Revisiting ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ Through Its Greatest Quotes

Yet, the quality of the movie transcended the accountant’s spreadsheet, as its reputation soared to higher grounds and it established itself as one of the greatest motion pictures of all time.

The film tells the tale of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) who receives a lifetime prison sentence in Shawshank State Penitentiary for killing his wife and her lover. Andy proclaims his innocence, but no one believes him. At Shawshank, he meets Ellis “Red” Redding (Morgan Freeman) and a number of other prisoners. Regardless of the circumstances around him, Andy refuses to give up on the notion that he will be free one day. Not only is The Shawshank Redemption a powerful story about hope, but it also features a myriad of quotes that are ever so memorable, and maybe even life-changing.

“Get busy living, or get busy dying”

Andy Dufresne speaks this poignant line to Red as they have a powerful one-on-one conversation. It isn’t too difficult to decipher what he means by this quote and what he wants his friend to think about here. Either a person makes what they can out of life by chasing their goals and dreams, or they simply wait around for something to happen to them. In terms of the latter, it’s usually death that comes knocking.

“Only guilty man in Shawshank”

Red possesses a wicked sense of humor and shows off his ability to crack jokes, in spite of the horrors that happen in The Shawshank Redemption. After Andy Dufresne asks Red what he’s in the joint for, Red says it’s for the same charge as Andy: Murder. When Andy asks if he’s innocent, Red shakes his head and says, “Only guilty man in Shawshank.” Obviously, he’s playing on the fact that everyone in prison says they’re innocent, so he goes in the opposite direction. What a joker!

“Every man has his breaking point”

The death of Tommy Williams is a pivotal point in The Shawshank Redemption. Not only was he the one person who knew the truth to get Andy Dufresne released, but his murder also serves as a warning to Andy that the warden won’t let him go. When another prisoner mentions how Andy asked for rope, Red fears the worst for his friend. He believes Andy has finally lost all hope of being released. However, he doesn’t know that Tommy’s death only fuels Andy’s fire to get out faster now.

“They send you here for life, and that’s exactly what they take”

Most of Red’s quotes hold double meanings or extended metaphors. After Brooks Hatlen gets paroled, Red talks about how Brooks did his time – 50 years in prison – but he struggles to adapt to the outside world. His very being becomes so entangled with Shawshank that he can no longer function without it. In a way, the prison already took his life a long time ago.

“Salvation lies within”

According to Warden Samuel Norton, he believes in two things: The Bible and discipline. He loves nothing more than to see the inmates living by the same mantra. So, when he sees Andy Dufresne has a Bible in his cell, he picks up the book and hands it back to Andy and tells him: “Salvation lies within.” Little does he know that Andy sees it the same way, since hidden inside the book is the rock hammer that Andy uses to chip away at the wall for his great escape. 

“That’s where I want to live the rest of my life – a warm place with no memory”

When Andy Dufresne chats to Red about what he’d do if he gets out, he tells him about the Pacific and how it has “no memory.” The reason for this is that Andy doesn’t only want to forget about his time in prison but also his life before it. He wants to move to a place that he has no attachment to, nor will anyone have any attachment to him. Instead, he’s free to write the next chapter in “a warm place with no memory.”

“The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry”

Brooks Hatlen spends 50 years at Shawshank before he’s paroled. When he goes outside into the world again, he no longer recognizes what it has become, which leads to one of the film’s most tragic scenes. His quote about the rapid pace of life hits on so many different levels as it’s even relatable today. Life doesn’t appear to slow down; it only increases as everyone appears to always be in a never-ending hurry. Where is the time to breathe and just be?

“I had to come to prison to be a crook”

Andy Dufresne never killed his wife or her lover, but he does the time for the crime anyway. Ultimately, he ends up laundering money for the warden in Shawshank. At one point, Red remarks how Andy is practically a Rembrandt because of how good he is at what he does. In turn, Andy jokes about how he never committed a crime in the outside world, but he had to go to prison to learn how to be a criminal.

“Hope is a dangerous thing – hope can drive a man insane”

Andy Dufresne wants to leave Shawshank and go back to his life outside of the prison’s walls. However, Red recognizes that this might never happen. For him, he believes that people hanging onto false hope does more damage to them in the long run, as it crushes their spirit when it doesn’t happen. Red sees hope as dangerous, rather than as empowering.

“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies”

In The Shawshank Redemption, Andy Dufresne never forgets Red’s words about hope being dangerous. In a letter to his friend later, he harks back to the concept of hope. However, he doesn’t share Red’s pessimism about it. Instead, he suggests an alternative viewpoint. He explains how hope is good, and because it’s good, it can never die. More importantly, it appears as if he finally convinces Red about it, too.