Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption
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| Author | Stephen King |
|---|---|
| Country |  USA |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| Released in | Different Seasons (1st release) |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Media Type | Anthology |
| Released | 1982 |
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption (1982) is a novella by Stephen King, originally published in Different Seasons. The novella was adapted for the screen in the film The Shawshank Redemption.
The novella appears under the "Spring" section of Different Seasons under the heading "Hope springs eternal". This is also the name of a documentary on the special edition DVD for the film. Different Seasons also contains The Body, which was made into the film Stand By Me, and Apt Pupil, which was also made into a film by the same name.
[edit] Plot
The story of Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption begins in 1948 when Andy Dufresne arrives at Shawshank prison. In contrast to most other convicts, Dufresne is not a hardened criminal but a soft-spoken banker, convicted of killing his wife and her lover. His crime bears many similarities to the real-life Sam Sheppard case.
Like everyone in Shawshank, Dufresne claims to be innocent. A gang of desperate prisoners with homosexual tendencies called "The Sisters" led by Bogs Diamond gangs up on and rapes any prisoners they feel they can handle, and Andy is no exception. Red, the narrator, has an ability to deliver contraband of almost any type into Shawshank, which makes him somewhat of a celebrity among prisoners, and it's also the reason that Andy approaches him.
Andy's hobby outside the walls had been rock-carving, and now he has immense amounts of free time on his hands, so he asks Red to get him a rock hammer. He uses this to shape small rocks he finds in the exercise yard into small sculptures. The next item he orders from Red is a large poster of Rita Hayworth. When taking the order, Red reflects that Andy is excited like a teenager just for ordering a pin-up poster, but doesn't think more of it then. One spring day, Andy and Red and some other prisoners are tarring a roof when Andy overhears a guard griping over the amount of tax he will have to pay on an inheritance he has just gotten from a run-away brother. Andy approaches him (almost getting thrown off the roof in the process) and tells him that there are legal ways to avoid taxation. He offers to help him with all the necessary paperwork for the operation, in exchange for some beer for himself and the other prisoners on the roof. More and more of the people around him discover that they can use him for tax returns, loan applications, and other banking needs. In return for his help, he gets protection from "The Sisters" and is allowed to stay alone in his cell instead of having a cellmate like most other prisoners. For a short period, he shares a cell with an Indian called Normaden, but he soon leaves again. He keeps complaining about the draught in the cell while there. When Brooksie, the previous prison librarian, is paroled, Andy takes over the prison library and starts to send applications to the state senate for money for books. For a long time, he gets no response to his weekly letters. Finally, he gets some money. Instead of ceasing his letter writing (like the senate had hoped), he starts writing twice as often. His diligent work makes the library very good, and he also helps a number of prisoners catch up on their studies, preparing them for life outside.
The warden of Shawshank, Norton, also realizes that a man of Andy's skills is useful. He has started a program called "Inside-Out" where convicts do work outside the prison for very low wages. Normal companies outside can't compete with the cost of Inside-Out workers, so sometimes they offer Norton bribes not to bid for contracts. This cash has to be laundered somehow, and here Andy is useful. One day, Andy hears from another prisoner, Tommy, about someone having bragged about killing a rich golfer and some hot-shot lawyer's wife (Andy interprets "lawyer" to mean "banker), and framing the lawyer for the crime. Hearing this, Andy sees the possibility of a new trial that may prove he is innocent. Norton scoffs at the story, however, and as soon as possible he makes sure Tommy is moved to another prison, presumably as compensation for promising that he never talk about this anymore. Andy is too useful to Norton to be allowed to go free, and furthermore he knows details about Norton's corrupt dealings. Before being sentenced to life, Andy managed (with the help of a friend) to sell off his assets and invest them under a pseudonym. This made-up person, Peter Stevens, is created by Andy's friend who fixes false papers. The documents required to claim Peter Stevens' assets and assume his identity are hidden under a black rock in a rock wall lining a hay field in the small town of Buxton, not too far from Shawshank.
After many years in prison, Andy shares the information with Red, describing exactly how to find the place and how he will go to Mexico to start a hotel when he gets out. One day, Andy is gone at the morning prison muster. After searching the area without finding him, the warden looks in his cell and discovers that the poster on his wall (now showing Linda Ronstadt) covers a hole in the wall. Andy had used his rock hammer not just to shape rocks, but to dig a hole through the wall. Once through the wall, he has broken into a sewage pipe, crawled through it for some 500 yards and emerged into a field beyond the walls. How he got away from there with no equipment, nobody knows. Some time later, Red gets an blank postcard from a small town near the Mexican border. Some time later, Red is paroled and starts to try to make a life for himself outside the walls. He also begins to hitch-hike to Buxton, searching for suitable hay fields from Andy's "directions". After a while, he does find one with a rock wall on the correct side. It even has a black rock in it. Under this rock, he finds a sizable sum of money and a letter addressed to him from Andy. The story ends with Red violating his parole to follow Andy to Mexico.
[edit] Connections
Other King Characters to spend time in Shawshank
- Ace Merrill, of The Body and Needful Things.
