PLOT
The story starts of explaining the basis of Red's life and how he got there and so forth. The stories Red tells of usually don't have much great meaning in the beginning. This may be the fact that they were in a high security prison and it resembled the drawn out atmosphere of being in jail for an entire lifetime. It wasn't until the story began to progress that the stories Red told became more exciting and had more meaning to them. The dialogue was a bit hard to follow as it was more written sporadically instead of being consistent. in other words with more of a flow to it.
Point of View
Red had a lifelong sentence without the possibility of parole so his look on life was very low. As well as it should for being in prison. No one ever really dreamed of ever escaping prison. Sure some thought about the idea, but to actually go a head with a plan like Andy wanted to was inconceivable. Andy still believed he had allot to live for. Especially since he was wrongly convicted of a murder he never committed. Andy's determination is what changed Red and his own perception of life.
Characterization
Andy himself was very shy and timid as he really never talked to or mingled with the other inmates. This is probably what caused him to be convicted of the murder because he wasn't very outspoken.He was so laid back that he almost gave the feeling that he was indeed a cold blooded killer. On the other hand, Red was described as a man who's been around the prison for many, many years. This gave the reader the feeling of a great narrator and gave the reader the most powerful voice to interpret what was happening in the story. Being that Red had the powerful voice also gave the reader the feeling that Red was very honest and educated about what he was talking about.
Setting
The setting was obviously in a prison. It gives the reader an easy way to picture everything that was going on around Red and Andy. It may not relate too much to the reader to the sense of not very many people have been to jail, but the story does a great job involving the setting around the characters. It was pretty easy to follow on most occasions, as Red does a great job narrating the stories. The sewer pipe although was very well described. The reader could easily feel what Andy had to go through and it wasn't pretty at all. Andy obviously shows he is more determined to get out of jail then he was his own health or hygiene for that matter.
Theme
The theme of the story is pretty much the feeling of hope. It may be hard to see the light of day, or hope because the way most of these men are in jail for a lifetime for crimes that they may have or may have not committed. But the theme is there, and it is hope. Red when he first was in jail had little hope for his life. But as time grew on he came to term with what he did wrong, and Andy helped him realize there still was plenty of opportunity to his life if he could believe in it. "a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." Andy preached that to Red, and helped him try to achieve his dreams.
