shawshank redemption friendship essay

The Shawshank Redemption Theme of Friendship

"It's friendship…friendship…just the perfect blendship…"

All right, so maybe a show tune lyric isn't the best way to describe the relationship between Red and Andy. It's kinda true, though.

This odd couple is thrown together near the beginning of the film. One's white, one's black. One's young, one's old. One's guilty, one's…not so guilty. Yet they click almost immediately, and remain friends for decades. That's quite an accomplishment for two people who have a thing or two in common , let alone these polar opposites.

Even though Andy's off doing his own thing, plotting his escape in secret, there's an argument to be made that he never would have been successful without Red's friendship. Not just because his buddy hooked him up with hammers and posters and whatnot, but because could you really stay sane in a place like that without a partner in crime (so to speak)?

Questions about Friendship

• Would you categorize Warden Norton and Captain Hadley's relationship as "friends?" Why or why not?
• At what point do Red and Andy truly become friends, rather than mere acquaintances?
• Brooks claims to be Heywood's friend, but draws a knife on him and threatens to kill him just so he can be allowed to stay at Shawshank. Is there any possible way he was actually Heywood's friend?
• Andy put a ton of time and effort into planning his escape. If, the night before he was preparing to flee, he had been put in a position to give his own life in order to save Red's, do you think he would have done it?

Chew on This

Because Andy and Red meet on an exotic beach at the end of the movie, come together and embrace, neither having any romantic attachments (that we know of), the filmmakers were actually hinting that Red and Andy were more than just friends.

The bonds formed between prison inmates are even stronger than those formed between civilians on the outside, because of everything they're forced to go through together.

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20 The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

“No Matter the Obstacle: The Shawshank Redemption”

By Ryder Rebibis

No matter how difficult a situation or obstacle may be, humans have the ability to persist and overcome even the most sinful tribulations. This can only be achieved from the most determining factor which is, hope. The gift of hope has the capability to push through adversity while maintaining an unshakable optimistic perspective. In the film  The Shawshank Redemption , we see how the power of hope impacts those within the most misfortunate circumstances.

The Shawshank Redemption is a drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont which was based on Stephen King’s novella “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” from 1982. The protagonist Andy Dufresne received two life sentences because of the murders of his wife and her secret lover. Andy is sentenced to Shawshank Penitentiary where he encounters Red, an inmate who has also received a life sentence for murder and has done 20 years before Andy’s arrival. Andy and Red and other close inmates experience the struggles and hardships when living in a hostile institution. Between the warden, guards, and certain inmates, their relationships were advantageous, amoral, and scandalous. But throughout their journey, they understood what it means to have hope by believing to achieve the best outcome despite how difficult their situation may be.

Throughout this essay, I will explore the film’s differences between moral and immoral actions of institutionalized characters, the power of reputation and status, and the discriminational ties between a prisoner’s past compared to those with authority. The punishment for a prisoner is to be stripped of their freedom, time, and dignity from society. How does status play a role when it is impractical within a prison? Does it depend on what you’re able to do for other inmates or how appalling a crime is committed? Is it morally wrong to take advantage of a murderer for personal gain? Or is it justifiable based on what they did in the past? The total institution theme is compelling because of how the prisoners are in the worst position of humanity by being weak and powerless and controlled by the guards and the warden. Innocences, empathy, and money are worthless for these convicts as they live day by day trying to create the best situation for themselves.

The awareness of difference is very subtle to recognize but is the main reason as to why the majority of viewers can relate to these characters. Change is the most important factor throughout the movie. We observe the changes between the protagonists from the beginning of the film and who they become at the end of the movie. The most defining point of difference we see is from the Red (Morgan Freeman). In the beginning of the film, before he meets Andy, Red is interrogated by five men who are in charge of a rehabilitation conference to release Red into society. Red has been asked if he feels like he has been rehabilitated and responds with a passive appeal stating he has been a changed man. The men don’t bat an eye and reject Red’s acceptance to be released. Red is demoralized as his rejection reinforces his own beliefs, which is to be in prison forever. Throughout the movie, we see how much of an impact Andy has made on Red by observing how determined Andy is to find a way to become free and not show any pessimism. They became good friends until eventually Andy escapes the prison. Red then reflects on who he is as a person and no longer looks forward to being a free man except for one reason. The only thing that keeps him hopeful is Andy’s escape to start his dream of opening a hotel on the coast of Zihuatanejo, Mexico, also known as, “The place of no memory”. He is hopeful that Andy is doing well himself and that they can reunite and make a purposeful living together. After Andy’s escape Red has another rehabilitation conference but gives a different answer. He says he wishes he could go back in time and talk some sense to his younger self. He knows that it’s impossible he has to live with that. He ends his speech by concluding they are wasting his time and that the word “rehabilitation” is a made-up word and truthfully doesn’t care if he gets released or not. Surprisingly the men accept his invocation to be released and Red begins his journey to find Andy. To tie this together, we see how Red refused the idea to have hope for Andy earlier addressed upon Red in the prison. But seeing how influential and determined Andy became paved the way for Red to believe the same.

Power within the film is the most undervalued element because it plays a crucial factor in the film’s storyline. The most noticeable representation of power is between the guards and warden’s power over the prisoners. We see the interactions between both sides and how having the authority to give orders is where we are able to compare the dissimilarities. But for this essay, there is a stronger and more significant representation of power within the film which involves Andy. Before Andy’s crime, he was a successful banker. When he entered the prison he had no motive to use his financing skills until he overheard the chief guard complain about taxes. This is where Andy stepped in to help give tax advice to the chief. That led to Andy finding a way to be a beneficial banker to all of the guards in the prison including the warden. The staff of the prison knew that it was illegal but still proceeded to let Andy take care of their finances. What makes this important is that the prison staff was unaware of Andy taking measured steps to create a fake person on paper with his own acts of money laundering. The connection between power and this theme is that even though Andy is a prisoner, he had the upper hand by using their illegal operation against them. He understands power is the ability to act upon knowledge which in this case is his mastery of financing. He can commit the prison staff for fraud meaning that he has leverage which is powerful for a man in his position. The ability to be a prisoner and be able to discreetly control and oversee those who had authority over him was a concealed power.

An interesting topic about discrimination is how inmates can be categorized as forever bad people especially after their release back into civilization. Typically the biggest challenges for those that are newly released are not knowing where to begin, family support, finding employment, and mental health issues. In this film, we see the development of these characters and how they perceive themself as not what they were once before but to watch them grow into good men for society. The integrity and uprightness that they show in this movie portray that everyone can change because The warden and guards treat the prisoners in unlawful ways which show how immoral they are themselves, in some cases more immoral than the prisoners.

The way we view the prisoners in this film is different compared to how we view them in society. Understanding the psychographics of certain prisoners in this movie shows how not all prisoners have future intentions of committing what they have done in the past. In this case, we see Red and Andy wanting to cause no harm to society and live peaceful lives that they curate for themselves. But compared to the views of public perception we make these people feel alienated based on their past. Society becomes fearful that they will repeat their same crimes that got them in confinement in the first place. Although that may be true, it shouldn’t be the central stereotype that all prisoners can never change and become better for society.

A review of the film that I thought was interesting was interpreting The Shawshank Redemption through the theme of its underlying Chrisitianity. The review gives crucial points that showcase how the process of rebirth of Andy when he finally escapes the prison. He is shown as a changed man as if he was reborn becoming cleansed from being isolated for the wrong reasons. That is supported by the entrance into prison and the way he escapes. The review also portrays the warden as the devil because of how manipulative and scheming he is. The warden preaches God but does acts that go against his principles of believing in discipline and the bible. He kills the only man that can prove Andy as innocent and locks Andy in the hole for months at end because he is afraid he will expose his money laundering fraud. What I also find interesting is how the warden says the quote “salvation lies within” which refers to how he thinks that his inmates should act accordingly too. The review discussed Andy as the messiah having his other friendly inmates supporting him based on what he was able to provide for them with no intentions of receiving anything back (Briggs). Taking this film with a religious interpretation, it portrays how leading through forgiveness can result in finding absolution.

The reason I selected this film was because of my interest in psychological thrillers and stoicism. Even though The Shawshank Redemption is more of a crime fiction, it has its psychological elements with ties to stoicism. The ability to push through adversity and persevere is how I try to execute everything throughout my day. Much like Andy, with his ability to persist and be optimistic even in the most difficult part of his life he still managed to find his purpose of a higher calling. Red is the majority of people that we see in reality. People blindly go along their life trying to find a purpose. But with the help of Andy, he is able to follow his path much like a disciple would. Once he finds something to live for he is able to come at peace with himself. My interpretation of the film is the idea to keep moving forward no matter how discouraging and demoralizing the obstacles may be. It’s a very motivational film and changes the perspective of my own life by taking mine for granted by thinking my situation could be worse like Andy’s or Red’s. I would also include the idea of never judging a book by its cover. The reason being is that we see Andy as a guilty man who murdered his wife and her secret admirer. But only he and the film’s audience know that he is actually innocent and always trying to change himself and others around him for the better.

