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Compare And Contrast Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption

Decent Essays

In the novella, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, the reader follows the life of Andy Dufresne, who was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and a golf pro. Author Stephen King, who is known for his simpler, conversation esque writing, describes Andy’s experiences and attempt to escape from Shawshank Prison where he is being held. Red, Andy’s most valuable friend while in prison, is also in prison for killing his wife, but in contrast to Andy, he actually did it. Andy is constantly denied his freedom for parole or when evidence arises proving his innocence because of his role running the illegal money laundering scheme for Warden Norton. Throughout the novella, both characters display moments of similar, but also at times vastly different, levels of hope. King uses the way characters, such as Red and Andy, view hope as either a means of escape or simply futile in the novella to show how the circumstances surrounding a tragedy or difficult situation change a character’s mindset on hope and in turn dictates the actions they use to cope. Andy’s hope of escaping Shawshank prison to Mexico is used by King to show the reader how hope can be a positive quality to have, such as Andy who uses hope as motivation to not become institutionalized. Andy is persistent writing letters to the state, asking for more money for building a better library. This shows that Andy is hopeful for additional funds for his library, which not only gets him on better ground with the

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