Shawshank Redemption Injustice Quotes

In Steven King’s Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, strong examples of injustice are seen throughout. Injustice is strongly displayed by the wardens, especially Warden Norton. The reader gets a sense of his hypocrisy, but it is not the focus of his character. In the film adaptation of this book, Frank Darabont changed the number of wardens, his and Andy’s first meeting, the nature of Tommy’s departure from the prison, and the existence of the fake identity Randall Stevens. All of these changes served to fully expose Norton’s character, creating a stronger theme of hypocrisy in the prison system Andy rebels against. Norton is introduced by Darabont right away so we can see his personality early on. When we initially meet Norton’s character, he is giving a welcome speech to the new inmates, including Andy. Darabont wrote this scene for his film version of the story.

As the guards tear up the cells during inspection, he calmly reads the Bible, seeming to be waiting for Norton himself. While his cell is ruthlessly turned upside down with no respect for Andy’s belongings, Norton tells Andy he is glad to see that he is reading the Bible. The most chilling part of this is the Darabont’s over-the-shoulder shot facing Norton in the dark cell, with light shining down on his face. He quoted John 8:12, but rather than speaking of the Lord, it sounds as if he is speaking of himself, saying he was the light of the world. Darabont showed us this image and wrote these lines as a way to advance our understanding of Norton’s hypocrisy. Even cleverer is his line written for Norton, “Salvation lies within,” as he hands Andy his Bible, which we learn is true later in the movie because that is where he chose to hide his rock hammer. Here we see a perfect instance of Norton’s hypocrisy when he allows Andy to keep his rock blankets and posters, showing more of Norton’s true