The Shawshank Redemption has both its depressing and triumphant moments that put the audience through a rollercoaster of emotions. From seeing the character development with Red, the rise of power with Andy, and how we can feel sympathy for even the most disgraceful people, we resonate with Shawshank Redemption because of how we can reflect it upon our own lives. As people, we take for granted how great our lives actually are by complaining about things others could never possess and to be able to live the lifestyle and have the people around us that only others could dream of. I recommend this film to those who want to be inspired by those that find themselves to never give up through the worst times of their lives. By reflecting upon your life from an outside perspective, it is easier to go about how you treat yourself and the others around you.

Briggs, Tim. “‘Shawshank’ Still Preaches, 25 Years Later.” The Gospel Coalition . 30 October 2019. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/shawshank-still-preaches-25-years-later/

Difference, Power, and Discrimination in Film and Media: Student Essays Copyright © by Students at Linn-Benton Community College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Interesting that although the hero of the film is the convicted former banker Andy Dufresne ( Tim Robbins ), the action is never seen from his point of view. The film's opening scene shows him being given two life sentences for the murder of his wife and her lover, and then we move, permanently, to a point of view representing the prison population and particularly the lifer Ellis 'Red' Redding ( Morgan Freeman ). It is his voice remembering the first time he saw Andy ("looked like a stiff breeze would blow him over"), and predicting, wrongly, that he wouldn't make it in prison.

From Andy's arrival on the prison bus to the film's end, we see only how others see him - Red, who becomes his best friend, Brooks the old librarian, the corrupt Warden Norton, guards and prisoners. Red is our surrogate. He's the one we identify with, and the redemption, when it comes, is Red's. We've been shown by Andy's example that you have to keep true to yourself, not lose hope, bide your time, set a quiet example and look for your chance. "I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really," he tells Red. "Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'."

The key to the film's structure, I think, is that it's not about its hero, but about our relationship with him - our curiosity, our pity, our admiration. If Andy had been the heroic center, bravely enduring, the film would have been conventional, and less mysterious. But we wonder about this guy. Did he really kill those two people? Why does he keep so much to himself? Why can he amble through the prison yard like a free man on a stroll, when everyone else plods or sidles?

People like excitement at the movies, and titles that provide it do well. Films about "redemption" are approached with great wariness; a lot of people are not thrilled by the prospect of a great film - it sounds like work. But there's a hunger for messages of hope, and when a film offers one, it's likely to have staying power even if it doesn't grab an immediate audience.

"The Shawshank Redemption" premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 1994, and opened a few weeks later. It got good reviews but did poor business (its $18 million original gross didn't cover costs; it took in only another $10 million after winning seven Oscar nominations, including best picture).

There wasn't much going for it: It had a terrible title, it was a "prison drama" and women don't like those, it contained almost no action, it starred actors who were respected but not big stars, and it was long at 142 minutes. Clearly this was a movie that needed word-of-mouth to find an audience, and indeed business was slowly but steadily growing when it was yanked from theaters. If it had been left to find its way, it might have continued to build and run for months, but that's not what happened.

Instead, in one of the most remarkable stories in home video history, it found its real mass audience on tapes and discs, and through TV screenings. Within five years, "Shawshank" was a phenomenon, a video best seller and renter that its admirers feel they've discovered for themselves. When the Wall Street Journal ran an article about the "Shawshank" groundswell in April 1999, it was occupying first place in the Internet Movie Database worldwide vote of the 250 best films; it's usually in the top five.

Polls and rentals reflect popularity but don't explain why people value "Shawshank" so fervently. Maybe it plays more like a spiritual experience than a movie. It does have entertaining payoff moments (as when the guards from another prison, wearing their baseball uniforms, line up to have Andy do their taxes). But much of the movie involves quiet, solitude, and philosophical discussions about life. The moments of violence (as when Andy is sexually assaulted) are seen objectively, not exploited.

The movie avoids lingering on Andy's suffering; after beatings, he's seen in medium and long shot, tactfully. The camera doesn't focus on Andy's wounds or bruises, but, like his fellow prisoners, gives him his space.

The Morgan Freeman character is carrier of the film's spiritual arc. We see him at three parole hearings, after 20, 30 and 40 years. The first hearing involves storytelling trickery; the film has opened with Andy's sentencing, and then we see a parole board, and expect it's about to listen to Andy's appeal. But, no, that's when we first see Red. In his first appeal he tries to convince the board he's been rehabilitated. In the second, he just goes through the motions. In the third, he rejects the whole notion of rehabilitation, and somehow in doing so he sets his spirit free, and the board releases him.

There's an underlying problem. Behind bars, Red is king. He's the prison fixer, able to get you a pack of cigarettes, a little rock pick or a Rita Hayworth poster. On the outside, he has no status or identity. We've already seen what happened to the old librarian ( James Whitmore ), lonely and adrift in freedom. The last act, in which Andy helps Red accept his freedom, is deeply moving - all the more so because Andy again operates at a distance, with letters and postcards, and is seen through Red's mind.

Frank Darabont wrote and directed the film, basing it on a story by Stephen King . His film grants itself a leisure that most films are afraid to risk. The movie is as deliberate, considered and thoughtful as Freeman's narration. There's a feeling in Hollywood that audiences have short attention spans and must be assaulted with fresh novelties. I think such movies are slower to sit through than a film like "Shawshank," which absorbs us and takes away the awareness that we are watching a film.

Deliberate, too, is the dialogue. Tim Robbins makes Andy a man of few words, quietly spoken. He doesn't get real worked up. He is his own man, capable of keeping his head down for years and then indulging in a grand gesture, as when he plays an aria from Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro." (The overhead shot of the prisoners in the yard, spellbound by the music, is one of the film's epiphanies.) Because he does not volunteer himself, reach out to us or overplay his feelings, he becomes more fascinating: It is often better to wonder what a character is thinking than to know.

Roger Deakins' cinematography is tactful, not showy. Two opening shots, one from a helicopter, one of prison walls looming overhead, establish the prison. Shots follow the dialogue instead of anticipating it. Thomas Newman's music enhances rather than informs, and there is a subtle touch in the way deep bass rumblings during the early murder are reprised when a young prisoner recalls another man's description of the crime.

Darabont constructs the film to observe the story, not to punch it up or upstage it. Upstaging, in fact, is unknown in this film; the actors are content to stay within their roles, the story moves in an orderly way, and the film itself reflects the slow passage of the decades. "When they put you in that cell," Red says, "when those bars slam home, that's when you know it's for real. Old life blown away in the blink of an eye. Nothing left but all the time in the world to think about it." Watching the film again, I admired it even more than the first time I saw it. Affection for good films often grows with familiarity, as it does with music. Some have said life is a prison, we are Red, Andy is our redeemer. All good art is about something deeper than it admits.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

142 minutes

Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne

Bob Gunton as Warden Norton

William Sadler as Heywood

James Whitmore as Librarian

Clancy Brown as Captain Hadley

Gil Bellows as Tommy

• Frank Darabont

Writer (short story "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption")

• Stephen King

Cinematographer

• Roger Deakins
• Richard Francis-Bruce
• Thomas Newman

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The Shawshank Redemption as Philosophy: Freedom and Panopticism

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Since its release in 1994, The Shawshank Redemption has gradually emerged as a classic work of art according to movie critics and fans. It has been the subject of conferences and books, as well as a tourist attraction in Mansfield, Ohio. Based on a novella by Stephen King, the movie takes place mostly in a prison for serious convicts such as murderers and violent thugs. The conditions are fairly harsh. The warden and guards have few reservations in pummeling the convicts or placing them in solitary confinement. Killing an inmate and burying him anonymously in the prison grounds does happen.

There are several philosophical lessons presented by this movie (and the novella). The drama and cruelties of prison life highlight moments of friendship and hope. They also depict moments of hell and ask whether prison is merely a darker microcosm of everyday society. This chapter addresses these points through two philosophical lenses. One is from existentialism as found in the writings of Jean-Paul Sartre. The second is from genealogy as presented in the work of Michel Foucault.

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Bierce, Ambrose. 1911. The Devil’s dictionary . New York: Thomas Crowell.

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Camporesi, Piero. 1991. The fear of hell, trans. L. Byatt. The Pennsylvania State University Press.

