“The Shawshank Redemption”
• a short story by Stephen King “Rita
Hayworth and the Shawshank
Redemption”, Different Seasons
• describing prison life in the 1940s, 50s
and 1960s
The Shawshank Redemption
•Welcome
•To
•shawshank
“The Shawshank Redemption”
• a short story by Stephen King “Rita Hayworth and the
Shawshank Redemption”, Different Seasons
• describing prison life in the 1940s, 50s and 1960s
• Andy Dufresne
• Red (narrator)
• Brooks
• Haywood
• Tommy Williams
• Warden Samuel Norton
• Captain of the Guards Byron Hadley
The Shawshank Redemption
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Andy Dufresne
Red
Brooks
Haywood
Tommy Williams
• Warden Samuel
Norton
• Captain of the
Guards Byron Hadley
Shawshank paper
• Select two scenes from the movie and
connect them to Biblical scenes and
include a quote from the Bible for each
example
• Your 3rd paragraph should be a
powerful conclusion about the
Shawshank Redemption and its
message!!
• Due: next class or email me!!
Andy Dufresne/Randall
Stevens:
• Christ Figure, represents the human and divine
natures of Jesus,
• Andy was an innocent man living among the
guilty, similar to Jesus associating with
sinners.
• God became human and one of us so that he
could reach, preach, teach.
• teacher, understanding, uses reasoning to help
his fellow prisoners by becoming one of them
• Suffered, was misunderstood, wrongly accused,
beaten and tortured
salvation
• “Remember salvation lies within”
• Within the Bible, Andy hides his rock
hammer
• In the book of EXODUS
• The Grande Exit or “the great escape”
of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt
with their powerful leader MOSES
Red:
• as John the Baptist, Red was the original
leader of the prison but allows Andy to
take over out of respect and admiration
for Andy's intelligence and wisdom.
• Similar to John the Baptist Jn 3:30
• as Peter, Andy wants to give Red the tools
to meet him and help him with his project.
• Similar to Jesus when he asks Peter to "follow
me" Jn 21
RED:
• finally granted parole… WHY??
• First and second times he said he was
totally rehabilitated, claimed innocence
***He was “denied parole” 3X because he
denied himself a chance to be free
(FEAR holds you prisoner)
• When you do what you’ve always done;
you’ll get what you’ve always got!!!
• Now he admits guilt and regret
The Characters
• Brooks: as Judas
• MT 27: Judas commits suicide by
hanging himself and giving up on hope
and life which are so precious to Andy.
• Tommy Williams:
– Martyr: willing to testify to the truth and
dies for it
– JBAP: Announced andy’s innocence!!
The Characters
• Warden Samuel Norton and Captain of
the Guards Byron Hadley
• Religious Authorities and the Roman
Government (Pontius Pilate) Mt 27
• They represent corruption and greed,
and the abuse of power
• Remember, greed is the root of all evil!!
THE MESSAGE
•FEAR CAN HOLD
YOU PRISONER;
•ONLY HOPE CAN
SET YOU FREE!!
THE
MOVIE QUOTES
• “I believe in two things; discipline and
the Bible. Here you will receive both.
Put your trust in the Lord, your ass
belongs to me. Welcome to Shawshank.”
• “Bull queers take by force, it is all they
do and all they know”
• “They are not homosexual; you have to
be human first; AND they don’t qualify”
THE
BIBLICAL QUOTES
• MK 13: 35
– “Watch, therefore; you do not know when
the master of the house cometh,”
• JN 8: 12
– "I am the light of the world. Whoever
follows me will not walk in darkness, but will
have the light of life."
• “Remember……. “Salvation lies within”
• “Lord! It's a miracle! Man up and vanished like
a fart in the wind”
Andy’s Quotes
• “I am a rock hound”
• There’s something inside that they can’t touch; it’s
YOURS………HOPE
• “O Red I thought you had a little more FAITH in me
than that!!”
• “On the outside I was an honest man; I had to come
to prison to become a crook”
• “I don’t work with losers… if we are going to do this,
you need to give 100% nothing half assed
• motivation motivation motivation is what we need!!!
• Discipleship!!!!! Give a 100% nothing less
Red’s Quotes
“Only guilty man in Shawshank”
• “I have no idea what those 2 Italian ladies
were singing about, but I’d like to think it was
so beautiful it can’t be expressed in words
and makes your heart ache because of it.”
• “Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is
a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man
insane.”
• “Andy built a library” he sure did!!!
More of Red’s Quotes
• “He's just institutionalized...The man's been in here
fifty years, Heywood, fifty years. This is all he
knows. In here, he's an important man, he's an
educated man. Outside he's nothin' - just a used-up
con with arthritis in both hands. Probably couldn't
get a library card if he tried...these walls are funny.
