Reading Journal #1 - Rita Heyworth and Shawshank Redemption

           When I reached to the near end of Stephan King’s “spring,” it was the patience and persistence of Andy Dufresne that impressed me most. Despite of the hopeless 20 years in Shawshank, Andy’s desire for escape had never been removed, not even blunt. Definitely he was different from the other prisoners in Shawshank. While the others were getting used to the Shawshank life he tried to find the breakthrough, and while the others were finally “institutionalized,” he dreamed of Zihuatanejo. The wall of prison was thick, but Andy’s hope made a crack on it, spread it apart, and eventually broke it down.

           Considering Andy’s life in prison, everybody would agree that it was not fair at all. First he was bullied and tormented by the Sisters. When he finally gained the protection by helping the prison guards with tax problem, a harsher future was waiting for him. Since every prison guards got helpful advice from Andy, the highest warden of Shawshank, Samuel Norton hired him for money laundering. Mr. Norton gave much convenience to Andy compared to other prisoners as cost. However, Andy was also forced to pay the price for Norton’s fabricated kindness: he would not go out from Shawshank forever. Maybe Andy already knew from the first day of Shawshank, that it’s impossible to get released in legal way. The more Andy is related to the Shawshank society, the more his innocence would be contaminated.

           However, Andy didn’t lose his most powerful weapon until the end. It was his hope and desire for the escape. Nobody would know what exactly was his motivation for keeping such invincible volition, but I believe he always left enough space for hope. Hope, as Andy once said to Red, his favorite mate in Shawshank, is something “good” and “imperishable”. Glimmering inside Andy’s deepest mind, the hope soaked his every night and made him dig the stone wall for 20 years. The rock hammer that was almost worn away at the end of story symbolizes how the hope made Andy endure under unreasonable treatment and abuse so desperately. As the novel approaches to the end, King made the meaning of hope elated higher by describing the scene of Red, who was finally released on parole and amused by the hope of meeting Andy in Mexico. Here it is proved again, that the hope would be never rotten.

           Instead of Andy, the overall storyline takes Red as the narrator. Using this ‘observer’s perspective,’ Stephan King provoked readers more curiosity about the secret of Andy Dufresne until the highlight. Andy’s hope and patience resembles the young sprouts which split open the frozen earth in every spring. That is why King chose “Rita Heyworth and Shawshank Redemption” as the first season of his book.

09/22/11

Chang Woo Jung