the story which represents the ordeal of Andy’s journey.

Our main character now earns the protection of guards and many benefits by managing the Warden’s money. Our main character, after claiming his reward prepares for his road back to his ordinary world, or escape from prison. He digs for ears with his rock hammer and succeeds in his escape in the end. Our hero is severely tested and finally most conflicts are resolved. Andy returns with a false identity and lots of money which is his elixir.

The story of Andy Dufresne follows most of the steps in the hero’s journey. However another perspective is to look at the hero as Red not Andy. The real hero of the story could be Red and he could be the one going through the hero’s journey. Though this is a very interesting work with I’ll leave it for later.