Changes: Brooks Hatlen

Revision as of 14:27, 5 March 2020

Brooks 'Brooksy' Hatlen was an inmate at Shawshank State Prison from 1905 to 1955. Although his crime is never revealed, murder is presumed due to his lengthy prison sentence. He was the le prison starting in 1912, and was friends with Andy. Brooks died after committing suicide in 1955, aged 73. Brooks is portrayed by the late James Whitmore.

History

1940s

Brooks found a crow hatchling who had "fallen out of a nest near the plate shop", and decided to care for the bird and name it Jake. Andy's first day at Shawshank, he sits next to Brooks, before noticing a maggot in his breakfast. Brooks asked for it, and Andy is disturbed, thinking that Brooks means to eat it, but is relieved when he opens his coat and reveals his pet bird. Later that year, Brooks was instrumental in getting Andy his rock hammer. After it is brought in through the laundry, Red places it into Brooks's rolling book cart, and pays him six cigarettes for postage. He wheels it down to Andy, who discreetly takes it.

In 1949, after Andy assisted Captain Hadley in avoiding paying his inheritance tax, Warden Norton appoints him the assistant librarian. Andy finds this surprising as Brooks has never had an assistant in his 37 years as a librarian. Brooks shows him around the dilapidated library, comprised of nothing more than some old books and magazines.. When Andy talks to Brooks about getting funds for a better library from the prison, Brooks is incredulous and thinks it is not possible to do so.

1950s

Brooks-out-of-jail — Brooks is free from jail

In 1955, Floyd tells Andy and Red that Brooks is holding a knife to Heywood's throat. Andy manages to calm him down, but he is distraught. They later learn that Brooks has been paroled, and that killing Heywood would have been his way to stay in prison. The gang discusses Brooks, and Red says that Brooks has been in prison so long that he is institutionalized.

As he leaves, he lets Jake go free. The prison doors open, and Brooks steps out and takes a bus to his new home. He is astounded by the changes in the world since he was free, and complains that everyone got themselves in a hurry.

Shawshank-brooks-hang — Brooks commits suicide by hanging himself

He writes a letter back to his friends at the prison, in which he expresses his difficulties adjusting to the outside world, including , living in constant fear, and longing to break his parole so they'd send him back home. He ties a rope around the beam, and puts a noose around his neck. He rocks the table, and it falls.

After his death, Andy starts to build the Brooks Hatlen Memorial Library.

Trivia

There was a scene in the script where Red finds Jake's carcass. This was to symbolize that Jake was meant to be caged, just like Brooks.

“	I never had time to shoot this section of the film, for which I'll always have mixed feelings. The writer in me mourns its absence, because it's among my favorite sequences written. The director in me realizes it's probably just as well -- since it isn't vital from a strictly narrative standpoint, I ultimately would have faced the tough decision of losing it in the editing room to tighten an already long movie. (As William Goldman so wisely observes in his excellent book Adventures in the Screen Trade, sometimes you have to kill your darlings...) The absence of this sequence does put an interesting and different spin on the Brooks/Jake subtext. As Red notes toward the end of the film, "Some birds aren't meant to be caged." As written, neither Brooks nor Jake is that kind of bird; neither can survive on the outside. As filmed, however, Jake can survive, but Brooks can't. In a symbolic sense, Jake now represents Andy and Red. It's a subtle but fairly meaningful shift.	”
	— Frank Darabont

In the novel, Brooks has a college degree in Animal Husbandry. Infact he got the prison library job due to being one of the only few prisoners with a degree.
In the movie he is also a combination of Sherwood Bolton (since it was Sherwood Bolton who owned Jake while in Shawshank prison in the book) which makes the movie adaption of Brooks Hatlen a composite character

