Synopsis 2
Andy is later advised that he will now work in the prison library with aging inmate Brooks Hatlen (James Whitmore). The reason for his transfer is made obvious when a prison guard shows up asking Andy for financial advising. Andy sets-up a makeshift desk and starts working, providing financial advising to most prison guards and helping them with their income tax returns. Andy also sees an opportunity to expand the prison library; he starts by asking the Maine state senate for funds. He writes letters every week. His financial support practice is so appreciated that even guards from other prisons, when they visit for inter-prison baseball matches, seek Andy's financial expertise. Andy's client expands greatly and eventually includes Warden Norton himself.
Not long after, Brooks suddenly snaps and threatens to kill Heywood in order to avoid being paroled. Andy is able to talk him down. When his friends discuss Brooks 'behavior, Red sympathizes with Brooks having obviously become "institutionalized," after spending 50 years at Shawshank. He has become essentially conditioned to be a prisoner for the rest of his life and is unable to adapt to the outside world. Red remarks: "These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them." Brooks is paroled and goes to live in a halfway house. He is also given a job at a supermarket which he hates. Finding it impossible to adjust to life outside the prison, he eventually commits suicide, leaving the message "Brooks was here" carved on a wooden beam .
Andy finds a new mission for himself; he believes he can expand and renovate the library. He begins to write letters to state legislators asking for funds to buy more books and expand the collection. He is ignored at first but after six years of writing letters, Andy receives $200 from the state for the library, along with a collection of old books and phonograph records. Though the state Senate thinks this will be enough to get Andy to halt his letter-writing campaign, he is undaunted and redoubles his efforts.
When the donations of old books and records arrive at the warden's office, Andy finds a copy of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro among the records. He locks the guard assigned to the warden's office in the bathroom and plays the record over the prison's PA system. The entire prison is soon captivated by the music. Red remarks that the voices of these women made everyone feel free, if only for a brief moment. Outside the office, Norton appears furious at the act of defiance, and orders Andy to turn off the record player. Andy, sporting a huge smile, responds by turning up the volume. The warden orders Hadley to break into the office and Andy is sent immediately to solitary confinement for two weeks. When he gets out, he tells his friends that the stretch was the "easiest time" he ever did in the hole because he spent it with Mozart's Figaro stuck in his head for comfort. When the other prisoners tell him how unlikely that is, he talks about the power that hope can have in prison and that hope can sustain them. Red strongly disagrees with Andy, claiming that hope is a dangerous thing in a place like Shawshank and tells Andy he should get used to living without it. Andy implies that this is exactly what Brooks did and Red leaves the table angry.
Not long after, Red has a new parole hearing and realizes he's been in prison for 30 years now. He uses the exact same words he used ten years earlier only with no enthusiasm at all. His parole is rejected again. Andy gives him an harmonica to commemorate his 30 years which Red replies by offering Andy a giant poster of Marilyn Monroe to commemorate his 10 years.
About four years after the Mozart incident, the state senate finally comes to the conclusion that they won't get rid of Andy with just another check. So they allow him a budget of $500 a year to expand the library, knocking down a few walls to unused rooms and renovating the space as he'd planned with his incessant letter campaign. Andy uses the funds wisely and makes deals with book clubs and charities to create the best prison library in the state and names it after Brooks. With the enlarged library and more materials, Andy begins to mentor inmates who want to receive their high school diplomas so they can get decent jobs once they're out.
Not long after, Brooks suddenly snaps and threatens to kill Heywood in order to avoid being paroled. Andy is able to talk him down. When his friends discuss Brooks 'behavior, Red sympathizes with Brooks having obviously become "institutionalized," after spending 50 years at Shawshank. He has become essentially conditioned to be a prisoner for the rest of his life and is unable to adapt to the outside world. Red remarks: "These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them." Brooks is paroled and goes to live in a halfway house. He is also given a job at a supermarket which he hates. Finding it impossible to adjust to life outside the prison, he eventually commits suicide, leaving the message "Brooks was here" carved on a wooden beam .
Andy finds a new mission for himself; he believes he can expand and renovate the library. He begins to write letters to state legislators asking for funds to buy more books and expand the collection. He is ignored at first but after six years of writing letters, Andy receives $200 from the state for the library, along with a collection of old books and phonograph records. Though the state Senate thinks this will be enough to get Andy to halt his letter-writing campaign, he is undaunted and redoubles his efforts.
When the donations of old books and records arrive at the warden's office, Andy finds a copy of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro among the records. He locks the guard assigned to the warden's office in the bathroom and plays the record over the prison's PA system. The entire prison is soon captivated by the music. Red remarks that the voices of these women made everyone feel free, if only for a brief moment. Outside the office, Norton appears furious at the act of defiance, and orders Andy to turn off the record player. Andy, sporting a huge smile, responds by turning up the volume. The warden orders Hadley to break into the office and Andy is sent immediately to solitary confinement for two weeks. When he gets out, he tells his friends that the stretch was the "easiest time" he ever did in the hole because he spent it with Mozart's Figaro stuck in his head for comfort. When the other prisoners tell him how unlikely that is, he talks about the power that hope can have in prison and that hope can sustain them. Red strongly disagrees with Andy, claiming that hope is a dangerous thing in a place like Shawshank and tells Andy he should get used to living without it. Andy implies that this is exactly what Brooks did and Red leaves the table angry.
Not long after, Red has a new parole hearing and realizes he's been in prison for 30 years now. He uses the exact same words he used ten years earlier only with no enthusiasm at all. His parole is rejected again. Andy gives him an harmonica to commemorate his 30 years which Red replies by offering Andy a giant poster of Marilyn Monroe to commemorate his 10 years.
About four years after the Mozart incident, the state senate finally comes to the conclusion that they won't get rid of Andy with just another check. So they allow him a budget of $500 a year to expand the library, knocking down a few walls to unused rooms and renovating the space as he'd planned with his incessant letter campaign. Andy uses the funds wisely and makes deals with book clubs and charities to create the best prison library in the state and names it after Brooks. With the enlarged library and more materials, Andy begins to mentor inmates who want to receive their high school diplomas so they can get decent jobs once they're out.
