Table of ContentsAbout the bookThe meaning of the quote and how it fits into the bookThe significance of the quote towards the charactersAndy DufrasneEllis Boyd “Red” ReddingBrooksSummaryConclusionIt is about 'a literary essay on the short story Shawshank Redemption: A Story from Different Seasons, written by Stephen King in 1982. I will discuss the quote "Get busy living or dying." They repeat this quote several times in the book and film, which adds to its importance in the story. This famous line determines the fate of each inmate at Shawshank Prison and whether they will live or die. This is a quote that can be confusing because it can be interpreted in different ways. It therefore requires more in-depth analysis. In this essay I will write about every possible aspect of the quote to the story, but also to some characters, who I think speak more to this quote. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayAbout the BookThe Shawshank Redemption tells the story of a banker, called Andy Dufresne, who is sentenced to life in the Penitentiary Shawshank State in 1947 for the cold-blooded murder of his wife Linda and her lover, tennis pro Glenn Quentin. Despite the overwhelming evidence placing him at the scene of the murder, Andy insisted his innocence, which Red and others came to believe as well. Andy was innocent of his wife's murder. This is the underlying premise of the story: how an innocent man can stand above the society that condemned him and conduct himself with dignity and grace, even under the great weight of a wrong, when the system completely fails to grant him this justice. Putting the money laundering work aside, if we assume that Andy didn't kill anyone, then this is the story of an innocent man who spent his 19 years of life in a corrupt and brutal system , trying to survive and do all the good he could, while still holding out hope of escaping. After all, he was not guilty of the crime for which he was originally incarcerated. The meaning of the quote and how it fits into the book The general meaning of this quote is that in life you are constantly living and dying. You live when you do something positive and useful in your life, and you die when you don't try to improve your life. Living requires a lot of work and willpower. This means you need to make the most of your life even when everything is stacked against you. Dying is when you give up. You're not making things work and you're feeling sorry for yourself. To live or die is a constant battle in life. This is why it describes prison life perfectly: in Shawshank, you either live or you die. You try to survive or you just can't. This is the rule for all prisoners. Those who try to survive may become respected among other inmates and see the day of their release. Those who don't try will have an even more horrible time in prison. It's the choice you make, and it's the choice that will determine your fate in Shawshank. This line is delivered by both Red and Andy Dufresne. It's a phrase for both of them to keep them motivated to survive Shawshank. The meaning of the quote towards the characters Andy Dufrasne Andy, who took nineteen years to escape, was busy living. He had spent all his free time digging tunnels through the walls of his cell with his stone hammer in the hopes of one day getting out. It was practically impossible, and yet he had done it. And he had also developed a complete plan to get to Zihuatanejo, and hehad made sure Red could make it too. All of this takes courage and the will to move forward even when the odds are not in your favor. This also adds to the meaning of “caring about dying.” This meant to him that even though his work could bring him death, it was still worth the struggle and hard work. He knows that what he does could lead to his downfall, and yet he does it. The posters he would hang in his cell would also give him the strength to continue. He said these beautiful women gave him a feeling of freedom. He felt like he could almost get through it and be with them. And Raquel Welch's poster made him feel like he could be with her in Mexico. This is why this quote is so important to Andy: he continued to dig this tunnel without knowing for sure if it could go anywhere and continued to look at the posters for support. Even when Bogs and his gang of rapists, the Sisters, attacked him and threatened his life, he always fought back. This courage to continue fighting kept him alive. The other time he was busy was when he worked for Norton. He came up with a brilliant plan to deceive the director. He saw himself escaping this place and finding peace. He was the only one who dared the idea of ​​escape, and he was the only one who did not fear Warden Norton. Red said it would take him twenty years to get out of Shawshank with that hammer, and Andy had done it. He had done something no one else would have done. This clearly shows that he had chosen the path of caring about life instead of worrying about dying. Ellis Boyd "Red" ReddingRed, despite telling Andy that he is the only guilty man is Shawshank, is the reason Andy succeeded. He kept him good company and guided him through difficulties. Him being a smuggler; he provided Andy with the posters, which were of great use to him. The fact that he helped Andy proves that even after all these years in prison, he hasn't lost his humanity. The fact that he is acting shows that he has taken the path of a busy life. A turning point in this line for him was when he had to tell the commission for the last time whether he had been rehabilitated or not. At that point, he really realized that it didn't matter anymore. He had chosen not to waste his time explaining that he was indeed rehabilitated. He was busy dying, because he thought he would stay in Shawshank until he died. In exchange, to his great surprise, he was released. However, this did not give him the desire to live again. He realized that he had been interned and that he was having difficulty living at the pace of everyone else. He once again lost the will to continue living in society, just like Brooks (in the film). And later, when he finally understood that Andy's plan to escape to Zihuatanejo was real, he found that desire to live again. It opened his eyes to not ending up like Brooks, but to pick up Andy and go to Zihuatanejo. He began to live again and as a reward for this; he saw his dear friend again.BrooksEven if Brooks is a character who was not in the book, I still find that the quote speaks to him a lot. He has been in prison so long that he has become completely institutionalized. He could know no other lifestyle than living within the walls of Shawshank. In the end, he didn't even want to leave. These many years in prison kept him busy dying. His suicide only further proved this statement. He was unable to adapt to a “free” life. Tragically enough, suicide was the only way out of his suffering for him. But at the beginning, when he was taking care of a bird, he was busy living. He had a goal; he cared.