Andy Dufresne - Character Analysis - The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Andy Dufresne, is a bird that can't be caged. He never accepts his fate, and is always preparing everything for the night of his escape. He consistently fights to defend himself and his friends. In short, under any circumstances, talent and perseverance are the best way for anyone to ensure that they can be free.

Talent will never betray you. Andy uses his banking expertise to avoid being pushed off a roof, and at the same time seizes an opportunity for his fellow prisoners to enjoy beer. Later, because of Andy's extraordinary financial knowledge, the warden allows Andy to help him launder his money. This financial knowledge protects him during his life in prison. He is saved from being assaulted by other prisoners and does not need to do heavy labor. When Andy escapes, he breaks a sewer pipe open by hitting it with a rock in unison with thunder in order to hide the sound he makes, which also embodies his talent.

Knowledge and talent are always yours, and nobody can steal them from you. They are useful wherever you are, and the important part is how you apply them to your life.



When Andy enters the prison, we are eager to know how a physically smaller person such as himself survives in a complex prison environment. Fortunately, Andy not only survives here, but is also successful. Andy is introverted and does not talk often. However, he often does things that surprise the warden, such as entering the prison's office and playing his favorite music. In that scene, the prison becomes quiet. Everyone looks up and stares at the loudspeaker. It is amazing to listen to the beautiful music that is being broadcast through the loudspeaker. In addition, Andy relies on his own wisdom to help the other prisoners working on a factory roof by getting them beer in exchange for helping one of the guards. When his friend Red and the others are quietly sitting on the roof and drinking beer, it is a beautiful scene without much dialogue. It answers a long-neglected question: If your heart is free, nothing can restrict you. This interpretation, like the movie's tagline, tells us some unchanging truths in life: 'Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.'

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