Dawidziak, Mark. 2019. The Shawshank redemption revealed . Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

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———. 2000. Power , part of series The essential works of Foucault, 1954–1984. Ed. James D. Faubion, trans. Robert Hurley and others. New York: The New Press.

Gros, Federic. 2015. The philosophy of walking , trans. John Howe. London: Verso.

Kermode, Mark. 2003. The Shawshank redemption . London: British Film Institute.

King, Stephen. 1983. “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,” under Hope Springs Eternal. In Different seasons . New York: Signet.

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Nietzsche, Friedrich. 1961. Thus Spoke Zarathustra , trans. R. J. Hollingdale. England: Penguin.

———. 1967. On the genealogy of morals , trans. Walter Kaufmann. New York: Vintage.

Sartre, Jean-Paul. 1948. No exit, trans. Stuart Gilber. New York: Vintage.

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———. 1975. Existentialism is a humanism. In Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre , ed. Walter Kaufmann. New York: Meridian.

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Hooke, A.E. (2021). The Shawshank Redemption as Philosophy: Freedom and Panopticism. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Popular Culture as Philosophy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97134-6_62-1

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Film Analysis: The Shawshank Redemption Essay

Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 film which stars Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman and is based on Stephen King’s novelette Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption .

Log line: the film chronicles a young banker’s prison sentence which he is serving for the murder of his wife and his wife’s lover and his eventual escape from prison.

Protagonist: the protagonists of the film are Andrew “Andy” Dufresne and Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding.

The major theme: perseverance is the major theme in the film. This is evidenced by the lengthy periods of time that Andy takes to meet his goals; from small goals like getting books for the library to his major goal of escaping prison.

Inciting incident: the event that sets the story rolling is the sentencing of Andy Dufresne to two life sentences to be served back to back in Shawshank State Prison.

Forces against them: major forces against the protagonists are the prison administration and the changes that come with life in prison. The prison guards are especially brutal towards the prisoners and do not respect the prisoners’ rights.

Act structure: the film has a 3 act structure. The first act covers Andy’s trial, his introduction to prison life and his initial interaction with Red, Brooks, Heywood and “The Sisters”. Act two covers Andy’s tribulations brought on him by “The Sisters”, his time doing taxes for the guards, Andy laundering money for Warden Norton, Red developing a friendship with Andy, the release and suicide of Brooks and the murder of Tommy by the warden. Act three comprises Andy’s escape, Red being released on parole and the two of them meeting in Zihuatanejo as Andy had planned.

Act climaxes: the climax of the first act is Andy getting sentenced to two life sentences to be served back to back. The climax that ends the second act is the death of Tommy after he is shot by Captain Hadley and the climax of the entire film is Andy and Red meeting in Zihuatanejo.

Complications: the first complication is Andy’s encounters with “The Sisters” who are a prison gang that rapes and beats Andy. The second complication is Warden Norton’s unwillingness to let Andy appeal his case.

Physical symbol: Zihuatanejo is an island in the Pacific Ocean and it is a symbol of hope and freedom in the movie. The Pacific Ocean in this film is used as a symbol too. Andy regards the Ocean as having no memory and this is a symbol of him leaving behind the past and having a fresh start, free of his past.

A moment that shows character through action: Andy is calculating and this trait is clearly shown in the scene where he is explaining how he launders Warden Norton’s money using accounts in the name of someone who only exists in his imagination. After escaping prison Andy uses the identity he created to withdraw the money he was laundering for Warden Norton.

Interesting narrative techniques: the story of Brooks is a subplot in the main plot that supports Red’s hopelessness about getting out of prison but juxtaposes Andy’s hope that he will one day leave prison.

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Every Stephen King Movie Ranked, From Worst To Best

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• Warden Norton abuses religious power, using it to justify his cruelty and control over the prisoners. (Regarded as hypocritical)
• Andy's quiet strength and hope in an unlikely place surprises Red and challenges the inmates' perspective. (Andy stands out)
• Andy's persistence and friendship lead to the creation of a proper library in prison, a significant achievement. (Andy made the library happen)

Regarded by many as one of the best movies of all time, the best The Shawshank Redemption quotes have stayed with audiences over the years . Adapted from a Stephen King story and directed by Frank Darabont, The Shawshank Redemption follows Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) who is imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit and attempts to hold onto hope inside the walls of the prison while forming a bond with fellow inmate Red (Morgan Freeman). The movie was a box office flop, but its lasting legacy, including the best The Shawshank Redemption quotes, has made it a classic.

Though The Shawshank Redemption takes place inside a brutal and corrupt prison, it is a surprisingly inspiring story and the most memorable quotes speak to that. From Morgan Freeman's iconic narration as Red to Andy's ability to hold onto hope in an unlikely place to the touching friendship at the center of the movie, these are the best The Shawshank Redemption quotes that have stood the test of time.

Stephen King is one of the most adapted authors of all time, and the bestselling horror writer has over 50 movies released to his name.

25 "I Believe In Two Things: Discipline And The Bible. Here You’ll Receive Both."

Warden norton (bob gunton).

Abuse of religious power is a fascinating theme that's often found in Stephen King's stories. From the moment that he introduces himself, Warden Norton makes his hypocrisy and his cruelty clear. He preaches the importance of religion and learning to trust and obey the higher powers of religion. At the same time, the warden wants the prisoners to treat him as if he is equal to the higher powers of religion . If the prisoners do anything that the warden does not like, he will punish them. He does not view them as human and views them as property with which he will do as he pleases. Religion is merely a tool he uses for his cruelty and selfish agenda.

24 "That First Night In The Joint, Andy Dufrense Cost Me Two Packs Of Cigarettes. He Never Made A Sound."

Red (morgan freeman).

When a new group of inmates arrives, Red and his fellow prisoners bet on who will be the first to break down during their first night. Red thinks Andy seems fragile and that he " looked like a stiff breeze would blow him over ." Even though Red is usually a good judge of character, he soon realizes he was mistaken, as Red loses the bet and loses the cigarettes he wagered. Andy does not make a sound all night, proving he is more than the fragile individual Red thought . After countless inmates come and go in Shawshank over the years, Andy stands out to him as a surprising person whom he cannot quite pin down. It is the first hint of the connection these two men will share.

23 "... Like He Had On An Invisible Coat That Would Shield Him From This Place."

Many of the inmates thought Andy had an air of superiority around him. When Andy asks Red for a rock hammer, and they have a conversation, Red begins to understand who Andy is and why he acts the way he does. Red sees Andy is not a haughty individual trying to be aloof. Andy is a more reserved and thoughtful individual with a quiet, powerful strength inside of him. Though Andy enters Shawshank as a young man , he enters prison holding onto a piece of the outside and the hope that he will make it beyond those walls. The reason he seems like such an unusual creature to Red and the other inmates is that "hope" is not something they often see in Shawshank.

22 "Yeah, I Think It'd Be Fair To Say I Liked Andy From The Start."

Though Red is confused by Andy's strange demeanor when he arrives at Shawshank, it does not take long for him to warm up to the new inmate. During their first conversation, it is clear Red is still sizing Andy up, keeping him at a distance, challenging him in a way cons have to do, and admitting that he has yet to decide what kind of person Andy is. When the conversation is done, Red admits he immediately took a liking to Andy. The friendship between Red and Andy is one of the most beautiful and heartwarming in movie history. The fact that, within the tough and hostile environment of prison, Red was able to see something in Andy is admitted adds to the charm.

21 "Maybe It's Because I'm Irish."

The reason Morgan Freeman's character is named Red in Shawshank Redemption is subtly revealed in the parole scenes with the character when his full name is revealed to be Ellis Boyd Redding. However, one of the funniest lines in the movie comes when Andy asks Red about the origin of his name, to which Red suggests his Irish heritage as the meaning . It is a funny moment as it seems unlikely Red is Irish and the way he considers it seems like he never thought to question it before. Of course, it is also possible to read it as another moment of humanity being lost behind the prison walls as Red has forgotten the man he was before being sent to Shawshank.

20 "We Trust This Will Fill Your Needs. We Now Consider The Matter Closed. Please Stop Sending Us Letters."

Andy dufresne (tim robbins).

For six years, Andy wrote a letter a week asking for books and other library materials to be donated to the prison. After six years, Andy finally got a response, along with many books and other materials. Part of the response letter is hilarious, as the tone is formal and professional, yet they are aggravated with the weekly letters Andy has been sending. Unable to ignore him any longer, they give in and provide what he asked for, not out of generosity or sympathy, but to get the letters to stop. Having the resources necessary to build a proper library--especially one in honor of Brooks--is a wonderful thing that Andy made happen through his persistence and one of the movie's highlights.

19 "Only Guilty Man In Shawshank."

