Justin Baker
P.5
8-22-13
The Escape of the Taxman

Throughout Andy’s struggle, he continues to save his hope and be an inspiration for all other inmates, including Red. Andy keeps his cool and his swagger though his struggle with the sisters. I think that that triumph is how Red becomes inspired by Andy. Andy finds ways to keep his cool and finds ways to keep his sanity. Andy’s courageous and self confident determination to make something of himself and to become free no matter what the cost inspires Red to find his own freedom free in the end.

Andy finds ways to keep his sanity through all the hardship he goes through with the wardens, the sisters, and himself. Red sees how Andy uses the rock hammer and the rock blankets to make beautiful sculpted pieces of stone and Red realizes that is how he keeps his calm and his sanity throughout his time in Shawshank prison. This hope that Red sees in Andy’s eyes is what inspires Red to keep on believing and hoping for his freedom.

After Brooks Hatlin paroles, Andy takes his place as the librarian. Andy sees how small and dingy the library is, so Andy makes it his job to increase the size and content of the prison library eventually making it the best prison library in Maine. While tarring the roof of the license plate shop, Andy overhears Byron Hadley’s windfall inheritance problem and he helps him save every cent of his money through tax loopholes. So from this point on Andy becomes the prison tax man making him an indispensable prison asset. Andy also helps inmates study for and pass their high school equivalency tests. Red sees Andy’s newfound importance and that inspires Red to strive for freedom.

Once Andy gets settled in to Shawshank, he calls upon the assistance of Red to get him a rock hammer to keep himself occupied. One night Andy sees all the former prisoners of that cell carved into the cell walls, Andy sees this and wants to leave his mark on the cell walls. As Andy is carving his name into the wall, a chunk of prison wall falls to the floor, this intrigues Andy, he picks up the chunk and analyses the piece. Andy discovers how frail the cement in the wall really is, so Andy starts chipping away behind a large poster of Rita Hayworth going deeper and deeper as time slowly creeps by. Andy sews pockets into the seams of his pants and handful by handful takes his cell walls into the prison yard. After twenty-nine grueling years of slowly chipping away Andy gets to a passage down the pipes to the sewage pipe. Finally on a stormy night in Maine Andy makes his way down the pipes, breaks the sewage pipe, and crawls five hundred yards through sewage to his ultimate freedom and makes a relatively clean getaway.

From beginning to end Red is amazed by Andys unwavering determination for freedom and his never ending hope and that inspires Red and every other inmate to keep on fighting. Andys escape gives every inmate hope, hope that one day they themselves will become free. Three months after Andy's escape, Red gets parole and on the outside he realizes how fast the outside world is and thats where Red realizes a person has to get busy living or get busy dying.