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80 ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ Quotes on Hope (FREEDOM)

December 2, 2023December 2, 2023

Top 11 Most Famous ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ Quotes

“She was beautiful. God, I loved her. I just didn’t know how to show it; that’s all. I killed her, Red. I didn’t pull the trigger, but I drove her away. And that’s why she died, because of me.”
Andy Dufresne

Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. - Andy Dufresne — Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. – Andy Dufresne

Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free. - Andy Dufresne — Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free. – Andy Dufresne

These walls are funny. First you hate ’em. Then you get used to ’em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That’s institutionalized. - Ellis Red Redding — These walls are funny. First you hate ’em. Then you get used to ’em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That’s institutionalized. – Ellis “Red” Redding

“There’s a con like me in every prison in America, I guess. I’m the guy who can get it for you. Cigarettes, a bag of reefer if you’re partial, a bottle of brandy to celebrate your kid’s high school graduation. Damn near anything, within reason. Yes, sir, I’m a regular Sears & Roebuck.”
Ellis “Red” Redding

Guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying. - Andy Dufresne — Guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying. – Andy Dufresne

I have to remind myself that some birds are meant to be caged. - Ellis Red Redding — I have to remind myself that some birds are meant to be caged. – Ellis “Red” Redding

That’s the beauty of music. They can’t take that away from you. - Andy Dufresne — That’s the beauty of music. They can’t take that away from you. – Andy Dufresne

“There’s not a day goes by I don’t feel regret. Not because I’m in here, because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try to talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can’t.”
Ellis “Red” Redding

I'd hate to deprive you of this. Salvation lies within. - Warden Samuel Norton — I’d hate to deprive you of this. Salvation lies within. – Warden Samuel Norton

They send you here for life, and that’s exactly what they take—the part that counts, anyway. - Ellis Red Redding — They send you here for life, and that’s exactly what they take—the part that counts, anyway. – Ellis “Red” Redding

9 Touching ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ Quotes That Will Warm Your Heart

“I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don’t want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I like to think they were singing about something so beautiful it can’t be expressed in words and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away. And for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.”
Ellis “Red” Redding

Whatever mistakes I made, I paid for them and then some. - Andy Dufresne — Whatever mistakes I made, I paid for them and then some. – Andy Dufresne

The man likes to play chess; let's get him some rocks. - Ellis Red Redding — The man likes to play chess; let’s get him some rocks. – Ellis “Red” Redding

What was right with him he’d only give you a little at a time. What was wrong with him he kept bottled up inside. - Ellis Red Redding — What was right with him he’d only give you a little at a time. What was wrong with him he kept bottled up inside. – Ellis “Red” Redding

“You need it so you don’t forget. Forget that there are places in the world that aren’t made out of stone. That there’s a — there’s a — there’s something inside that’s yours, that they can’t touch.”
Andy Dufresne

“We sat and drank with the sun on our shoulders and felt like free men. Hell, we could have been tarring the roof of one of our own houses. We were the lords of all creation. As for Andy, he spent that break hunkered in the shade — a strange little smile on his face — watching us drink beer.”
Ellis “Red” Redding

“There’s a harsh truth to face. No way I’m gonna make it on the outside. All I do anymore is think of ways to break my parole, so maybe they’d send me back. Terrible thing, to live in fear. Brooks Hatlen knew it. Knew it all too well. All I want is to be back where things make sense. Where I won’t have to be afraid all the time. Only one thing stops me: a promise I made to Andy.”
Ellis “Red” Redding

“The first night’s the toughest, no doubt about it. They march you in naked as the day you were born, skin burning and half blind from that delousing shit they throw on you, and when they put you in that cell… and those bars slam home… that’s when you know it’s for real. A whole life blown away in the blink of an eye. Nothing left but all the time in the world to think about it.”
Ellis “Red” Redding

“I wish I could tell you that Andy fought the good fight, and the Sisters let him be. I wish I could tell you that – but prison is no fairy-tale world. He never said who did it, but we all knew. Things went on like that for awhile – prison life consists of routine, and then more routine. Every so often, Andy would show up with fresh bruises. The Sisters kept at him – sometimes he was able to fight ’em off, sometimes not. And that’s how it went for Andy – that was his routine. I do believe those first two years were the worst for him, and I also believe that if things had gone on that way, this place would have got the best of him.”
Ellis “Red” Redding

2 ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ Quotes About Hope

“I find I’m so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it’s the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. 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.”
Ellis “Red” Redding

Hope is a dangerous thing. Drive a man insane. - Ellis Red Redding — Hope is a dangerous thing. Drive a man insane. – Ellis “Red” Redding

6 Wise ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ Quotes About Life

“Bad luck, I guess. It floats around. It’s got to land on somebody. It was my turn, that’s all. I was in the path of the tornado. I just didn’t expect the storm would last as long as it has.”
Andy Dufresne