When Andy first meets Red, he tells him that he is innocent of murdering his wife, only for Red to explain that every man in the prison is innocent . This is obviously a joke to show how unwilling the other inmates are to admit to their crimes. However, when he finally gets to know Andy, Red calls himself the only guilty man in Shawshank. Red fully admits to the murder he committed as a young man and his guilt has stayed with him all these years. However, it is through his friendship with Andy that Red learns that he is being punished for his crime, but it doesn't mean he has to punish himself for the rest of his life.

18 "I Tell You Those Voices Soared Higher And Farther Than Anybody In A Gray Place Dares To Dream."

One of the most beautiful and meaningful scenes of the whole film comes when Andy gives his fellow inmates a brief respite from their caged lives. Andy was a model prisoner which meant he earned certain privileges the others did not have. While in the warden's office, he locked the guard in the bathroom and played opera on the speakers in the prison for everyone to hear. It made everything else fade away for the prisoners and gave them a moment of blissful freedom. It is another example of the strange and unfamiliar quality that Andy brought to the prison with his ideals that these prisoners were allowed to feel human even while serving their sentences.

17 "That’s The Beauty Of Music. They Can’t Get That From You."

After Andy's moment of rebellion where he played opera for the entire prison, he is, of course, punished for his malfeasance. So once he has completed his time in solitary and sees his friend, Red, again, he explains to him just why he did it. This quote is his response, and he further explains that it has everything to do with hope, which is a huge theme of the entire film. Andy's hope can't be taken away from him by the prison, which is exactly what the music represents.

16 "Hope Can Be A Dangerous Thing."

Though they share a strong friendship, Andy and Red are very different people in many ways. The key difference is in how they view their time in prison. From the moment Andy is inside, he is thinking about life on the outside and that he will one day be able to return to it. Red pushes back against that sentiment and even suggests that having hope is a dangerous thing, as the more a man in Shawshank thinks about life on the outside, the more life on the inside becomes unbearable.

15 "Salvation Lies Within."

Before recruiting Andy to deal with his own money laundering schemes, Warden Norton takes the opportunity to understand Andy a little more by inspecting his cell. He is pleased to see that Andy still has the bible that Norton gave him on his first day. When handing it back to Andy, he says that " salvation lies within ." The line initially seems like more of Norton's hypocrisy but given that it is later revealed that the rock hammer Andy is using to tunnel out is hidden inside the bible, it is also a brilliant bit of foreshadowing to The Shawshank Redemption 's ending .

14 "How Can You Be So Obtuse?"

When new information reveals that Andy is innocent of his crimes in The Shawshank Redemption , he shares the story with the warden. Despite how much Andy has helped both the warden and the prison, the warden refuses to help Andy. Andy's simple question " How can you be so obtuse? " enrages the warden, causing him to send Andy to solitary confinement for a month. Most people would shout at the warden for being stupid and awful in this situation, but only Andy Dufresne would ask why the warden is being obtuse . Andy is not only intelligent; he is brave, will stand up for himself, and will not meekly concede to the warden's tyranny.

13 "I Like To Think The Last Thing That Went Through His Head Other Than That Bullet…"

In a movie about convicted felons, Warden Norton makes for a truly detestable villain. However, the cruelty and corruption he inflicts on the inmates, and especially Andy makes it all the more satisfying when he gets his comeuppance. Not only did Andy's escape make Norton look like a fool , but Andy went on to expose his crimes. When the authorities come for him, Norton kills himself and Red's narration takes glee at the villain's death and satisfaction that his last thoughts were of Andy defeating him.

12 "That’s Where I Want To Live The Rest Of My Life — A Warm Place With No Memory."

Most prisoners have a dream of what they will do or would do if they get out of prison one day. So, of course, Andy had a very specific dream of his own should that happen for him, and it had to do with the Pacific. Even though Andy is innocent of his crimes , he is a man filled with guilt over the way he lived his life before. The fact that he seeks out a place with "no memory" speaks to him wanting to put his past, including his time in Shawshank, behind him and start a new life free from those memories.

11 "Every Man Has His Breaking Point."

The shocking death of Tommy in The Shawshank Redemption is a turning point for Andy. Not only was his friend murdered, but it also signifies that Norton will go to drastic lengths to ensure that Andy never leaves Shawshank . Red sees this moment as a breaking point for Andy, and it is in many ways. But instead of Red's fears that Andy would lose hope, Andy instead uses his hope to break out of prison.

10 "They Send You Here For Life, And That's Exactly What They Take."

Watching The Shawshank Redemption , it's hard not to imagine being put into a situation like life imprisonment. It's possibly one of the worst things that can happen to a person, knowing that they'll never again set foot outside the prison walls. It speaks directly to the character of Brooks in The Shawshank Redemption as well as even as he is released, he cannot escape. After a life behind bars, he doesn't know how to make a life outside of them .

9 "I’m Telling You, These Walls Are Funny."

Despite the horrors and cruelty the prisoners face, a big part of the film's story is how the convicts in Shawshank have become so used to the idea of being in prison, that they can't really remember life outside of it. At one point in the film, Red refers to the fact that prison life is all about routine , and for the prisoners of Shawshank, life has just become a routine of getting through one day and living to see the next one.

8 "Bad Luck, I Guess. It Floats Around."

There is something poetic and philosophical about this line that really rings true. The line, like much of the dialogue from the film, is plucked almost directly from Stephen King's original novella , Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption , and it shows. This is exactly the kind of dialogue that King excels at. It's folksy, but there is an air of darkness to it, a lingering sort of melancholy about how, even though the events that put Andy in Shawshank are seemingly random, it still felt like he was singled out as all of that bad luck was meant for him and him alone.

7 "The World Went And Got Itself In A Big Damn Hurry."

Brooks (james whitmore).

One of the most endearing characters from the entire film is Brooks, the kindly old librarian who, by the time Andy arrives, has spent roughly 50 years behind Shawshank's walls . He's the first character the audience sees being released back into the world, and for a man who went away in the 1900s, the world looks very different. Seeing Brooks's life on the outside, coupled with the letter he sends to the guys still in prison, gives the audience an idea of the obstacles still awaiting any of them, even once they are free. This line perfectly sums up the way the world changes fast, even if people don't always think it does.

6 "The Funny Thing Is, On The Outside, I Was An Honest Man."

Andy Dufresne goes into Shawshank as an honest and law-abiding man, even if the state doesn't think he is, but it's inside the walls where he really learns how to be a criminal. He takes on the task of laundering the warden's dirty money, making sure that the government never has any clue . Of course, this all comes in handy once Andy makes his escape, and he has an available alias with several bank accounts in his name. Of course, the audience can forgive him for those crimes.

• The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

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Institutionalized: The Ever-Current Condition of the Formerly Incarcerated

By Maggie Clark

Published: July 31, 2022

Widely considered one of the greatest films of all time, The Shawshank Redemption is a timeless tale of hope, friendship, justice, and power. While the film ultimately acts as a beautiful display of almost unrealistic hope, it is also extremely harrowing in its depiction of life both within and beyond the walls of Shawshank Prison. Prison violence and the deterioration of mind are certainly important perpetuations of this horror, but perhaps the most depressing yet simultaneously terrifying aspect is the effects of the institutional nature of the prison on its inhabitants. Throughout the film, the idea of becoming institutionalized is always on the mind of its characters, and is an especially prominent theme upon the release of one of the oldest prisoners, Brooks. After he is released from Shawshank, Brooks is thrown into a world that continuously developed without him, thus leaving him behind. He gets a job at a grocery store, but faces constant criticism and extreme loneliness. He contemplates committing a crime in order to send himself back to prison, but ultimately decides to commit suicide. Upon receiving a letter from Brooks detailing his pain outside of Shawshank and his plan to end his life, some of the prisoners condemn his actions. On the other hand, Red, one of the main characters of the movie, sympathizes with his old friend, saying, "These walls are funny. First you hate them, then you get used to them. After long enough, you get so you depend on them. That is ‘institutionalized’” ( The Shawshank Redemption ) . In this quote, Red’s recognition of the reality of the prisoners’ reliance on the structural nature of Shawshank becomes clear. When Red is released, he works at the same grocery store at which Brooks works, in which his manager must tell him that he does not need permission to use the bathroom. Red explains that he cannot physically use the bathroom without asking permission, thus demonstrating the dependency on order and institution which he attained during his imprisonment. This scene, in addition to the death of Brooks, are two concrete illustrations of institutionalization for the characters of the film.

