"The Shawshank Redemption" - review of the opening scenes

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Maddy Southcott 10Y1

“The Shawshank Redemption”

Wrongfully accused and convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, banker Andy Dufresne arrived at Shawshank Prison in 1947 with a life sentence. On arriving at the prison gate with the other inmates, "Red" Redding bet his buddies that Andy would be the first of the new inmates to break that night. Andy would prove him wrong many times over the years. Although pleading innocent, he quickly adapts to prison life keeping himself quiet and reserved from the other inmates but prisoners and guards alike are soon to realise that Andy Dufresne is unlike any man to enter Shawshank before.

As he settles to Shawshank Andy begins to become friends with Red who is the first to see him as being different. After requesting Red to smuggle a rock hammer - to collect stones for a hobby, Andy and Red become good friends.

Being a man who is very intelligent Andy manages to gain much respect with the guards and warden by helping them with their personal finances. He also arranged for his co-workers to be rewarded with an ice cold beer whilst they worked on the roof. This impressed the fellow inmates as Andy had done something just for them. But Andy was also a rebellious man who refused to stick to some of the Shawshank rules. For instance playing opera music over a loud speaker for every inmate to hear and enjoy. Andy also was sent to solitary confinement because of new comer at Shawshank Tommy, who had served time before, told Andy that his former cellmate had confessed of murdering a young woman and her lover. This proved Andy’s innocence but none of the guards listened to this fact. Tommy ended up to be eliminated in the form of a sudden death and Andy sent into isolation.

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After the suicide of Brooks, a former a prisoner at Shawshank, Andy turned the prison library from being just a few books into the most popular place in the prison. This resulted to him becoming even more popular with the other inmates. He had managed to put a whole new meaning to Shawshank Prison.

When Andy disappeared from his cell one morning in 1966, no one had a clue as to what could have happened to him. Ripping back the poster of Raquel Welch, the Warden discovered the enormous hole Andy had managed to dig out with the tiny rock ...

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