Shawshank Redemption

Shawshank Redemption When imprisoned or trapped it is easy to lose track of things like hope, faith, and friendship. In some cases, these virtues flourish when incarcerated. This was the case for Andy, the main character in “Shawshank Redemption”, who had become a prisoner at Shawshank prison under false accusations. Andy, before being arrested, was a fairly prominent and successful banker, married to an unfaithful woman who wound up leaving him for a professional golfer. The evidence against him was irrefutable, and he was sent away for two life sentences. Andy was a tall, thin, well-dressed man who stuck out like a sour thumb.
When Andy arrived at Shawshank, nobody took kindly to him, until “the sisters”. Andy kept to himself for the most part, not saying more than two words to anybody. He would stroll around with a smile on his face as if he was on vacation without a care in the world. When a man approaches him in the shower room and asks him if he belongs to anyone yet, he smirks and walks away. He approaches a man in the yard called Red, saying he understands that Red is a man that can get things. Red responds, “I’ve been known to locate certain things from time to time…” After informing Red of what he needs, Andy is warned about a group called the sisters, which wanted to have their way with him, no matter how hard he fought.
Eventually the sisters found him and beat him and raped him. For most men, traumatic events like this would crush them, and cause them to give up hope. For Andy, these visits from the sisters became routine and Andy’s hope grew stronger.
Eventually, a couple of guards that Andy assisted in financial matters returned the favor and made sure the sisters never touched him again. This act of kindness from the guards made his time at Shawshank much easier restoring any joy or hope that may have been lost during those tragic acts of torture. Andy’s knowledge of the banking system made things easier for him, and brought about certain privileges for him and his friends. The head guard at the prison was a barbaric, strict man that killed a man on Andy’s first night for crying when told not to speak. One hot day when Andy and a few of the other inmates were tarring a rooftop, Andy over heard the head guard discussing a financial matter that was stressing him out. Andy offered to help, if he would just bring the men three beers a piece, so they could feel like men, at least for a little while. Andy is offered a beer from one of his fellow inmates; he says he gave up drinking. This was a completely selfless act, which showed the other men what kind of man Andy truly was. The favor he did for the guard led to him filing tax returns for not only the guard staff at Shawshank but also guards at other prisons. This allowed for Andy to have a new job in the library working with a man named Brooks. Brooks was very elderly and had been in Shawshank prison for as long as he can remember. Brooks was a simple man, but in the prison he was educated and respected. One day Brooks got notice that he was up for parole and he panicked. The prison was all brooks knew, the thought of the outside world scared him so much, that he took a knife to one of the men’s throat. Nobody understood what could have driven him to this, Getting out was what most of these men dreamed of. Red said, “These walls are funny. First you hate ‘em, then you get used to ‘em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend of them. That’s institutionalized”. This idea scares some people, knowing that some people so easily lose hope.
“Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.” Red said this to Andy after Andy tells him of his plans for when he gets out. Andy spent countless days and nights in “the hole” which was a small dark room used as a form of punishment. This in combination with all of his beatings and rapes should have driven him to let go of all hope. These events, in combination with the friend he made in prison, fueled Andy’s hope and helped Andy gain the strength to escape from Shawshank Prison.