Even though The Shawshank Redemption is a work of fiction, the issue of institutionalization is not. Institutionalization, or “the process by which inmates are shaped and transformed by the institutional environments in which they live,” is a byproduct of imprisonment that has affected and continues to affect the currently and the formerly incarcerated all over the world (Haney). It is institutionalization that creates the dependency experienced not only by the fictional characters of the fictional Shawshank prison, but also in the real lives of real people. Therefore, institutionalization’s imposing effects on the lives of prisoners begs the following question: can former prisoners truly “get busy living” or does institutionalization force them to “get busy dying” after being released ( The Shawshank Redemption) ? Prison institutionalization–an unfortunately intrinsic part of the United States prison system–has detrimental psychological effects on current and former prisoners, thus also harming the communities to which they must re-adjust and therefore requiring a rehabilitative solution.

In general terms, institutionalization is described as “the process by which inmates are shaped and transformed by the institutional environments in which they live'' (Wymore and Raber). This does not only apply to the lives of people while they are in an institution. Rather, it also applies to their lives when they leave the institution of which they were a part. This is because the dependency created through being institutionalized has lasting consequences for the mental health and well-being of those who are institutionalized. While institutionalization can occur in any institutional environment–schools, the military, mental hospitals, among others–one of the most severe cases of this phenomenon occurs in prisons due to the strict, punishment-focused nature of prisons. It is important to note that “Prisons do not, in general, make people ‘crazy’", but still manage to cause “psychological harm” that can, in turn, negatively affect not only prisoners, but also the communities to which they return (Haney 5). This means that, in most cases, institutionalization does not make reintegration into society impossible. Even so, it still often remains a difficult process of transition for many prisoners.

One of the biggest obstacles for prisoners to overcome upon release is a dependency on the structure of a prison: “prisoners may adjust to the muting of self-initiative and independence that prison requires and become increasingly dependent on institutional contingencies that they once resisted” (Haney 7). This means that since prisons take away their freedom, prisoners often become dependent on the order that the prison provides. This order only comes from the taking of freedom–the epitome of what the modern prison system has become. In terms of institutionalization, this lack of freedom for a prolonged period of time leads former prisoners to feel a lack of direction or a sense of being overwhelmed after they are released. From this order and punishment also comes distrust among inmates while they are in prison. Prisons are generally dangerous places where prisoners must be “ever-alert for signs of threat or personal risk” (Haney 7). Because of this, prisoners often cannot trust the other prisoners with whom they live. After being released from prison, this distrust often leaks into their lives in the outside world. This has the possibility of creating a sense of isolation and a lack of connection with those around them within and outside of prison. Self-isolation often results from this since “some prisoners learn to find safety in social invisibility by becoming as inconspicuous and unobtrusively disconnected from others as possible” (Haney 9). This indicates that, while in prison, many prisoners adapt to the nature of prison by socially disappearing in order to protect themselves. Again, since they are so used to this condition while incarcerated, released prisoners often face this sense of social withdrawal and isolation outside of the structured, dangerous institution of the prison. Finally, the intensity of the prison–as shown through its danger and taking of freedom–often causes post-traumatic stress in prisoners (Haney 11). Personal history can contribute to this, but the additional stress of being in prison can exacerbate it. As with the other psychological effects described, this stress can also affect everyday life after prison, making readjustment more difficult. Thus, through all of these psychological effects, it becomes clear that this process damages not only the lives of prisoners within prisons, but also within the communities to which they so desperately need to readjust. These effects inhibit this readjustment, therefore also harming those same communities. This is because self-isolation and distrust hinder relationship development between the formerly incarcerated and those around them.

Of all of the psychological consequences of institutionalization in the prison system, one of the most serious is an adverse ramification on Future Time Perspective for inmates. Future Time Perspective is the amount/quality of life an individual sees themself having left to live. Since Future Time Perspective is a measurement of one’s view of their future, a life-altering prison sentence adversely affects it. Simha Landau, a researcher from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, found in his study that “prisoners plan for shorter periods ahead than soldiers” and “...the closer the subjects are to their release, the shorter the range of their future time perspective” (Landau 29-31). The fact that this Future Time Perspective shortens near an inmate’s release indicates that prisoners understand their institutionalization and the idea that they will face many struggles in their re-adjustment to society.

In the study, Landau compares institutionalized delinquents to those of other institutions (such as the military) and found that those who are imprisoned have a shorter Future Time Perspective, indicating that not only does institutionalization in general have a negative effect, but that the institution of the prison has this same result. As shown in Figure 1, institutionalized delinquents have the lowest Future Time Perspective (1.548 years) of all other groups (Landau 29). This demonstrates that imprisonment in relation to institutionalization negatively affects Future Time Perspective. Thus, prison institutionalization creates a lack of optimism for the future for both the currently and formerly incarcerated. It is unlikely that, after becoming institutionalized, prisoners can see a life for themselves outside the walls of the prison, as evident from Landeau’s study. In another study, various inmates were interviewed about their view of life after incarceration. One prisoner said, “I can't function on myself. I have to be told what to do, how to do it, when to do it” (Crane, Pascoe 316). This, and the rest of the study, in addition to Landau’s study, demonstrate the severity of institutionalization and that prisoners are aware of the institutionalization that has occurred to them. Their generally pessimistic Future Time Perspectives likely contribute to this since they measure prisoners’ life quality. If a prisoner becomes institutionalized, it is likely that they do not have a vision or hope for their future, causing this fear of re-acclimation.

In addition to these psychological consequences, time in prison also causes the formerly incarcerated to be more prone to committing suicide. In fact, the suicide rate for the formerly incarcerated in Sweden was found to be 18 times greater than that of the general population.

Furthermore, as demonstrated in Figure 2, this suicide rate is higher for the formerly incarcerated who are within a year of their release than that of those who are within two years, which is higher than the suicide rate of those who are within three years of release, and so on (Haglund et al.). The fact that institutionalization causes an immediate shock to this population upon their immediate release back into society contributes to this decreasing rate. Over the years, prisoners are more likely to adapt to society and become less dependent on the structure of the prison as an institution, thus causing their Future Time Perspective to increase and therefore decrease the suicide rate of that population. Overall, however, this data demonstrates that institutionalization has detrimental effects on the mental health of prisoners, especially right after their release from prison. This institutionalization is not only harmful to prisoners, but it also causes harm to the prisoners’ communities; by committing suicide, they take themselves, their talents, and their potential away from their communities.

On a larger scale, mass incarceration is a development that plagues the criminal justice system and thus also contributes to a prisoner’s institutionalization. In the United States, mass incarceration has become an increasingly large systemic issue–with rates increasing by about 500% since 1970 (“Criminal Justice Facts”). Clearly, the prison system has grown immensely in the country, especially in recent years. In theory, these prisons are meant to keep communities around the country safer and happier. However, in practice, due to such high incarceration rates, the prison system ultimately harms these communities due to the fact that not only are many people wrongly incarcerated, but they are also incarcerated for immense amounts of time. In this way, prisons harm communities since they take large portions of the lives of their prisoners and institutionalize them in a way that they are unable to adapt back to their communities upon release.

Until the 1970s (which is also when mass incarceration began to increase so greatly), there was more of a focus on rehabilitation in the prison system. At this time, “Prisoners were encouraged to develop occupational skills and to resolve psychological problems--such as substance abuse or aggression-–that might interfere with their reintegration into society” (Benson). The institutions of the time focused more on the well-being of prisoners. Because of this, the prison system benefitted not only its prisoners, but also the communities it supposedly sought to better. This is due to the fact that prisoners would leave prison with skills and with assistance that would allow them to have a better re-adjustment to their society, allowing them to become better citizens in their communities. However, in terms of the current prison system, this is not the case. Today, with the prison system’s size, there is less ability to focus on mental health rehabilitative services. While many prisons have mental health services, they often do not have an adequate amount to truly be effective due to the reality of mass incarceration. Without these rehabilitative services, “When released...[prisoners] have few of the social or occupational skills necessary to succeed in the outside world” (Benson). This demonstrates that as prisons have brought punishment to the forefront of their services, there has been an increased sense of institutionalization of the prisoners. This focus on punishment can be due to the fact that there are so many more people living in prisons and therefore needing their services. This causes the quality and quantity of rehabilitative service for prisoners to decline or be spread too thinly. A solution to the problem of institutionalization would be a decrease in mass incarceration. With fewer people incarcerated, prisons would be able to better-focus their resources on a smaller group of people, thus allowing prisoners to receive better treatment and to increase their chances of becoming the productive members of society that the prison system should theoretically intend to make them.

