First of all, I apologize for posting this reading journal so late. I should have written this before the mid-term exam to organize my thoughts about “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”. However, I still need to write about it, and therefore in this piece of work, I will tell you how I felt while, and after reading this story.
Just to give you a brief summary regarding the story outline, Andy moves into prison where the narrator stays. The narrator was arrested for accidental murders, and Andy was wrongly accused. Andy, who does not want to be powerless in jail, refuses to obey to the Sisters. Then a man who really killed Andy’s wife and her lover gets arrested, and Andy desperately begs for retrial. However, his implore is cruelly rejected, and he plans to escape. He buys a tool to dig out the ground and a Rita Hayworth poster to hide the hole from the narrator. He slowly begins, and eventually escapes, leaving the narrator a message. After the narrator is freed, he goes to visit Andy.
The plot was indeed interesting. Even though some parts were quite disgusting to read such as the Sisters trying to rape Andy, those parts made the prison life more realistic, and the suspense when Andy planned to escape from prison, the friction caused between the Sisters and Andy etc. were all important components of the story. It is known that Stephen King visited the real prison to write this story, which can be shown in the realistic description of prison life.
Another interesting fact is that Andy is the main protagonist. Even though the narrator is also there, the story progresses as Andy makes a move. The narrator is observing Andy, so the perspective is third person observer. I am quite sure that if the story focused on the narrator instead of Andy, “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” I know would not have been this much fun to read. . Andy is a dynamic character and his actions get the readers nervous, cheerful, and even bring them on feet. .
This story, unlike other stories of Stephen King, is not really a typical King novel; it does not contain any horror or gore. Instead, it focuses more on adventure, on how Andy carries out his plans. Therefore, it is much more interesting to read as King broke the stereotype and wrote a story that is considered novel.
A very balanced, comprehensive look at the book. Better late than never, and I'm glad to see some appreciation of King's approach to narrative. You are right - the third person flavor of the first person narrative is interesting, and what really moves the story. The film captured that as well. You know the narrator is Red, right?
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