Literary Analysis Essay on Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

Introduction

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." The proverbial phrase is well illustrated in Stephen King's novella, "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption," a short story published in his 1982 collection known as Different Seasons (Spignesi 91). The novella involves a narration by an inmate nicknamed Red about a fellow prisoner known as Andy Dufresne, who is illegally convicted and sentenced to life in Shawshank prison. The latter is accused of the double homicide of his wife and her alleged lover. Shawshank prison is attributed to accommodating dangerous inmates charged with high profile cases such as robbery with violence or murder, among others.

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Nonetheless, in an unexpected circumstance, Dufresne has hope that he will overcome anything that he encounters along the way as he serves his life sentence. True to his beliefs and ambitions, faith is an element that one needs to survive. It is an aspect of life that motivates people to continue pushing on despite the setbacks experienced in the course of life.

Throughout the novella, Andy repeatedly writes to the board requesting for funds to reconstruct and to buy new books for the prisons' library. The management team keeps shrugging of his request but keeps on pushing his demands with the hope that one day, things will change for the better. The struggles pay off because Andy receives small funds for the library but still dissatisfied, he starts sending doubles letters to the prison management board until the library is allocated a substantial annual allowance to refurbish and maintain the library. Dufresne utilizes the library to guide fellow prisoners to pursue different courses and obtain diplomas and degrees while still behind bars. Based on Dufresne's actions, it is imminent that he believes that education is the key to success despite their limited chance of ever getting employed outside the prison walls. Consequently, King ascertains to the readers that there is still glamour of hope to improve oneself, even after making bad choices in life. According to (Carlson 13), recidivism is highly reduced by approximately 45% to prisoners who undergo educational programs while incarcerated.

In another incident, prisoners get to consume beer on the roof of the prison building. The inmates are toiling on the hot roof made of tar, and the guards are threatening to beat them up if they find them relaxing. However, through Andy's help, there can drink brewski beers that cool their body and make them feel like free men paying off for their hard work. As Reds, the narrator puts it, "the beer was the best he had ever had in his life (Spignesi 191). The beer consumption gives the inmates hope that one day there will be in a position to be free and enjoy life.

In the last scenes of the story, the narrator mentions that Andy leaves a note to him with the hope once Red is released from prison, he will able to enjoy hidden money and probably meet up outside the prison walls. The theme of hope appears literary in every sentence as Reds hopes to meet Andy, given that he is as well out of prison. "I hope Andy is down there. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope". (Spignesi 541-544).

The "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" is a narration by Reds about hope. It is an aspect of life that is desired to keep one going despite the hurdles expected throughout ones' life journey. Andy was able to achieve much in life despite being incarcerated for life for a wrongdoing that he had not committed because he had hope that things may change later in life.

Works Cited

Carlson, Joseph R. "Prison Nurseries: A way to reduce recidivism". The Prison Journal, vol 98, no. 6, 2018, pp. 760-775. SAGE Publications, doi:10.1177/0032885518812694.

Spignesi, Stephen J. The Essential Stephen King. 2nd ed., New Page Books, 2001.