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Brooks''' 'Brooksy' '''Hatlen''' was an inmate at Shawshank State Prison from 1905 to 1954. He was the librarian of the prison starting in 1912, and was friends with [[Andy Dufresne|Andy]]. Brooks died after committing suicide in 1954, aged 72. He was a bloody legend.
+{{Infobox Character|image = [[File:Brooks Hatlen.png|thumb|220x220px]]|occupation = Librarian|actor = James Whitmore|gender = Male|status = Deceased}}'''Brooks''' 'Brooksy' '''Hatlen''' was an inmate at Shawshank State Prison from 1905 to 1955. Although his crime is never revealed, murder is presumed due to his lengthy prison sentence. He was the le prison starting in 1912, and was friends with [[Andy Dufresne|Andy]]. Brooks died after committing suicide in 1955, aged 73.
+Brooks is portrayed by the late [[James Whitmore]].
-Brooks is portrayed by [[James Whitmore]]. Marlen Memdoza
 ==History==
 ===1940s===
-Brooks found a small crow named [[Jake]] who had fallen out of a nest near the [[License plate shop |license plate shop]], and was caring for it. Andy sat next to him, and noticed a maggot in his breakfast. Brooks asked for it, and Andy thought Brooks might eat it, but is relieved when he opens his coat and reveals his pet bird. Later that year, Brooks was instrumental in getting Andy his [[Rock Hammer |rock hammer]]. After it is brought in through the laundry, [[Red]] places it into Brooks's rolling book cart, and pays him six cigarettes for postage. He wheels it down to Andy, who discreetly takes it.
+Brooks found a crow hatchling who had "fallen out of a nest near the plate shop", and decided to care for the bird and name it [[Jake]]. Andy's first day at Shawshank, he sits next to Brooks, before noticing a maggot in his breakfast. Brooks asked for it, and Andy is disturbed, thinking that Brooks means to eat it, but is relieved when he opens his coat and reveals his pet bird. Later that year, Brooks was instrumental in getting Andy his [[Rock Hammer |rock hammer]]. After it is brought in through the laundry, [[Red]] places it into Brooks's rolling book cart, and pays him six cigarettes for postage. He wheels it down to Andy, who discreetly takes it.
-In 1949, after Andy assisted [[Captain Hadley]] in avoiding paying his inheritance tax, [[Warden Norton]] appoints him the assistant librarian. Andy finds this surprising as Brooks has never had an assistant in his 37 years as librarian. Brooks shows him around the dilapidated library, comprised of nothing more than some old books and magazines.
+In 1949, after Andy assisted [[Captain Hadley]] in avoiding paying his inheritance tax, [[Warden Norton]] appoints him the assistant librarian. Andy finds this surprising as Brooks has never had an assistant in his 37 years as a librarian. Brooks shows him around the dilapidated library, comprised of nothing more than some old books and magazines.. When Andy talks to Brooks about getting funds for a better library from the prison, Brooks is incredulous and thinks it is not possible to do so.
-A prison guard named [[Dekins]] comes to Andy asking for help to start a trust fund for his children. Brooks is surprised by Andy's professionalism and later jokes about it with the gang. When Andy talks to Brooks about getting funds for a better library from the prison, Brooks is incredulous and thinks it is not possible to do so.
-===1950s===
-In 1952, Brooks is seen as Andy's assistant (along with [http://shawshank.wikia.com/wiki/Red Red]) as he works as the accountant for the guards of the prison.
+===1950s===
 [[File:Brooks-out-of-jail.jpg|180px|left|thumb|Brooks is free from jail]]
-In 1954, [[Floyd]] tells Andy and Red that Brooks is holding a knife to [[Heywood]]'s throat. Andy manages to calm him down, but he is distraught. They later learn that Brooks has been paroled, and that killing Heywood would have been his way to stay in prison. The gang discusses 'Brooks, and Red says that Brooks has been in prison so long that he is institutionalized.
+In 1955, [[Floyd]] tells Andy and Red that Brooks is holding a knife to [[Heywood]]'s throat. Andy manages to calm him down, but he is distraught. They later learn that Brooks has been paroled, and that killing Heywood would have been his way to stay in prison. The gang discusses Brooks, and Red says that Brooks has been in prison so long that he is institutionalized.
