Here, Andy outlines his more optimistic perspective to his friend. While Red sees it as a bad thing in that it can drive a man insane when it butts up against the hopelessness of prison life, Andy alleges that it is the most important thing, the thing that can stay with someone even through the hardest of moments. Red and Andy cannot seem to agree about the importance of hope. "Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." Andy This narration by Red highlights what an expert revenge Andy orchestrates, in that it leaves Norton with the realization that he has been bested by the ingenious inmate over whom he has lorded his power.
Trapped in his office as police sirens blare outside, Norton opts to shoot himself in the face. Red narrates this line after Andy escapes and exposes Norton's nefarious business dealings to the police. "I'd like to think that the last thing that went through his head, other than that bullet, was to wonder how the hell Andy Dufresne ever got the best of him." It is not until he begins working for the warden at the prison that he begins actually committing crimes, an irony which does not escape him. In his real life, he was an honest banker, and he is innocent of the crime for which he has been locked up. I had to come to prison to be a crook." AndyĪfter he begins helping Norton launder money for the prison, Andy notices this stark irony. His ability to connect with his inner life and maintain a sense of that which the authorities "can't touch" is his lifeline, and what drives him to escape the prison and pursue his dream life. He teaches them the importance of holding on to one's inner light in order to make it through hard times and prevent the prison from taking everything away from its prisoners. That's yours." AndyĪndy tells his friends that while he was in solitary confinement he listened to music in his head to keep his sanity. that they can't get to, that they can't touch. there are places in this world that aren't made out of stone. While his speech is irreverent and dismissive of the parole officers' attitudes, it shows them that his attitude towards his own guilt and regret is felt and internal, and for whatever reason proves to the authorities that he is reformed. in this moment, Red stops telling the board what he believes they want to hear and finally speaks the truth. Red has been rejected by the parole board every time he has met with them, but when he gives this speech after 40 years behind bars, they set him free. Because to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit." Red So you go on and stamp your form, sonny, and stop wasting my time. Rehabilitated? It's just a bullshit word. That kid's long gone, and this old man is all that's left. I want to try to talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. Not because I'm in here, because you think I should. "There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. Additionally, Andy must literally crawl through the plumbing in order to escape from Shawshank. Andy was sent to prison for murders he did not commit, and Red suggests that he had to climb out of this figurative "river of shit" to find freedom. Red says this about Andy after Andy has escaped from prison, and it has both a literal and a figurative meaning. "Andy Dufresne, who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side." Red