Dear Warden, you were right. Salvation lay within. - Andy Dufresne — Dear Warden, you were right. Salvation lay within. – Andy Dufresne

Every man’s got a breaking point. - Ellis Red Redding — Every man’s got a breaking point. – Ellis “Red” Redding

Geology is the study of pressure and time. That’s all it takes, pressure and time. That and a big damn poster. - Ellis Red Redding — Geology is the study of pressure and time. That’s all it takes, pressure and time. That and a big damn poster. – Ellis “Red” Redding

In prison, a man will do most anything to keep his mind occupied. - Ellis Red Redding — In prison, a man will do most anything to keep his mind occupied. – Ellis “Red” Redding

If you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further. - Andy Dufresne — If you’ve come this far, maybe you’re willing to come a little further. – Andy Dufresne

13 Andy Dufresne Quotes in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’

“What’s that going to earn you? Two-and-a-half, three percent a year? We can do a lot better than that. So tell me, Mr. Dekins. Where do you want to send your kids? Harvard? Yale?”
Andy Dufresne

I’m a rockhound. At least I was in my old life. I’d like to be again, on a limited scale. - Andy Dufresne — I’m a rockhound. At least I was in my old life. I’d like to be again, on a limited scale. – Andy Dufresne

It’s funny. On the outside, I was an honest man. Straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook. - Andy Dufresne — It’s funny. On the outside, I was an honest man. Straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook. – Andy Dufresne

“What you hear isn’t even the half of it. He’s got scams you haven’t even dreamed of. Kickbacks on his kickbacks. There’s a river of dirty money running through this place.”
Andy Dufresne

My wife used to say I’m a hard man to know. Like a closed book. Complained about it all the time. - Andy Dufresne — My wife used to say I’m a hard man to know. Like a closed book. Complained about it all the time. – Andy Dufresne

I think a man working outdoors feels more like a man if he can have a bottle of suds. That’s only my opinion. - Andy Dufresne — I think a man working outdoors feels more like a man if he can have a bottle of suds. That’s only my opinion. – Andy Dufresne

“There’s a big hayfield up near Buxton… one in particular. It’s got a long rock wall with a big oak tree at the north end. It’s like something out of a Robert Frost poem. It’s where I asked my wife to marry me. We went there for a picnic and made love under the oak, and I asked and she said yes. Promise me, Red. If you ever get out, find that spot. At the base of that wall, you’ll find a rock that has no earthly business in a Maine hayfield. Piece of black, volcanic glass. There’s something buried under it I want you to have.”
Andy Dufresne

That’s the one thing they can’t confiscate, not ever. That’s the beauty of it. Haven’t you ever felt that way about music, Red - Andy Dufresne — That’s the one thing they can’t confiscate, not ever. That’s the beauty of it. Haven’t you ever felt that way about music, Red? – Andy Dufresne

It’s my life. Don’t you understand It’s my life! - Andy Dufresne — It’s my life. Don’t you understand? It’s my life! – Andy Dufresne

“Zihuatanejo. It’s a little place in Mexico on the Pacific Ocean. Do you know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific? They say it has no memory. That’s where I want to live the rest of my life — a warm place with no memory.”
Andy Dufresne

I don’t waste time on losers, Tommy. - Andy Dufresne — I don’t waste time on losers, Tommy. – Andy Dufresne

I understand you're a man who knows how to get things. - Andy Dufresne — I understand you’re a man who knows how to get things. – Andy Dufresne

“… or come to think of it, I suppose I could set it up for you. That would save you some money. I’ll write down the forms you need, you can pick them up, and I’ll prepare them for your signature… nearly free of charge… I’d only ask three beers apiece for my co-workers, if that seems fair. I think a man working outdoors feels more like a man if he can have a bottle of suds. That’s only my opinion.”
Andy Dufresne

23 Ellis “Red” Redding Quotes in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’

“I could see why some of the boys took him for snobby. He had a quiet way about him, a walk and a talk that just wasn’t normal around here. He strolled, like a man in a park without a care or worry in the world, like he had on an invisible coat that would shield him from this place. Yeah, I think it would be fair to say I liked Andy from the start.”
Ellis “Red” Redding

Andy Dufresne, the man who crawled through 500 yards of shit and came out clean the other end. - Ellis Red Redding — Andy Dufresne, the man who crawled through 500 yards of shit and came out clean the other end. – Ellis “Red” Redding

His first night in the joint, Andy Dufresne cost me two packs of cigarettes. He never made a sound. - Ellis Red Redding — His first night in the joint, Andy Dufresne cost me two packs of cigarettes. He never made a sound. – Ellis “Red” Redding

