Illuminations from the article "The World of Epictetus"

Andy Dufresne, one of the protagonists in the movie, Shawshank Redemption, was sexually assaulted continually by a troika of men, who referred to themselves as "The Sisters." Every time they cornered him in a room, he fought back. Time after time, he was violated, but he never stopped looking around for some sort of weapon to protect himself with. Several years later, the aggressive actions towards Andy stopped because of his newly formed relationship with the prison warder. "The Sisters" were punished in a manner that was sure to be confined and would find a way to display itself in everything they would ever do for the rest of their natural lives. Andy was one of the lucky ones in this recurring theme of "prison rape." Or was he really? Is there a reward for his determination since only very few people would struggle so consistently, knowing that there was a very slim chance of victory. I pose a Darwinian question:(by the way, I must state that I believe in the creationism of the Christian Bible and not evolution), "Would natural selection favor these strong few or would they, acting in the capacity of societal mutants, be diluted out of the environment?"

What did Andy fight for? I believe that the foreword by OS Guinness in "The World of Epictetus" is a precise analogy to the Shawshank story. Andy Dufresne fought for his integrity. I believe he did ask himself the personal question, "Who am I?" as opposed to societally influenced alternative "How will I be seen?" I am convinced that he answered the question himself, and stuck to it, like a reflection sticks to a mirror.

He asked himself the question: "Who am I?"

Who are you?