Regarded by many as one of the best movies of all time, the best The Shawshank Redemption quotes have stayed with audiences over the years. Adapted from a Stephen King story and directed by Frank Darabont, The Shawshank Redemption follows Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) who is imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit and attempts to hold onto hope inside the walls of the prison while forming a bond with fellow inmate Red (Morgan Freeman). The movie was a box office flop, but its lasting legacy, including the best The Shawshank Redemption quotes, has made it a classic.
Though The Shawshank Redemption takes place inside a brutal and corrupt prison, it is a surprisingly inspiring story and the most memorable quotes speak to that. From Morgan Freeman’s iconic narration as Red to Andy’s ability to hold onto hope in an unlikely place to the touching friendship at the center of the movie, these are the best The Shawshank Redemption quotes that have stood the test of time.
25 “I Believe In Two Things: Discipline And The Bible. Here You’ll Receive Both.”
Warden Norton (Bob Gunton)
Abuse of religious power is a fascinating theme that’s often found in Stephen King’s stories. From the moment that he introduces himself, Warden Norton makes his hypocrisy and his cruelty clear. He preaches the importance of religion and learning to trust and obey the higher powers of religion. At the same time, the warden wants the prisoners to treat him as if he is equal to the higher powers of religion.
If the prisoners do anything that the warden does not like, he will punish them. He does not view them as human and views them as property with which he will do as he pleases. Religion is merely a tool he uses for his cruelty and selfish agenda. He introduces himself as if these are the two things he holds up above all else, but it becomes clear he doesn’t really care about either of them.
24 “That First Night In The Joint, Andy Dufrense Cost Me Two Packs Of Cigarettes. He Never Made A Sound.”
Red (Morgan Freeman)
When a new group of inmates arrives, Red and his fellow prisoners bet on who will be the first to break down during their first night. Red thinks Andy seems fragile and that he “looked like a stiff breeze would blow him over.” Even though Red is usually a good judge of character, he soon realizes he was mistaken, as Red loses the bet and loses the cigarettes he wagered.
After countless inmates come and go in Shawshank over the years, Andy stands out to him as a surprising person whom he cannot quite pin down.
Andy does not make a sound all night, proving he is more than the fragile individual Red thought. After countless inmates come and go in Shawshank over the years, Andy stands out to him as a surprising person whom he cannot quite pin down. It is the first hint of the connection these two men will share as well as a sign of the different kind of strength that Andy has which will serve him well in prison.
23 “… Like He Had On An Invisible Coat That Would Shield Him From This Place.”
Red (Morgan Freeman)
Close
Many of the inmates thought Andy had an air of superiority around him. When Andy asks Red for a rock hammer, and they have a conversation, Red begins to understand who Andy is and why he acts the way he does. Red sees Andy is not a haughty individual trying to be aloof. Andy is a more reserved and thoughtful individual with a quiet, powerful strength inside of him.
Though Andy enters Shawshank as a young man, he comes to the prison holding onto a piece of the outside and the hope that he will make it beyond those walls. The reason he seems like such an unusual creature to Red and the other inmates is that “hope” is not something they often see in Shawshank. Whether it is due to his innocence in the crime he has been sentenced for or simply because he has gained a new outlook on life, Andy refuses to let the prison take away his humanity.
22 “Yeah, I Think It’d Be Fair To Say I Liked Andy From The Start.”
Red (Morgan Freeman)
Though Red is confused by Andy’s strange demeanor when he arrives at Shawshank, it does not take long for him to warm up to the new inmate. During their first conversation, it is clear Red is still sizing Andy up, keeping him at a distance, challenging him in a way cons have to do, and admitting that he has yet to decide what kind of person Andy is.
The friendship between Red and Andy is one of the most beautiful and heartwarming in movie history.
When the conversation is done, Red admits he immediately took a liking to Andy. The friendship between Red and Andy is one of the most beautiful and heartwarming in movie history. The fact that, within the tough and hostile environment of prison, Red was able to see something in Andy is admitted adds to the charm. It speaks to the connection that two men have as outliers in prison. In a place where guilty men profess their innocence, Andy is a man who is actually innocent while Red is a man who admits his guilt.