Not only is institutionalization a criminal justice issue, but it is also a racial justice one. Even though institutionalization itself does not discriminate, as it is a natural, psychological process, the prison system of the United States does. This is because racism in the criminal justice system exists due to incarceration, which is on what institutionalization depends. “As of 2001, one of every three black boys born in that year could expect to go to prison in his lifetime, as could one of every six Latinos—compared to one of every seventeen white boys” (Porter and Ghandnoosh). This is especially jarring considering the fact that Black Americans and Latino Americans make up only 13.4% and 18.5% of the United States’ population respectively (“U.S. Census Bureau”). The incarceration rate of these groups, in combination with the proportion of the population that they represent, indicates that imprisonment disproportionately affects them, thus demonstrating the problem of racism in the criminal justice system. Because of this, institutionalization also disproportionately affects these populations due to the fact that more people from these populations are incarcerated and therefore face the problem of institutionalization. Not only are people of color more likely to be incarcerated than white people, they are also more likely to receive longer prison sentences. In fact, Black men are likely to be given a sentence that is 20% longer than a white man’s sentence for the same crime (Ingraham). In terms of institutionalization, the fact that the sentences of Black men are longer than white men means that Black men face a more severe dependency on the prison structure because a lengthier sentence indicates an increase in institutionalization: “Incarcerated people and their advocates have long argued that lengthy sentences, in particular life without parole, constitute a form of death by incarceration” (Crane and Pascoe). Because of the racism of the criminal justice system in general, people of color, and specifically Black men, are more likely to be affected by this “death by incarceration” than white people. This indicates that institutionalization–being an issue of criminal justice–is also one of racial justice due to its disproportionate alteration of the lives of people of color.

With all of the evidently negative impacts of institutionalization on both prisoners and on their communities, one must wonder whether or not there exists a solution to the problem. Since the prison system is such a vast, complex structure, there are indeed many solutions to the problem of institutionalization. Broadly speaking, a decrease in mass incarceration would help solve this issue. As already mentioned, mass incarceration has caused rehabilitative services to be spread too thinly among the increasingly large prison population. There are a lot of factors and changes that can contribute to this necessary decrease in mass incarceration. One such solution is not giving prison time for lower-level crimes (smaller drug-related crimes, smaller cases of theft, etc.). Instead, first-time offenders of these crimes can be put on probation, be given access to mental health or addiction services, or be given community service requirements. This would help decrease the number of people in prison substantially since so many of the people in prison are there due to these less-severe crimes. Another potential solution to mass incarceration is decreasing prison sentences. This would allow current prisoners to be released more quickly, thus allowing the prison population to decrease. Additionally, the decreasing of these sentences would lessen the intensity of their dependency on the prison.

Apart from decreasing mass incarceration, there are some other, smaller-scale solutions to institutionalization. Fortunately, some of these solutions have already been implemented in prisons around the United States. An example of this is Tim Robbins’ (who plays Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption) Actor’s Gang Prison Project. This program consists of Robbins and many other Hollywood actors traveling to prisons around the state of California and giving acting lessons. Robbins says, “We’re starting to get some very encouraging numbers as far as recidivism and in a reduction in violent offenses within prison. And we’ve had wardens tell us that it’s changed the culture of prison” (Reed). This is due to the fact that through acting, prisoners learn to better-express and better-control their emotions. In terms of institutionalization, programs such as this one help to mitigate the emotional isolation and distrust that many prisoners may face. This is because this program helps make prisons safer and also helps prisoners to establish connections with one another.

Another potential solution to institutionalization is making available community college classes in prisons. In classes, prisoners can learn valuable skills and earn degrees to make them more likely to attain better career possibilities after their imprisonment. Additionally, these prisoners can also become more familiar with the society from which they have become separated, thus making the process of reintegration an easier one. Like the case with the Actor’s Gang Prison Project, some prisons around the United States have already begun to implement this solution into their rehabilitative services. An example of this exists in Dayton, Ohio, in which women in the Dayton Correctional Institute have the opportunity to take classes at Sinclair Community College. These women can “learn the types of skills employers demand of workers in middle-skill professions” (Smith). This indicates that through this education, the women are more likely to succeed on the outside of the prison, thus reducing the negative effects of institutionalization. This kind of programming would likely require some sort of state or federal funding to become more largely effective, since currently, most prisoners must pay for college classes themselves (Smith). With that said, however, it would be an extremely beneficial concept in which to invest. This is because education can only enhance the communities to which the prisoners return, as not only has it been proven to reduce rates of recidivism, but it also brings people into the workforce and thus into service to the community that they would have otherwise been unable to reach. In fact, a 2013 study from RAND found that taxpayers actually “save $5 for every $1 spent on prison education” through reducing recidivism (Smith). This shows that a decrease of institutionalization by means of community college benefits the prisoners themselves, taxpayers, and society.

Institutionalization is an issue that has unfortunately become essential to what it means to be a current or former prisoner in the United States. It has revealed itself to be as intrinsically related to the prison system as mass incarceration, and thus requires some solution so that former prisoners can become more easily acclimated to life outside of the walls on which they are forced to grow dependent. This solution is ever necessary as mass incarceration and racism in the criminal justice system remain pressing issues within the United States. All in all, because of the institutional nature of this prison structure, Red is unfortunately correct in saying: “They send you here for life, that’s exactly what they take” ( The Shawshank Redemption).

Works Cited

Benson, Etienne. “Rehabilitate or Punish?” Monitor on Psychology , American Psychological Association, vol. 34, no. 7, 2003, p. 46,   https://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug03/rehab .

Crane, Johanna T., and Kelsey Pascoe. “Becoming Institutionalized: Incarceration as a Chronic Health Condition.” Medical Anthropology Quarterly , vol. 35, no. 3, 2020, pp. 307–326, https://doi.org/10.1111/maq.12621 .

“Criminal Justice Facts.” The Sentencing Project , 3 June 2021, https://www.sentencingproject.org/criminal-justice-facts/ .

Haney, Craig. “The Psychological Impact of Incarceration: Implications for Post-Prison  Adjustment.” The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation , 30 Nov. 2001, https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/psychological-impact-incarceration-implications-post-prison-adjustment-0 .

Haglund, Tidemalm, D., et al. "Suicide After Release From Prison: A Population-Based Cohort Study From Sweden." The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry , vol. 75, no. 10, 2014 pp. 1047–1053. https://doi.org/10.4088/JCP.13m08967 .

Ingraham, Christopher. “Black Men Sentenced to More Time for Committing the Exact Same Crime as a White Person, Study Finds.” The Washington Post , WP Company, 24 Nov. 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/11/16/black-men-sentenced-to-more-time-for-committing-the-exact-same-crime-as-a-white-person-study-finds/ .

Landau, Simha F. "Future Time Perspective of Delinquents and Non-Delinquents: The Effect of Institutionalization." Criminal Justice and Behavior, vol. 2, no. 1, 1975, p. 22-36, https://heinonline-org.proxy.library.nd.edu/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/crmjusbhv2&i=23

Porter, Nicole D., and Nazgol Ghandnoosh. “Report to the United Nations on Racial Disparities in the U.S. Criminal Justice System.” The Sentencing Project ,  2018,  https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/un-report-on-racial-disparities/ .

Reed, Josephine. “The Actor's Gang Prison Project Makes a Difference.” National Endowment for the Arts , National Endowment for the Arts, 2016, https://www.arts.gov/actorshttps://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/un-report-on-racial-disparities/ .

Smith, Ashley A. “Momentum for Prison Education.” Inside Higher Ed , Inside Higher Ed, 6 Nov. 2018, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/11/06/colleges-push-more-resources-support-prison-education-programs.

The Shawshank Redemption. Directed by Frank Darabont, Castle Rock Entertainment, 1994.

“U.S. Census Bureau Quickfacts: United States.” U.S. Census Bureau , U.S. Census, 2019,  https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219 .

Wymore, Dave, and Tabitha Raber. Institutionalization of Inmates in Correctional Facilities. Taft College, 4 May 2021, https://workforce.libretexts.org/@go/page/15859 .

Maggie Clark

Maggie Clark is a member of the Class of 2025 originally from Cleveland, Ohio. At Notre Dame, she majors in Accountancy and English. Maggie was initially inspired to research the topic of prison institutionalization by her favorite film, The Shawshank Redemption. In her essay, Maggie looks at how institutionalization has developed historically and how it presents itself in a current prison system characterized by issues of racism, mass incarceration, and a lack of proper rehabilitative services. She calls for a solution which respects the humanity of the formerly incarcerated through assistance in acclimation back to a society that has perhaps otherwise left them behind. Maggie would like to thank her Writing and Rhetoric professor, Aaron Bremyer, for all of his support and guidance throughout the research and writing process.

The Shawshank Redemption

By frank darabont, the shawshank redemption essay questions.

Why does Brooks kill himself?

After 50 years in Shawshank, Brooks gets parole and is released into the real world. While this seems like the ultimate relief after 50 years in prison, it proves to be more of a curse than a blessing for the old man. After 50 years of carving out an identity in prison, one that is completely divorced from society and its ever-changing standards, Brooks is overwhelmed to come back to a world filled with automobiles and devoid of community. As Red explains to Andy, in prison, Brooks was an educated and respected man, but in the real world, he is a nobody. Brooks suffers horrific anxiety and depression due to the crushing pressures of society, and ends up killing himself as a result.