“Yes, sir, Andy was a regular H&R Block. In fact, he got so busy at tax time, he was allowed a staff… got me out of the woodshop a month out of the year, and that was fine by me.”
Ellis “Red” Redding

I like to think the last thing that went through his head, other than that bullet, was how the hell Andy Dufrense got the best of him. - Ellis Red Redding — I like to think the last thing that went through his head, other than that bullet, was how the hell Andy Dufrense got the best of him. – Ellis “Red” Redding

He had enough rocks to keep him busy ‘til rapture. - Ellis Red Redding — He had enough rocks to keep him busy ‘til rapture. – Ellis “Red” Redding

“Mr. Stevens visited nearly a dozen banks in the Portland area that morning. All told, he blew town with more than $370,000 of Warden Norton’s money. Severance pay for 19 years.”
Ellis “Red” Redding

By the year Kennedy was shot, Andy had transformed a broom closet smelling of turpentine into the best prison library in New England. - Ellis Red Redding — By the year Kennedy was shot, Andy had transformed a broom closet smelling of turpentine into the best prison library in New England. – Ellis “Red” Redding

I remember thinking it would take a man 600 years to tunnel through the wall with it. Andy did it in less than 20. - Ellis Red Redding — I remember thinking it would take a man 600 years to tunnel through the wall with it. Andy did it in less than 20. – Ellis “Red” Redding

“Two things never happened again after that. The Sisters never laid a finger on Andy again… and Bogs never walked again. They transferred him to a minimum security hospital upstate. To my knowledge, he lived out the rest of his days drinking his food through a straw.”
Ellis “Red” Redding

Same old sh, different day. - Ellis Red Redding — Same old sh**, different day. – Ellis “Red” Redding

Get busy living, or get busy dying. That’s goddamn right. - Ellis Red Redding — Get busy living, or get busy dying. That’s goddamn right. – Ellis “Red” Redding

You gonna open it or stand there with your thumb up your butt - Ellis Red Redding — You gonna open it or stand there with your thumb up your butt? – Ellis “Red” Redding

“You could argue he’d done it to curry favor with the guards. Or, maybe make a few friends among us cons. Me, I think he did it just to feel normal again, if only for a short while.”
Ellis “Red” Redding

Forty years I been asking permission to piss. I can't squeeze a drop without say-so. - Ellis Red Redding — Forty years I been asking permission to piss. I can’t squeeze a drop without say-so. – Ellis “Red” Redding

I must admit I didn't think much of Andy first time I laid eyes on him; looked like a stiff breeze would blow him over. That was my first impression of the man. - Ellis Red Redding — I must admit I didn’t think much of Andy first time I laid eyes on him; looked like a stiff breeze would blow him over. That was my first impression of the man. – Ellis “Red” Redding

Well, if it was a toothbrush I wouldn't ask questions, I'd just quote a price, but then a toothbrush is a non-lethal object, isn't it - Ellis Red Redding — Well, if it was a toothbrush I wouldn’t ask questions, I’d just quote a price, but then a toothbrush is a non-lethal object, isn’t it? – Ellis “Red” Redding

“Andy was as good as his word. He wrote two letters a week instead of one. In 1959 the state senate finally clued in to the fact they couldn’t buy him off with just a two-hundred-dollar check. Appropriations committee voted an annual payment of five hundred dollars just to shut him up. And you’d be amazed how far Andy could stretch it.”
Ellis “Red” Redding

One day, when I have a long gray beard and two or three marbles rollin' around upstairs, they'll let me out. - Ellis Red Redding — One day, when I have a long gray beard and two or three marbles rollin’ around upstairs, they’ll let me out. – Ellis “Red” Redding

That tall drink of water with the silver spoon up his ass. - Ellis Red Redding — That tall drink of water with the silver spoon up his ass. – Ellis “Red” Redding

“Most new fish come close to madness the first night. Somebody always breaks down crying… The only question is, who’s it going to be? It’s as good a thing to bet on as any, I guess. I had my money on Andy Dufresne.”
Ellis “Red” Redding

Oh yes sir, absolutely sir, I mean I've learned my lesson. I can honestly say I'm a changed man, no longer a danger to society here, and that's the God's honest truth. - Ellis Red Redding — Oh yes sir, absolutely sir, I mean I’ve learned my lesson. I can honestly say I’m a “changed man”, no longer a danger to society here, and that’s the God’s honest truth. – Ellis “Red” Redding

This is the part I really like, when she does that sh with her hair. - Ellis Red Redding — This is the part I really like, when she does that sh** with her hair. – Ellis “Red” Redding