21 “Maybe It’s Because I’m Irish.”
Red (Morgan Freeman)
The reason Morgan Freeman’s character is named Red in Shawshank Redemption is subtly revealed in the parole scenes with the character when his full name is revealed to be Ellis Boyd Redding. However, one of the funniest lines in the movie comes when Andy asks Red about the origin of his name, to which Red suggests his Irish heritage as the meaning.
It is a funny moment as it seems unlikely Red is Irish and the way he considers it seems like he never thought to question it before. Of course, it is also possible to read it as another moment of humanity being lost behind the prison walls as Red has forgotten the man he was before being sent to Shawshank. However, it is another bonding moment for the two men as it becomes clear that few people have ever asked Red that question and he seems pleased by it.
20 “We Trust This Will Fill Your Needs. We Now Consider The Matter Closed. Please Stop Sending Us Letters.”
Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins)
Close
For six years, Andy wrote a letter a week asking for books and other library materials to be donated to the prison. After six years, Andy finally got a response, along with many books and other materials. Part of the response letter is hilarious, as the tone is formal and professional, yet they are aggravated with the weekly letters Andy has been sending. Unable to ignore him any longer, they give in and provide what he asked for, not out of generosity or sympathy, but to get the letters to stop.
Having the resources necessary to build a proper library–especially one in honor of Brooks–is a wonderful thing that Andy made happen through his persistence and one of the movie’s highlights. It is another sign of the hope Andy clings to. While the other prisoners are resigned to their unchanging lives in prison, Andy has ambitions within these walls and sets out to achieve them.
19 “Only Guilty Man In Shawshank.”
Red (Morgan Freeman)
When Andy first meets Red, he tells him that he is innocent of murdering his wife, only for Red to explain that every man in the prison is innocent. This is obviously a joke to show how unwilling the other inmates are to admit to their crimes. However, when he finally gets to know Andy, Red calls himself the only guilty man in Shawshank.
Red fully admits to the murder he committed as a young man and his guilt has stayed with him all these years. However, it is through his friendship with Andy that Red learns that he is being punished for his crime, but it doesn’t mean he has to punish himself for the rest of his life. While Andy’s story often feels like the central one, it is Red who finds redemption in the end. He comes to terms with what he has done while also discovering that he deserves to find some peace in the world as well.
18 “I Tell You Those Voices Soared Higher And Farther Than Anybody In A Gray Place Dares To Dream.”
Red (Morgan Freeman)
One of the most beautiful and meaningful scenes of the whole film comes when Andy gives his fellow inmates a brief respite from their caged lives. Andy was a model prisoner which meant he earned certain privileges the others did not have. While in the warden’s office, he locked the guard in the bathroom and played opera on the speakers in the prison for everyone to hear.
It made everything else fade away for the prisoners and gave them a moment of blissful freedom. It is another example of the strange and unfamiliar quality that Andy brought to the prison with his ideals that these prisoners were allowed to feel human even while serving their sentences. Similar to the moment that Andy negotiated some beer for his fellow inmates, the music isn’t really for him but for all the other inmates who need a reminder of hope.
17 “That’s The Beauty Of Music. They Can’t Get That From You.”
Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins)
After Andy’s moment of rebellion where he played opera for the entire prison, he is, of course, punished for his malfeasance. He is sent to solitary confinement for an extended period, but he gets out with a smile on his face as he admits that it was easy because he had the music in his head the entire time, something they could never take from him.
This quote is his response, and he further explains that it has everything to do with hope, which is a huge theme of the entire film. Andy’s hope can’t be taken away from him by the prison, which is exactly what the music represents. Again, this speaks to Andy being an innocent man as he is being punished for something he didn’t do, and while he cannot prove his innocence, he is going to hold on tightly to any bit of freedom that he can.
16 “Hope Can Be A Dangerous Thing.”