How does Andy get back at Norton?

Andy orchestrates the perfect revenge on the corrupt warden, Norton, in the midst of an already-perfect escape. Before he leaves, he steals Norton's shoes, Bible, and financial files, swapping in his own shoes and Bible in exchange. Once out of the prison, Andy takes out nearly all of the money that Norton had laundered with his help, and in the process leaks information about Norton's corruption to the authorities. Meanwhile, he escapes to Mexico with a fake passport, just as Norton opens his Bible to see that Andy has swapped it out, and had been secreting his escape tool away in it this whole time. Forced into a corner, facing arrest and humiliation, Norton kills himself.

Why does the Warden have Tommy killed?

Tommy is shot down on orders by Norton because he knows that Andy didn't kill his wife. If Andy is freed, Norton knows that he will no longer have his chief financial advisor by his side to sweeten his money-laundering scheme. As a way of putting the revelation of Andy's innocence to bed, Norton destroys the only source that could prove it, Tommy. It proves that Norton does not care about justice, only his own personal gain.

What lesson does Andy teach his friends after getting released from solitary?

Andy is placed in solitary confinement for some time after playing the music over the loudspeakers. When he is released, he is upset, but his spirit is not broken. The men question how he could maintain his sense of self in the midst of such a demoralizing scenario, and he tells them that he kept music in his head for the entirety of his confinement. By extolling the virtues of music, Andy teaches them that every individual has the capacity to create their own reality and to protect a part of themselves, even in the face of dehumanization. He protected the inner part of himself that loves and appreciates music, and this kept him going through the darkest moments of confinement.

In what ways is Andy a religious figure?

While Andy does not appear to be a devoutly religious man in a formal sense, his behavior suggests a highly-developed spiritual life. He is generous in sometimes unthinkable ways, such as when he strikes a deal with Hadley to get the men working on tarring the roof cold beers, but then does not partake himself. He is also very determined and meticulous, as evidenced in his renovation of the library, his commitment to educating the inmates, and his slow and steady escape from the prison. In many ways, Andy is an almost mystical person, able to remain calm in the most difficult situations and to find access to his own inner sense of purpose even when those in power have told him he has none. In this way, he represents an almost Christ-like collectedness, and serves as an embodiment of goodness and grace.

The Shawshank Redemption Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Shawshank Redemption is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

What item in Andy cell represents his character

Rocks, crystals, and concrete represent Andy Dufresne's persistence, which he uses to survive the prison environment and nspire others.

What caused the whole prison to come back to life in 1967

Andy's escape was in 1966 so I think you might be meaning that.

List three things Red suggests slowed Andy down in breaking through the wall.

I don't recall Red trying to slow Andy down.

Study Guide for The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption study guide contains a biography of Frank Darabont, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Shawshank Redemption
• The Shawshank Redemption Summary
• Character List
• Director's Influence

Essays for The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Shawshank Redemption by Frank Darabont.

• Receiving Redemption: The Transformative Power of Hope
• Ropes of Oppression: Escaping the Noose
• How Journeys Challenge and Broaden Understanding of the World: "Father and Child," "Spring Hall," and The Shawshank Redemption
• Shawshank: The Injustices of the Justice System
• Patience and Persistence: Andy Dufresne’s Long Game

Wikipedia Entries for The Shawshank Redemption

• Introduction

The Shawshank Redemption: Morgan Freeman’s All Time Classic Terribly Disrespected Stephen King for ‘Marketing Purposes’ That’s Still Hurtful After 30 Years

I t has been three decades since  The Shawshank Redemption was released, yet the movie remains one of the best movies of all time. A timeless classic, the film starred Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman in the lead and is based on a Stephen King novel of similar name.

While throughout the movie, those who have read King’s book, will understand how perfectly the story was adapted by director Frank Darabont, King’s name is largely missing from the credits. A small ‘Thank You’ does appear at the end, but there is no mention of the novel’s name. This lack of  connection was apparently a marketing tactic, that continues to hurt even after all this time.

The Shawshank Redemption Hid Its Connection with Stephen King

Stephen King is better known for his work in the horror and suspense genre, yet he is equally brilliant when it comes to other literary genres. Among his known works is the novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption from his collection Different Seasons , upon which the classic Morgan Freeman -starrer movie,  The Shawshank Redemption  is inspired by.

3 of the Biggest Stars of This Generation Refused to Play the Lead Role in The Shawshank Redemption Before Tim Robbins Landed the Career-Defining Role

Despite the unmistakable adaptation, the movie largely omits the name of its source or the author who wrote it. Faithfully adapted by the director Frank Darabont , it wasn’t the filmmaker’s first tryst with King’s work or adapting it. Yet, the production chose to omit King’s name due to his association and reputation as a writer expert in popular fiction and the  horror genre.

Hence, as a means to attract a more prestigious and superior crown, King’s name and the movie’s connection to him or his work were absent from the marketing. While his name might have helped the movie’s terrible box-office results, the movie, despite its smart marketing tactics failed miserably at the box office (via the AV Club ).

Why  The Shawshank Redemption  Is One of The Greatest Films of All Time

The Shawshank Redemption , during its initial run at the box office, just grossed about $16 million worldwide (via Vanity Fair ). But now it is one of the greatest movies of all time and is currently the highest-rated movie on IMDb .

Apart from its incredible cast and portrayal, the movie’s consistent popularity is due to its universal themes of hope, friendship, perseverance, and redemption. Not only do these themes resonate deeply with audience across the world, but the story of human experience in the face of adversity is one that is deeply personal for a lot of people.

The Shawshank Redemption Director Kicking Retirement to the Side for Netflix Series Despite AMC Lawsuit Leaving a Bad Aftertaste for TV Industry

Having received seven Oscar nominations, the movie has since gained a cult following. Its timeless acclaim thanks to King’s literary brilliance and Frank Darabont’s adaptation has made the characters timeless legends and the tale, a timeless classic.

Not only has it left an indelible mark on popular culture and the industry as a whole, but the movie continues to serve as an inspiration to aspiring filmmakers and audiences.

The Shawshank Redemption  can be streamed on Netflix.

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Cohen Tells Jurors of Oval Office Deal to Pay Back the Hush Money

Michael D. Cohen’s story of an arrangement struck in the White House with Donald Trump was the only personal account tying the former president to falsified documents.

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By Ben Protess ,  Jonah E. Bromwich and Maggie Haberman

Little more than two weeks into Donald J. Trump’s presidency, he and his personal lawyer met in the Oval Office for a private conversation about money.

“I was sitting with President Trump and he asked me if I was OK,” the lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, recalled on Tuesday from the witness stand at Mr. Trump’s criminal trial. “He asked me if I needed money,” Mr. Cohen added, and volunteered that a check would be forthcoming.

When monthly checks started arriving — most bearing Mr. Trump’s signature — they disguised the nature of the payments, Mr. Cohen testified. The stubs described the checks as part of a legal “retainer” agreement, but they were in fact reimbursements for hush money that Mr. Cohen had paid to silence a porn star’s story of sex with Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen said that Mr. Trump was present when a plan to fictionalize the records was cooked up weeks earlier in New York.

The testimony marked a pivotal moment for prosecutors. They charged Mr. Trump with falsifying the checks and other records, and Mr. Cohen’s recounting drove those accusations home. It offered the jury its first and only personal account tying the former president to the documents at the crux of his case.

The Donald Trump Indictment, Annotated

The indictment unveiled in April 2023 centers on a hush-money deal with a porn star, but a related document alleges a broader scheme to protect Donald J. Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Mr. Trump has denied the allegations and the sex, and his legal team soon sought to sweep Mr. Cohen’s revelations aside in cross-examination. The lead defense lawyer, Todd Blanche, attacked Mr. Cohen’s credibility, portraying him as out of control and bent on exacting revenge on Mr. Trump after his patron abandoned him.

Mr. Blanche also emphasized Mr. Cohen’s voluminous television appearances and insult-slinging on social media — all of which Mr. Cohen did in defiance of the prosecution’s wishes and at Mr. Trump’s expense, Mr. Blanche suggested. And he noted that Mr. Cohen maintains a financial interest in attacking Mr. Trump, arguing that he cashed in on their feud with a podcast and a pair of books.

“Do you want President Trump to get convicted in this case?” Mr. Blanche asked.

“Sure,” Mr. Cohen replied smoothly, keeping his composure under fiery questioning about his falling out with Mr. Trump, who kept his eyes closed through much of the testimony.

