“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”
• 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
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“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
• 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: MT 27 Judas commits suicide by
hanging himself and giving up on hope and life
which are so precious to Andy.
• Haywood: ?
• Tommy Williams: a Martyr willing to testify to
the truth and dies for it
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
• Discipleship!!!!!
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”
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 in Shawshank felt free.”
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?
Andy Dufresne: Hope.
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
you, and finds you well. Your friend. Andy.
The Symbolism of
the Shawshank Redemption
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The mini posters
the big poster
the library
the opera music
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 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
• the fishing boat: MT 4: calling of the first disciples, fishermen
• the reunion: along the seashore!! Fishing anyone???
The Connections to
The Gospel of Matthew
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The Genealogy and Infancy Narratives
The Temptation Narrative
The Sermon on the Mount
The 10 Commandments and The Beatitudes
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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