-As he leaves, he lets [[Jake]] go free. The prison doors open, and Brooks steps out and takes a bus to his new home. He is astounded by the changes in the world since he was free, and complains that everyone got themselves in a hurry. The parole board got him into a halfway house called [[The Brewer]], and a job bagging groceries at the [[Food-Way]]. Brooks hates working there and considers robbing the store and killing his boss at the [[Food-Way]] (as a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonus bonus]) to go back to prison. He decides that he is too old to do that.[[File:Shawshank-brooks-hang.png|thumb|180px|Brooks commits suicide by hanging himself]]
+As he leaves, he lets [[Jake]] go free. The prison doors open, and Brooks steps out and takes a bus to his new home. He is astounded by the changes in the world since he was free, and complains that everyone got themselves in a hurry. [[File:Shawshank-brooks-hang.png|thumb|180px|Brooks commits suicide by hanging himself]]
-He writes a letter back to his friends at the prison, in which he expresses his difficulties adjusting to the outside world, including holding up a job at a grocery store as a bagger, living in constant fear, and longing to break his parole so they'd send him back home. He decides that he's tired of being afraid, and, deciding not to stay, gets up on a table and carves ''"'''Brooks was here"''' ''into the ceiling beam. He ties a rope around the beam, and puts a noose around his neck. He rocks the table, and it falls. He commits suicide then the camera zooms out on the rope spinning around.
+He writes a letter back to his friends at the prison, in which he expresses his difficulties adjusting to the outside world, including , living in constant fear, and longing to break his parole so they'd send him back home. He ties a rope around the beam, and puts a noose around his neck. He rocks the table, and it falls.
 After his death, [[Andy]] starts to build the [[Brooks Hatlen Memorial Library]].
@@ Line 25: / Line 23: @@
 {| style="margin: 0 auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;"
 | class="quotation-mark" style="width:20px; vertical-align:top; font-size:40px; font-family:serif; font-weight:bold; text-align:left; padding:10px 10px;" |“
-| style="vertical-align:top; padding:4px 10px;" |I never had time to shoot this section of the film, for which I'll always have mixed feelings. The writer in me mourns its absence, because it's among my favorite sequences written. The director in me realizes it's probably just as well -- since it isn't vital from a strictly narrative standpoint, I ultimately would have faced the tough decision of losing it in the editing room to tighten an already long movie. (As William Goldman so wisely observes in his excellent book Adventures in the Screen Trade, sometimes you have to kill your darlings...) The absence of this sequence does put an interesting and different spin on the Brooks/Jake subtext. As Red notes toward the end of the film, "Some birds aren't meant to be caged." As written, neither Brooks nor Jake is that kind of bird; neither can survive on the outside. As filmed, however, Jake can survive, but Brooks can't. In a symbolic sense, Jake now represents Andy and Brooks represents Red. It's a subtle but fairly meaningful shift.
+| style="vertical-align:top; padding:4px 10px;" |I never had time to shoot this section of the film, for which I'll always have mixed feelings. The writer in me mourns its absence, because it's among my favorite sequences written. The director in me realizes it's probably just as well -- since it isn't vital from a strictly narrative standpoint, I ultimately would have faced the tough decision of losing it in the editing room to tighten an already long movie. (As William Goldman so wisely observes in his excellent book Adventures in the Screen Trade, sometimes you have to kill your darlings...) The absence of this sequence does put an interesting and different spin on the Brooks/Jake subtext. As Red notes toward the end of the film, "Some birds aren't meant to be caged." As written, neither Brooks nor Jake is that kind of bird; neither can survive on the outside. As filmed, however, Jake can survive, but Brooks can't. In a symbolic sense, Jake now represents Andy and Red. It's a subtle but fairly meaningful shift.
 | class="quotation-mark" style="width:20px; vertical-align:bottom; font-size:40px; font-family:serif; font-weight:bold; text-align:right; padding:10px 10px;" |”
 |-
@@ Line 32: / Line 30: @@
 |}
 *In the novel, Brooks has a college degree in Animal Husbandry. Infact he got the prison library job due to being one of the only few prisoners with a degree.
+*In the movie he is also a combination of Sherwood Bolton (since it was Sherwood Bolton who owned Jake while in Shawshank prison in the book) which makes the movie adaption of Brooks Hatlen a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composite_character composite character]
+[[Category:Deceased characters]]
+[[Category:Prisoners]]