Their near-filial relationship imploded when Mr. Cohen came under federal investigation for the hush money and other matters six years ago. Mr. Trump turned his back on Mr. Cohen, who then vowed to flip on the man he had once loyally protected and proudly called “boss.”

Mr. Cohen, who already served more than a year in federal prison, did not receive anything in return for his testimony against Mr. Trump, making him an unusual cooperating witness.

“I made a decision,” he said on the stand Tuesday, that “I would not lie for President Trump anymore.”

The case against Mr. Trump — the first criminal trial of an American president — stems from three hush-money deals that Mr. Cohen helped arrange before the 2016 presidential election. Two involved women shopping stories of sexual encounters with Mr. Trump, most notably, the porn star, Stormy Daniels.

On Monday, Mr. Cohen testified how he had paid $130,000 out of his own pocket to silence Ms. Daniels’s story on the eve of the election. Once Mr. Trump was sworn in as president, he repaid Mr. Cohen for the hush money, as well as another expenditure and an overdue bonus.

The Links Between Trump and 3 Hush-Money Deals

Here’s how key figures involved in making hush-money payoffs on behalf of Donald J. Trump are connected.

Mr. Trump, who faces probation or as long as four years in prison if he is convicted, is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to the payment of Mr. Cohen, one for each document involved: 11 checks to Mr. Cohen, 11 invoices from Mr. Cohen and 12 entries in Mr. Trump’s ledger.

All 34 records referred to the supposed retainer, while the ledger entries portrayed the payments to Mr. Cohen as an ordinary “legal expense.” But Mr. Cohen asserted that there was no retainer agreement, and he had not accrued any legal expenses, offering crucial testimony in the prosecution’s favor.

“In truth, was this invoice for any service you rendered in those two months pursuant to a retainer agreement?” a prosecutor, Susan Hoffinger, asked Mr. Cohen on Tuesday.

“No, ma’am,” he replied.

“Was this invoice a false record?” she continued, underscoring the point for the jury.

“Yes, ma’am,” he confirmed, and added that the check stubs were false as well.

And asked the purpose of the checks, he explained, that in part they represented “the reimbursement to me for the hush-money fee.”

His account of the records — and description of his Oval Office meeting with Mr. Trump — marked a high point for the prosecution’s case.

Before he took the stand, the jury heard that Mr. Trump had wanted to cover up a series of sex scandals and was intimately involved in all matters of money. Witnesses said that Mr. Trump had an imperative political need to eliminate any trace of the hush-money deal with Ms. Daniels — but they had no direct knowledge of whether Mr. Trump falsified records to do so.

That earlier testimony was building to this — the moment when Mr. Cohen could offer a firsthand account of his dealings with Mr. Trump and bring the interwoven strands of the case into focus.

The first crucial moment came on Monday, when prosecutors delved into a January 2017 meeting in New York among Mr. Cohen, Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, Allen H. Weisselberg.

Although Mr. Trump did not personally falsify records, or explicitly instruct anyone to do so, Mr. Cohen testified that the former president knew that Mr. Cohen and Mr. Weisselberg would obscure the purpose of the reimbursement.

“Did Mr. Weisselberg say in front of Mr. Trump that those monthly payments would be, you know, like a retainer for legal services?” Ms. Hoffinger asked Mr. Cohen.

“Yes,” he said.

On Tuesday, when he retook the stand, Mr. Cohen detailed the Oval Office meeting the following month, at which, he said, Mr. Trump confirmed he would pay him back.

Under New York law, prosecutors need only show that Mr. Trump “aided” a crime, or “caused” his company to file false records. Armed with Mr. Cohen’s testimony, prosecutors can argue that Mr. Trump broke the law even if he merely knew about the records and did not stop the fakery.

Mr. Cohen, of course, does not make a perfect prosecution witness.

Who Are Key Players in the Trump Manhattan Criminal Trial?

The first criminal trial of former President Donald J. Trump is underway. Take a closer look at central figures related to the case.

Over the decade he worked for Mr. Trump, he behaved like a bully and a harried errand boy, threatening Mr. Trump’s enemies and carrying out his every wish, he has said. Their roles were symbiotic, with Mr. Trump acting as the mercurial boss and Mr. Cohen his ruthless enforcer.

But Mr. Trump’s lawyers argue that he caused more problems than he fixed, and that the jury cannot trust him. They have noted that Mr. Cohen is a convicted liar, though he argues he lied out of loyalty to Mr. Trump.

On cross-examination, Mr. Blanche seized on Mr. Cohen’s criminal record, implying that he had initially sought some benefit from prosecutors in exchange for his cooperation. He also suggested that Mr. Cohen’s self interest — he sells T-shirts with an image of Mr. Trump behind bars — tainted his testimony.

Mr. Cohen remained mostly calm during questioning, speaking slowly as if he were restraining himself from an outburst, including when Mr. Blanche sought to grill him over colorful insults he has lobbed at the former president. They included “boorish cartoon misogynist” and “Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain.”

Mr. Cohen responded to both questions with a version of “sounds like something I would say.”

When Mr. Blanche confronted Mr. Cohen with his past praise of his boss, he shot back, “At that time, I was knee-deep into the cult of Donald Trump.”

Under questioning from prosecutors, Mr. Cohen recounted his gradual falling out with Mr. Trump, tracing it to the spring of 2018, when federal authorities were bearing down on him.

Soon after the F.B.I. searched Mr. Cohen’s home and office, he received a call from Mr. Trump, he recalled.

“He said to me, ‘Don’t worry. I’m the president of the United States. There’s nothing here. Everything’s going to be OK. Stay tough.’”

The call, Mr. Cohen explained, “reinforced my loyalty and my intention to stay in the fold.”

Mr. Cohen also developed a relationship with Robert J. Costello, a Republican lawyer who served as a back channel to Mr. Trump’s legal team. In one email to Mr. Cohen, Mr. Costello wrote, “Sleep well tonight, you have friends in high places.”

Mr. Cohen would soon lose that sense of security, as Mr. Trump stopped calling and the Trump Organization began to balk at some of Mr. Cohen’s legal bills.

The message from Mr. Trump’s universe, he came to believe, was: “Don’t flip. Don’t speak.” Mr. Trump, Mr. Cohen suspected, wanted his embattled fixer to remain under his thumb.

By summer 2018, he no longer was, he said. On Tuesday, Mr. Cohen considered a prosecutor’s question: To whom had he decided to be loyal, instead of Mr. Trump?

As he thought about it, a parade of Mr. Trump’s Republican allies streamed into courtroom.

Mr. Cohen was unfazed. “To my wife, my daughter, my son, and the country,” he said.

When Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty in August 2018 to federal campaign-finance violations over the hush-money deals, he pointed the finger at his former boss, saying he acted at his direction. Mr. Cohen, who also pleaded guilty to tax evasion and another personal financial crime unrelated to Mr. Trump, called it the “worst day of my life.”

He eventually served more than a year in prison, including a stint in solitary confinement.

But his testimony this week offered him a shot at public redemption, and perhaps, personal revenge.

“I regret doing things for him that I should not have, lying, bullying people in order to effectuate the goal,” Mr. Cohen said on the stand, adding that he “violated my moral compass and I suffered the penalty. That is my failure.”

Reporting was contributed by Kate Christobek , Jesse McKinley , Jonathan Swan and Wesley Parnell .

Ben Protess is an investigative reporter at The Times, writing about public corruption. He has been covering the various criminal investigations into former President Trump and his allies. More about Ben Protess

Jonah E. Bromwich covers criminal justice in New York, with a focus on the Manhattan district attorney’s office and state criminal courts in Manhattan. More about Jonah E. Bromwich

Maggie Haberman is a senior political correspondent reporting on the 2024 presidential campaign, down ballot races across the country and the investigations into former President Donald J. Trump. More about Maggie Haberman

Our Coverage of the Trump Hush-Money Trial

News and Analysis

Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former fixer, faced a fierce cross-examination  in the trial, as the defense tried to tear down  the prosecution’s key witness.

Over the course of two days of testimony, Cohen has detailed the $130,000 he gave to the porn star Stormy Daniels  to silence her account of a sexual encounter with Trump, and how Trump repaid him  after winning the presidency.

Trump’s trial has become a staging ground  for Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson  and Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio , to prove their fealty to the former president.

More on Trump’s Legal Troubles

Key Inquiries: Trump faces several investigations  at both the state and the federal levels, into matters related to his business and political careers.

Case Tracker:  Keep track of the developments in the criminal cases  involving the former president.

What if Trump Is Convicted?: Could he go to prison ? And will any of the proceedings hinder Trump’s presidential campaign? Here is what we know , and what we don’t know .

Trump on Trial Newsletter: Sign up here  to get the latest news and analysis  on the cases in New York, Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C.