Red (Morgan Freeman)
Though they share a strong friendship, Andy and Red are very different people in many ways. The key difference is in how they view their time in prison. From the moment Andy is inside, he is thinking about life on the outside and that he will one day be able to return to it. Red pushes back against that sentiment and even suggests that having hope is a dangerous thing, as the more a man in Shawshank thinks about life on the outside, the more life on the inside becomes unbearable.
This creates a wonderful contrast between the two men and sets up the rewarding ending of the movie. While Andy seems like he begins to lose his hope in the third act, he only embraces it more. More importantly, Andy is the one who helps change Red’s mind and causes him to dare to hope for a happy ending for himself.
15 “Salvation Lies Within.”
Warden Norton (Bob Gunton)
Close
Warden Norton is one of the most despicable movie villains of all time so seeing him get the justice that was coming to him in the end only added to the Shawshank Redemption‘s satisfying final act. Before recruiting Andy to deal with his own money laundering schemes, Warden Norton takes the opportunity to understand Andy a little more by inspecting his cell. He is pleased to see that Andy still has the bible that Norton gave him on his first day.
The line initially seems like more of Norton’s hypocrisy but given that it is later revealed that the rock hammer Andy is using to tunnel out is hidden inside the bible.
When handing it back to Andy, he says that “salvation lies within.” The line initially seems like more of Norton’s hypocrisy but given that it is later revealed that the rock hammer Andy is using to tunnel out is hidden inside the bible, it is also a brilliant bit of foreshadowing to The Shawshank Redemption‘s ending.
14 “How Can You Be So Obtuse?”
Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins)
It is clear from the beginning that Warden Norton is a pompous and hypocritical man, but that turns out to only be the beginning of his villainy. When new information reveals that Andy is innocent of his crimes in The Shawshank Redemption, he shares the story with the warden. Despite how much Andy has helped both the warden and the prison, the warden refuses to help Andy. Andy’s simple question “How can you be so obtuse?” enrages the warden, causing him to send Andy to solitary confinement for a month.
Most people would shout at the warden for being stupid and awful in this situation, but only Andy Dufresne would ask why the warden is being obtuse. Andy is not only intelligent; he is brave, will stand up for himself, and will not meekly concede to the warden’s tyranny. The audience can feel the frustration in Andy at this moment, and it is the warden who displays a level of corruption that baffles Andy.
13 “I Like To Think The Last Thing That Went Through His Head Other Than That Bullet…”
Red (Morgan Freeman)
In a movie about convicted felons, Warden Norton makes for a truly detestable villain. However, the cruelty and corruption he inflicts on the inmates, and especially Andy makes it all the more satisfying when he gets his comeuppance. Not only did Andy’s escape make Norton look like a fool, but Andy went on to expose his crimes. When the authorities come for him, Norton kills himself and Red’s narration takes glee at the villain’s death and satisfaction that his last thoughts were of Andy defeating him.
It might be a gruesome line, but it feels like a fitting end for someone who had no moral code to speak of. Norton is a man who felt supreme confidence in his position of power over the inmates who could never challenge him. To see his seemingly unwavering position of power undone by one of these people he underestimated is a huge victory.
12 “That’s Where I Want To Live The Rest Of My Life — A Warm Place With No Memory.”
Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins)
Most prisoners have a dream of what they will do or would do if they get out of prison one day. So, of course, Andy had a very specific dream of his own should that happen for him, and it had to do with the Pacific. He tells Red of the specific place he wants to escape to and the idea of living by the ocean. Part of the peace it offers him is the chance to move on from the past and start anew.
Even though Andy is innocent of his crimes, he is a man filled with guilt over the way he lived his life before. The fact that he seeks out a place with “no memory” speaks to him wanting to put his past, including his time in Shawshank and the abuse he suffered, behind him. As it happens, this is what Red is after as well, even if he is less willing to say it out loud.
11 “Every Man Has His Breaking Point.”
Red (Morgan Freeman)
Another aspect that makes the ending of The Shawshank Redemption so satisfying is the building tension that this place might in fact break Andy. Though he has held onto his hope for years, it seems to be gradually being stripped away. The shocking death of Tommy in The Shawshank Redemption is a turning point for Andy. Not only was his friend murdered, but it also signifies that Norton will go to drastic lengths to ensure that Andy never leaves Shawshank.
