Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

Plot
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is a short story (or novella, as us English profs call it) written by critically-acclaimed horror/suspense novelist Stephen King, and was first published in 1984. The plot centers around two characters, Red and Andy Dufresne, and their time at Shawshank Prison in Maine. The plot is revealed through Red, and the majority of the narration consists of stories of Red, Andy, or the two interacting. In the end, both men actually cause the other's freedom; Red smuggles in the rock hammer for Andy, and Andy's philosophies on the life of a free man lead Red to seek a new life rather than return to the prison. Although most of the story takes place in Shawshank, it is Andy's escape and journey to Mexico that carries significance in regard to the meaning of the work. With Andy's twenty-seven year long tunnel dig, we see that hope does exist even in the biggest "hellhole" on earth, Shawshank. This is reinforced by Red's final realization of the importance of this hope, and he himself hopes for the future in the closing lines.

"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." -- pg. 107

Point of View
The entire story is a first-person narration (Red calls it a 'memoir' in the actual story) as told by Red, although most of the story he is talking about Andy.  In the novella, Stephen King does a huge favor by telling the reader (through Red) that, even though he talks about Andy, the story's main focus is Red.

"Well, you weren't writing about yourself, I hear someone in the peanut-gallery saying. You were writing about Andy Dufresne. You're nothing but a minor character in your own story. But you know, that's just not so. It's all about me, every damned word of it." -- pg. 100

Red narrates the story of Andy's trial, imprisonment, and subsequent escape as a medium with which to tell his own story.  By receiving details in the story (e.g. living conditions, bargaining with 'screws', solitary, etc.) from Red's relatively astounded viewpoint as a longtime 'lifer' directs readers toward an emphasis on Red's importance, as opposed to Andy's.

Characterization
A lot of characterization takes place in the short amount of pages allotted (107) for Shawshank.  Whether it's intense descriptions of the different types of homosexuals found in the prison, in-depth segments devoted to the interactions between Red and Andy that reveal more about who they are, or even the simple defiance (and hasty detraction of such insolence) Gonyar shows Warden Norton once Andy is found missing, King makes a great effort to name every character, even cursory ones, and build upon this by following up with at least a short sentence giving more scope for the reader.

"The skinny guard's name was Rory Tremont, and he was not exactly a ball of fire in the brains department." -- pg. 88

Ultimately, it is Red's character that impacts the meaning of the work the greatest, and this characterization is done both directly and indirectly.  Red tells the reader that he is the contraband king, that "I'm the guy who can get it for you", and other times we see his persona develop based on his reaction to Andy's words and actions.  When Tremont pukes due to all the sh- er, sewage, in the tunnel, Red laughs his way into solitary.  Ok, that part was really gross.

Setting
The majority of the story takes place in the actual Shawshank Prison, with most action happening there as well, ocassionally a story flashes back to past events like Andy's and Red's trials.  Later, Red is released on parole and spends the remainder of the story in local Maine, traveling frequently to Buxton and eventually deciding to leave for Mexico to join Andy.  The importance of the setting to me was the impact on the reader.  Prison is a pretty negative place in most's minds, and the connotation carried with it is not at all good.  The descriptions of the prison by Red help explain the lost hope most inmates experience, and makes Andy's release of the 'tiger' that much more captivating.  Even in an environment as depressing as Shawshank, Andy still defends himself on multiple occasions, from the sisters, from Hadley, and from Norton.  Rarely did he lose his composure in the hostile atmosphere and this stubbornness lends itself to both Andy and Red's ultimate goal, to be free.

Theme
Because we have already established (largely with help from ol' Red) that Red is the heart of the story, it stands to reason that the theme also primarily deals with Red.  Even though it doesn't seem to be so, Andy is a minor character with regard to the theme, because his role is simply to change our main character, Red.  Without Andy, Red probably still would've been released from prison on parole; however, as mentioned by Red himself, Andy was the reason he didn't commit some petty crime to get himself right back into the quiet routineness of Shawshank.

"If I had never known Andy, I probably would have done that." -- pg. 103

I suppose I'm not being entirely fair.  Andy Dufresne certainly plays a vital and key part in the story and contributes to the significance of the theme.  Andy's integrity, strong will, and total determination serve as an inspiration not only to Red, but to the reader as well.  Truly, Shawshank was a moving work of fiction.  In all honesty, I'm excited to watch the movie.  I've never seen it, and I hear it's good.  We shall see...