4 Brooks Quotes in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’

“Dear fellas, I can’t believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw an automobile once when I was a kid, but now they’re everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry. The parole board got me into this halfway house called “The Brewer” and a job bagging groceries at the Foodway. It’s hard work and I try to keep up, but my hands hurt most of the time. I don’t think the store manager likes me very much. Sometimes after work, I go to the park and feed the birds. I keep thinking Jake might just show up and say hello, but he never does. I hope wherever he is, he’s doin’ okay and makin’ new friends. I have trouble sleepin‘ at night. I have bad dreams like I’m falling. I wake up scared. Sometimes it takes me a while to remember where I am. Maybe I should get me a gun and rob the Foodway so they’d send me home. I could shoot the manager while I was at it, sort of like a bonus. I guess I’m too old for that sort of nonsense any more. I don’t like it here. I’m tired of being afraid all the time. I’ve decided not to stay. I doubt they’ll kick up any fuss. Not for an old crook like me. P.S: Tell Heywood I’m sorry I put a knife to his throat. No hard feelings.”
Brooks

The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry. - Brooks — The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry. – Brooks

Easy peasy japanesey. - Brooks — Easy peasy japanesey. – Brooks

“Son, six wardens have been through here in my tenure, and I’ve learned one immutable, universal truth: Not one of them born whose asshole wouldn’t pucker up tighter than a snare drum when you ask them for funds.”
Brooks

4 Warden Samuel Norton Quotes in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’

“This is Mr. Hadley, captain of the guards. I’m Mr. Norton, the warden. You are convicted felons. That’s why they sent you to me. Rule Number One- no blasphemy. I’ll not have the Lord’s name taken in vain in my prison. The other rules you’ll figure as you go along. Any questions?”
Warden Samuel Norton

I believe in two things discipline and the Bible. Here you'll receive both. Put your trust in the Lord; your a belongs to me. Welcome to Shawshank. - Warden Samuel Norton — I believe in two things: discipline and the Bible. Here you’ll receive both. Put your trust in the Lord; your a** belongs to me. Welcome to Shawshank. – Warden Samuel Norton

It’s a miracle — man up and vanished like a fart in the wind! - Warden Samuel Norton — It’s a miracle — man up and vanished like a fart in the wind! – Warden Samuel Norton

I want him found. Not tomorrow, not after breakfast - now! - Warden Samuel Norton — I want him found. Not tomorrow, not after breakfast – now! – Warden Samuel Norton

5 Capt. Byron Hadley Quotes in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’

I’m not gonna count to three, I’m not even gonna count to one. You will shut the fuck up or I’ll sing you a lullaby! - Capt. Byron Hadley — I’m not gonna count to three, I’m not even gonna count to one. You will shut the fuck up or I’ll sing you a lullaby! – Capt. Byron Hadley

If I hear so much as a mouse fart in here the rest of the night I swear by God and sonny Jesus you will all visit the infirmary. Every last motherfu in here. - Capt. Byron Hadley — If I hear so much as a mouse fart in here the rest of the night I swear by God and sonny Jesus you will all visit the infirmary. Every last motherfu**** in here. – Capt. Byron Hadley

Uncle Sam. Reaching into your shirt and squeezing your tit till it's purple. - Capt. Byron Hadley — Uncle Sam. Reaching into your shirt and squeezing your tit till it’s purple. – Capt. Byron Hadley

What is your malfunction, you fat barrel of monkey spunk - Capt. Byron Hadley — What is your malfunction, you fat barrel of monkey spunk? – Capt. Byron Hadley

You eat when we say you eat. You sh when we say you sh and you piss when we say you piss. You got that, you maggot d motherfu - Capt. Byron Hadley — You eat when we say you eat. You sh** when we say you sh** and you piss when we say you piss. You got that, you maggot d*** motherfu****? – Capt. Byron Hadley

3 ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ Quotes That Will Make You Think

“So, I’m backing out the door, right, and I got the TV, like this; it was a big old thing. I couldn’t see shit. Suddenly, I hear this voice, ‘Police, kid! Hands in the air.’ You know, I was standing there, holding on to that TV, so finally, the voice says, ‘You hear what I said, boy?’ And I say, ‘Yes sir, I sure did. But if I drop this fucking thing, you got me on destruction of property too.”
Tommy Williams

I ain't seen such a sorry lookin' heap o' maggot sh in all my life. - Heywood — I ain’t seen such a sorry lookin’ heap o’ maggot sh** in all my life. – Heywood

“You strike me as a particularly icy and remorseless man, Mr. Dufresne. It chills my blood just to look at you. By the power vested in me by the state of Maine, I hereby order you to serve two life sentences, back to back. One for each of your victims. So be it.”
Judge

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(MUST READ) The Shawshank Redemption Revealed: How One Story Keeps Hope Alive

The Shawshank Redemption Revealed: How One Story Keeps Hope Alive — The Shawshank Redemption Revealed: How One Story Keeps Hope Alive

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