Samuel Butler once said, "Half the vices which the world condemns most loudly have seeds of good in them and require moderate use rather than total abstinence." Butler was trying to convey the message that, people in society are less than perfect. Human perfection is something for which there is no example of. It is simply a goal that every human being strives for, but never fully achieves. Every human being has at least one vice, and as long as you exercise caution when using them to ensure that no harm is caused, vices are not all that bad. It is only when people start abusing vices and use them in all aspects of life, that is becomes bad and causes harm to the community. In the movie Shawshank Redemption, Andy Dufrane, the "best" guy there is has some vices, but uses them moderately. However, the Warden, Samuel Norton, practices his vices in all aspects of his life. Norton is a man whose excessive practice of vices such as hypocrisy and dishonesty, caused harm not only to the community, but also to himself.
Samuel Norton did not put into practice what he read in the Bible, despite his claim to being a devout Catholic, which made him a hypocrite. Hypocrisy is a vice that Norton practices quite often. When Andy first arrived at Shawshank and met Norton, he said to him and the other prisoners, "I believe in two things: discipline and the Bible Put your trust in the Lord Welcome to Shawshank." This shows what Norton truly values, but he contradicts himself and practices hypocrisy when it comes to the Bible. Throughout the movie, he does things which the Bible and the Church both state are morally wrong. An example of this can be seen when Tommy told Andy something that could potentially get him out of prison. Andy immediately told Norton about it, and he just ignored Andy. Instead, he called Tommy outside to an isolated area of the prison and asked him if he would swear that it was the truth and tell it in a court of law.
