Shawshank Redemption Theme

It may seem as though Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption is about Andy Dufresne, an innocent man in prison for all the wrong reasons. However, there is a reason that this story is told by Red, and not Andy. This is Red’s story, and the only part of his life he found worth telling. The presence of Andy Dufresne made Red’s time in Shawshank more bearable. He was interesting, different. Andy gave a change from the regular routine of prison life since the day he arrived. Red describes Andy, “His fingernails were always clipped, and they were always clean...it seems to sum Andy up for me” (17). Even after losing everything, Andy always tried to keep himself neat and clean. He was different than the other prisoners. Red states, “In all
The last words in the story are “I hope,” said by Red (107). Even the section title for this story is “Hope Springs Eternal.” Very clearly pointing out that hope is a major theme of this story, and Andy was Red’s hope. Throughout the story Red mentions how prisoners become accustomed to life in Shawshank, the routine of it all. How hard it is for paroled inmates to live in the real world; they usually would break their parole or commit suicide. “You get institutionalized...More often than not a con who’s just got out will pull some dumb job that hasn’t a chance of succeeding...and why? Because it’ll get him back inside, Back where he understands how things work” (83). Later Red goes on to say that while Andy wasn’t like that, he was. Red had been in prison so long that he was confident he could no longer live on the outside, that is until he reminds himself of Andy. Once Red is let out on parole, he keeps Andy Dufresne in his mind. With nothing other than hope and a hunch, Red looks for the rock in the wall that used to mark Andy’s second life. Andy has given Red hope. He has saved his life. Andy gives Red a reason to stay out of prison, and to continue to live on the outside, even though it isn’t easy. Andy is a hero to Red in a