What freed Andy from Shawshank? - The Shawshank Redemption

     One of Stephen King's masterpiece, <The Shawshank Redemption>, was the movie and the book that I had recently. It is quite famous all over the world as one of the great prison-escaping story. Hearing that I have to read this book, I felt quite boring even before beginning to open the cover of this book because I knew the ending of such a famous story. However, there was more substances to watch besides the ending such as how Andy Dufresne makes firm decision to go out. After finishing reading this book, I had a lot of questions flowing on my mind. I also had feelings and rational thoughts carved in my heart.
     First question that came very first inside me was "Was Andy planning to escape all the time?" Red at the very beginning gives Andy the rock-hammer which is later used as a tool to escape the prison by making a hole. From the description of Red about Andy, it can be inferred that Andy had a lot of complaints and felt unfair about the judgement. However, I don't think Andy always wanted to escape. Even though at first he had problems adjusting to the prison life, such as trouble with Sisters, he endeavored so much through his years and with his specialty in giving a financial aid, he spends quite satisfying life as he helps and gets protection from the prison warden, Samuel Norton. He even becomes librarian as he wished. He was very renowned among prisoners and guards. Those days, at least to me, seemed happy for Andy. Do you think Andy was still thinking about escape in this moment? I guess not. He had innovated the prison, he had shown to many people that one idealistic man can change dirty reality, and became people's role model. Even though his physical situation may be harsh, his mental situation and relationship with others were delightful for Andy. From my prospective, Andy might have felt a lot of things at this moment and his heart would have been burdened because of his own conscience and disappointment that other prisoners get when they hear news of him. Probably Andy might have just stopped making a hole for a while.
     Then, for what reason Andy once again decided to escape at last? It might not only be a coincidence that his escaping plan has been execute not long after emergence of Tommy and greedy refusal of his retrial by Norton. One day Tommy was shown up to Andy and said that he knows the real sinner for Andy's crime. Andy then asks Norton for retrial and Norton just ignores him and put him on solitary confinement because he is afraid of Andy blowing up his secrets. He is now bare with no protection and no fame. He once again have been treated unfairly. And this might be the major reason for his redemption.
     Now, the most important question relies on our hand driven by above works. What freed Andy from Shawshank really? Was it rock-hammer? Was it his firm will? My answer is "it was prison that freed Andy from prison." Even though Andy came to prison unfairly, he tried to adjust living in prison. But it was prison that refused his will. Prison was comprised of the prisoners and the guards. The prisoners, especially Sisters, bullied Andy a lot. At the same time, the guards, especially Norton, bullied Andy, despite Andy's financial aid. Both the prisoners and guards were rotten ethically, and pulled away Andy from Shawshank. It was not Andy refusing the prison, but it was the whole prison that was refusing Andy.
      Because of this aspect, I really loved reading this book. For most escaping stories, only protagonist is who makes escaping, but <Shawshank Redemption> was somewhat special story in the aspect that the prison is refusing Andy rather than Andy refusing the prison. He certainly once tried to adjust, and it was the prison that blocked his efforts. By these flow of plots, it certainly made me to advocate the protagonist, Andy. Because I was able to deeply understand Andy's actions, I was able to be absorbed more, and this is the main reason why I would recommend this book to others.