Unresolved

As the quarter ends, I thought I'd do a blog entry looking back over the semester. It's been strange. We've read lots of novels, and only one or two of them seems really "normal." We wrote many response papers, panel presented, and made open genre projects. I wrote my annual Fight Club comparison blog entry.

I guess I don't really have a lot to say to wrap things up neatly, so I'll do like half of one of my typical obscure-comparison-entries. Recently we've been reading Song of Solomon in class. We've finally reached the point in the story where we really see Milkman begin his quest—he hasn't grown up or had any sort of real trial until this point in the book, unlike everyone else we meet. His quest for gold seems to be more than greed, but a symbolic escape from the prison we see trapping him earlier. That's why I see some connections between The Shawshank Redemption and Song of Solomon. I don't intend to spoil anything, but the movie was originally supposed to end "unresolved," as opposed to the ending the movie actually has. I'd like to end this entry, my blog, and the course with the original ending of the movie, which I think should strike a chord with many of you:

I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.

—Red, The Shawshank Redemption