Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption
| "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen King |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Crime Fiction |
| Published in | Different Seasons |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Publication date | 1982 |
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is a novella by Stephen King, from his 1982 collection Different Seasons, subtitled Hope Springs Eternal. It is loosely based on Leo Tolstoy short story God Sees the Truth, But Waits. It was adapted for the screen in 1994 as The Shawshank Redemption, which was nominated for seven Academy Awards in 1994, including Best Picture. In 2009, it was adapted for the stage as the play The Shawshank Redemption.
Andy Dufresne, a banker from Maine, is convicted for the double murder of his wife and her lover, a crime he did not commit. He is sent to Shawshank State Penitentiary to serve a double life sentence. There, he meets Red, a prisoner who smuggles items from the outside world. Andy, who had been an amateur geologist before being jailed, asks Red to get him a rock hammer for shaping rocks he collects from the exercise yard into small sculptures. One of the next items he orders from Red is a large poster of Rita Hayworth. Over the ensuing years, Andy regularly requests more posters from Red, including pin-ups of Marilyn Monroe and Raquel Welch. When asked, Andy tells Red that he likes to imagine he can step through the pictures and be with the actresses.
One day, Andy and other prisoners are tarring a roof when Andy overhears a guard complaining about the amount of tax he will have to pay on a sum of money bequeathed to him. Andy approaches the guard, and tells him a way that he can legally shelter the money from taxation. Later, a gang of prison rapists called "The Sisters", led by Bogs Diamond, assault Andy. However, when Andy makes himself useful to the guards, they protect him from "The Sisters". One night, Bogs is found in his cell unconscious and severely beaten. Andy is also allowed to stay alone in his cell instead of having a cellmate, like most other prisoners.
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