Red sees this moment as a breaking point for Andy, and it is in many ways. However, the moment makes for an incredible twist with the reveal of Andy’s escape. While Red feared that Andy would lose hope, his breaking point was instead that he would have to ensure he leaves the prison himself and goes through with his escape plan.
10 “They Send You Here For Life, And That’s Exactly What They Take.”
Red (Morgan Freeman)
Watching The Shawshank Redemption, it’s hard not to imagine being put into a situation like life imprisonment. It’s possibly one of the worst things that can happen to a person, knowing that they’ll never again set foot outside the prison walls. While these are criminals, some of them guilty of terrible crimes, it is also not hard to feel sorry for them and the lives they are forced to live.
It speaks directly to the character of Brooks in The Shawshank Redemption as well as even as he is released, he cannot escape. After a life behind bars, he doesn’t know how to make a life outside of them. The movie takes a moment to step away from Andy and Red’s story to follow Brooks on the outside and it makes for one of the most heartbreaking moments in the movie.
9 “I’m Telling You, These Walls Are Funny.”
Red (Morgan Freeman)
Despite the horrors and cruelty the prisoners face, a big part of the film’s story is how the convicts in Shawshank have become so used to the idea of being in prison, that they can’t really remember life outside of it. While it is a prison that is keeping the inmates from the outside world, it is also a protection after a time. They are not faced with the outside world and whether they belong in it anymore.
Life has just become a routine of getting through one day and living to see the next one.
At one point in the film, Red refers to the fact that prison life is all about routine, and for the prisoners of Shawshank, life has just become a routine of getting through one day and living to see the next one. It is what happens to Brooks, and despite Andy’s insistence that he could never feel that way about his life behind bars, there is a sense that his need to escape is also out of fear that Red’s words have some validity to them.
8 “Bad Luck, I Guess. It Floats Around.”
Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins)
There is something poetic and philosophical about this line that rings true. Andy reflects on the circumstances that put him behind bars in the first place and the powers that are keeping him there despite his innocence. Once again, while others would be overcome with rage, Andy has a philosophical outlook on things.
The line, like much of the dialogue from the film, is plucked almost directly from Stephen King’s original novella, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, and it shows. This is exactly the kind of dialogue that King excels at. It’s folksy, but there is an air of darkness to it, a lingering sort of melancholy about how, even though the events that put Andy in Shawshank are seemingly random, it still felt like he was singled out as all of that bad luck was meant for him and him alone.
7 “The World Went And Got Itself In A Big Damn Hurry.”
Brooks (James Whitmore)
Close
One of the most endearing characters from the entire film is Brooks, the kindly old librarian who, by the time Andy arrives, has spent roughly 50 years behind Shawshank’s walls. He’s the first character the audience sees being released back into the world, and for a man who went away in the 1900s, the world looks very different.
Seeing Brooks’s life on the outside, coupled with the letter he sends to the guys still in prison, gives the audience an idea of the obstacles still awaiting any of them, even once they are free. This line perfectly sums up the way the world changes fast, even if people don’t always think it does. To imagine stepping back into the world after being removed from society for most of a person’s life gives an idea of how Brooks became so lost with his “freedom.”
6 “The Funny Thing Is, On The Outside, I Was An Honest Man.”
Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins)
Andy Dufresne goes into Shawshank as an honest and law-abiding man, even if the state doesn’t think he is, but it’s inside the walls where he really learns how to be a criminal. He takes on the task of laundering the warden’s dirty money, making sure that the government never has any clue. Andy explains the complex methods he uses to hide the money and ensure that he is keeping the warden happy, but remarks on the irony of the situation.
Part of why Andy is so amused by the notion of his crimes becomes more clear in the ending. Not only did Andy leave prison, but he also took all the money he was meant to be hiding away for the Warden. To make it even better, he pins the crimes on the warden as well. While Andy did technically break the law, given what he had been through as an innocent man, it is easy to forgive him.