Revisiting ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ Through Its Greatest Quotes

But, the standard of the film transcended the accountant’s spreadsheet, as its fame soared to increased grounds and it established itself as one of many biggest movement photos of all time.

The movie tells the story of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) who receives a lifetime jail sentence in Shawshank State Penitentiary for killing his spouse and her lover. Andy proclaims his innocence, however nobody believes him. At Shawshank, he meets Ellis “Pink” Redding (Morgan Freeman) and quite a few different prisoners. Whatever the circumstances round him, Andy refuses to surrender on the notion that he can be free sooner or later. Not solely is The Shawshank Redemption a strong story about hope, nevertheless it additionally includes a myriad of quotes which can be ever so memorable, and perhaps even life-changing.

“Get busy residing, or get busy dying”

Andy Dufresne speaks this poignant line to Pink as they’ve a strong one-on-one dialog. It isn’t too tough to decipher what he means by this quote and what he needs his pal to consider right here. Both an individual makes what they’ll out of life by chasing their targets and goals, or they merely wait round for one thing to occur to them. By way of the latter, it’s normally demise that comes knocking.

“Solely responsible man in Shawshank”

Pink possesses a depraved humorousness and exhibits off his capacity to crack jokes, despite the horrors that occur in The Shawshank Redemption. After Andy Dufresne asks Pink what he’s within the joint for, Pink says it’s for a similar cost as Andy: Homicide. When Andy asks if he’s harmless, Pink shakes his head and says, “Solely responsible man in Shawshank.” Clearly, he’s enjoying on the truth that everybody in jail says they’re harmless, so he goes in the other way. What a joker!

“Each man has his breaking level”

The demise of Tommy Williams is a pivotal level in The Shawshank Redemption. Not solely was he the one one who knew the reality to get Andy Dufresne launched, however his homicide additionally serves as a warning to Andy that the warden gained’t let him go. When one other prisoner mentions how Andy requested for rope, Pink fears the worst for his pal. He believes Andy has lastly misplaced all hope of being launched. Nonetheless, he doesn’t know that Tommy’s demise solely fuels Andy’s fireplace to get out sooner now.

“They ship you right here for all times, and that’s precisely what they take”

Most of Pink’s quotes maintain double meanings or prolonged metaphors. After Brooks Hatlen will get paroled, Pink talks about how Brooks did his time – 50 years in jail – however he struggles to adapt to the skin world. His very being turns into so entangled with Shawshank that he can not operate with out it. In a approach, the jail already took his life a very long time in the past.

“Salvation lies inside”

In accordance with Warden Samuel Norton, he believes in two issues: The Bible and self-discipline. He loves nothing greater than to see the inmates residing by the identical mantra. So, when he sees Andy Dufresne has a Bible in his cell, he picks up the ebook and fingers it again to Andy and tells him: “Salvation lies inside.” Little does he know that Andy sees it the identical approach, since hidden contained in the ebook is the rock hammer that Andy makes use of to chip away on the wall for his nice escape. 

“That’s the place I wish to stay the remainder of my life – a heat place with no reminiscence”

When Andy Dufresne chats to Pink about what he’d do if he will get out, he tells him in regards to the Pacific and the way it has “no reminiscence.” The rationale for that is that Andy doesn’t solely wish to overlook about his time in jail but additionally his life earlier than it. He needs to maneuver to a spot that he has no attachment to, nor will anybody have any attachment to him. As an alternative, he’s free to write down the following chapter in “a heat place with no reminiscence.”

“The world went and acquired itself in an enormous rattling hurry”

Brooks Hatlen spends 50 years at Shawshank earlier than he’s paroled. When he goes outdoors into the world once more, he not acknowledges what it has turn into, which ends up in one of many movie’s most tragic scenes. His quote in regards to the speedy tempo of life hits on so many alternative ranges because it’s even relatable right now. Life doesn’t seem to decelerate; it solely will increase as everybody seems to all the time be in a endless hurry. The place is the time to breathe and simply be?

“I needed to come to jail to be a criminal”

Andy Dufresne by no means killed his spouse or her lover, however he does the time for the crime anyway. In the end, he finally ends up laundering cash for the warden in Shawshank. At one level, Pink remarks how Andy is virtually a Rembrandt due to how good he’s at what he does. In flip, Andy jokes about how he by no means dedicated against the law within the outdoors world, however he needed to go to jail to discover ways to be a prison.

“Hope is a harmful factor – hope can drive a person insane”

Andy Dufresne needs to go away Shawshank and return to his life outdoors of the jail’s partitions. Nonetheless, Pink acknowledges that this may by no means occur. For him, he believes that folks hanging onto false hope does extra harm to them in the long term, because it crushes their spirit when it doesn’t occur. Pink sees hope as harmful, slightly than as empowering.

“Hope is an effective factor, perhaps the very best of issues, and no good factor ever dies”

In The Shawshank Redemption, Andy Dufresne by no means forgets Pink’s phrases about hope being harmful. In a letter to his pal later, he harks again to the idea of hope. Nonetheless, he doesn’t share Pink’s pessimism about it. As an alternative, he suggests an alternate viewpoint. He explains how hope is nice, and since it’s good, it will probably by no means die. Extra importantly, it seems as if he lastly convinces Pink about it, too.

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