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The Shawshank Redemption portrayed a past and present view of the correctional system in the United States. There was countless points in the film where prison issues were displayed to the public. Many of the conflicts were between the prisoners and the correctional officers, which was not surprising at all. When the same people are constantly together without any room to breathe, issues will arise. The most common points in the film were also discussed in the textbook, Corrections in America: An introduction (Marvin, 1994; Allen, Latessa, & Ponder, 2010).

Corrections in America: An introduction defines contraband as any object forbidden in prison. Contraband in the film consisted of: beer, cigarettes, bird, posters, and a rock hammer. Prison rape played a major role in everyday life in The Shawshank Redemption. Prison rape in the textbook is defined as any kind of sexual advances that are unwanted usually by heterosexuals for political reasons. Andy Dufresne learned pretty quickly that he could not avoid being victimized by “the sisters (Allen, et al., 2010; Marvin, 1994).”

Prisonalization in the textbook is defines as the process of adopting the culture of the prison. The text states that Donald Clemmer coined this term. Prisonalization could be seen in all the inmates in or out of prison. Inmates learn the social norms and culture of prison, if they want to survive. Brook’s mental breakdown before he was released from prison and his suicide after his release is the prime example of this. He could not deal with being outside of prison because he had been there for so long. Many inmates do not know how to manage on their own without people telling them what to do. Red stated while he released on parole, how he constantly asked ...

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...ight. The cells were inside, because they do not touch the outside walls of the cell block. The inmates were allowed to work in groups. They were chained at their feet to move them into the prison, all facing back to front (Allen, et al., 2010; Marvin, 1994).

The textbook states that each state has different parole guidelines to follow. The parole system in the film was not very ethical. However, the parole board in the film often denied an inmate that qualified for parole. If an inmate was parole or served his entire sentence they could be paroled. The parolees were sent to halfway houses to live, while they worked at a grocery store that the prison set up for them. The textbook describes halfway houses as a residential house or facility for offenders in the community; often used for inmates prior to final release to parole (Allen, et al., 2010; Marvin, 1994).