Hope is something to live and fight for, it is the last thing to die, they say. In "Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption," by Stephen King, the story surrounds two convicts, Andy Dufresne and Red. Based on a fiction novella, the author portrays their lives and other inmates who endure the horrors of prison. In a way, they help each other out to survive the confinement, corruption, and the dehumanization at the Shawshank State prison. When Andy, an innocent murderer joins the jail bunch, he remains in hopefulness. Many of his fellow inmates lose hope for some suffer the "poison peace of institutionalization life" (King 98) including Red. Although Red narrates the tale of Andy's imprisonment, the story really captivates Red's being and his redemption. Red's redemption changes him from the will of hope.
Convicted of murdering his spouse, Red remains his life in prison. The man upholds a reputation among his inmates for nearly forty years. He could smuggle anything through acceptable bargains. The long years and strict routines makes him well accustomed to prison life. With no hope of being released, Red fears of not surviving in the outside world. He states that he is "the fucking yellow pages" (King 79) inside of prison. Outside of prison, Red speaks of how people could obtain anything they want just by using the yellow pages. Behind bars, Red is known to be someone important. In the real world, he's nothing because he's institutionalized. "At first you can't stand those four walls, then you get so you can abide them, then you get so you accept them" (King 98). The first time a convict enters prison, he or she hate it. After a while, they get used to it. They reach to the point of accepting everything because all they would have known is living in confinement. Red has no hope of being a free man and living the world outside the walls of Shawshank prison.