First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough
time passes, it gets so you depend on 'em. That's
'institutionalized'...They send you here for life and
that's exactly what they take, the part that counts
anyway.~
• CRIME AND CONSEQUENCES
And more RED
• “I have no idea to this day what those two
Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I
don't want to know. Some things are best left
unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing
about something so beautiful, it can't be
expressed in words, and makes your heart
ache because of it. I tell you, those voices
soared higher and farther than anybody in a
gray place dares to dream. It was like some
beautiful bird flapped into our drab little
cage and made those walls dissolve away, and
for the briefest of moments, every last man
ANDY AND RED
• Andy Dufresne: That's the beauty of music. They
can't get that from you... Haven't you ever felt that
way about music?
Red: I played a mean harmonica as a younger man.
Lost interest in it though. Didn't make much sense in
here.
Andy Dufresne: Here's where it makes the most
sense. You need it so you don't forget.
Red: Forget?
Andy Dufresne: Forget that... there are places in this
world that aren't made out of stone. That there's
something inside... that they can't get to, that they
can't touch. That's yours.
Red: What're you talking about?
• RED: Jesus, Andy. I couldn't hack it on
the outside. Been in here too long. I'm an
institutional man now. Like old Brooks was.
• ANDY : You underestimate yourself.
RED: Bullshit. In here I'm the guy who can
get it for you. Out there, all you need are
Yellow Pages. I wouldn't know where to
begin. Pacific Ocean? Hell. Like to scare
me to death, somethin' that big.
• ANDY : Not me. I didn't shoot my wife and I didn't shoot
her lover, and whatever mistakes I made I've paid
for and then some. That hotel and that boat...I don't think
it's too much to want. To look at the stars
just after sunset. Touch the sand. Wade in the water. Feel
free.
RED : Goddamn it, Andy, stop! Don't do that to yourself!
Talking shitty pipedreams! Mexico's down there, and you're
in here, and that's the way it is!
ANDY : You're right. It's down there, and I'm in here. I
guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get
busy living or get busy dying.
ANDY AND RED
• “Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe
the best of things, and no good thing ever
dies.”
• “I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or
hold a thought in my head. I think it's the
excitement only a free man can feel, a free
man at the start of a long journey whose
conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it
across the border. I hope to see my friend
and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as
blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.”
RED
• “Not long after the warden deprived us of his
company, I got a postcard in the mail. It was
blank, but the postmark said Fort Hancock,
Texas. Fort Hancock... right on the border.
That's where Andy crossed. When I picture
him heading south in his own car with the top
down, it always makes me laugh. Andy
Dufresne... who crawled through a river of
shit and came out clean on the other side.
Andy Dufresne... headed for the Pacific.”
ANDY AND RED
• Andy Dufresne: Dear Red. If you're reading
this, you've gotten out. And if you've come
this far, maybe you're willing to come a little
further. You remember the name of the town,
don't you?
Red: Zihuatanejo.
Andy Dufresne: I could use a good man to
help me get my project on wheels. I'll keep an
eye out for you and the chessboard ready.
Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe
the best of things, and no good thing ever
dies. I will be hoping that this letter finds
The Symbolism of
the Shawshank Redemption
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The mini posters
the big poster
the library
the opera music
The rope
the rocks
the sewage pipe
the prison cell
the storm and rain
the fishing boat
• the reunion!!
The Symbolism of
the Shawshank Redemption
• The mini posters: serve as a distraction…. For the big poster
• the big poster: represents the dream, visualizing his freedom
• the library: Old Testament and New Testament representing
the old and new Covenants (MT is the BRIDGE)
• the opera music: MT 5 The Sermon on the Mount the Beatitudes
(THE MESSAGE OF HOPE TO THE HOPELESS)
• The rope: the cross, does not end in death, jesus rises!!!
• the rocks: Peter Mt 16
• the sewage pipe: Mt 27: Jesus carrying the cross to the
crucifixion
• The prison cell: Mt 28: the empty tomb
• the storm and rain; as Andy stands in the rain he outstretches
his arms Baptism, new life MT:3
• the fishing boat: MT 4: calling of the first disciples, fishermen
• the reunion: JN 21: Jesus and Peter reunite along the
seashore! Fishing anyone???
The Connections to
The Gospel of Matthew
• The Genealogy and Infancy Narratives
– Matthew traces Jesus' genealogy back to Abraham and David to show his
Jewish audience how Jesus fulfills the prophecies of the Old Testament
• The Temptation Narrative:
– (a) obeying the word of God
(b) faith in God's power and promises
(c) worship and service to God
• The Sermon on the Mount: The Beatitudes
• The 10 Commandments (Moses on Mt Sinai)
• The Judgment of the Nations
THE LESSONS LEARNED
VIRTUES
FAITH, HOPE, LOVE
THE GIFT AND VALUE OF
TRUE LOYAL FRIENDSHIP
Andy continuously writes letters;
digs through a tunnel over years
and accomplishes his goals
• Persistence pays off!!!
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