This narrative [which narrative?] inspired the famous movie, The Shawshank Redemption. The film shows us a tragedy of an innocent man who spent many years in prison. We can see his determination, his willpower, and his demonstrated / obvious? intelligence. But above all, the movie tells us about what is fair and unfair, what is right and what is wrong. The book, on the other hand, gives us much more than that. Stephen King puts forward many psychological issues. He gives us the opportunity to look inside the average convict's mind and scrutinize* his thoughts under a microscope.

But this is not about the mistakenly convicted Andy Dufresne. No, he is not an average convict. He is smart, persistent, and self-motivated in achieving his goals. It seems like prison walls have no influence upon him whatsoever. He maintains a [free mind]** adjusting himself to the new environment. The author gives us access to Red's thoughts. Red is a long-timer, "a man who can get it."*** He found himself at Shawshank when he was "just 20" and spent the most of his life within the walls, to be finally released at the age of 58. Red experienced every stage of being a prisoner from "fresh fish" up to "I couldn't get along on the outside." He is an example of a convict whose mind has been completely conquered by prison.

Red provides a reader with horrific descriptions of rape and other indecent activities, some of them from his personal experience. Looking back he mentions it without pain. "No physical harm done,"*** he says casually. But these simple words seem to be screaming about the pressure which he had to endure. After considering them one would certainly wonder what else Red had endured? if rape became something common.

As time passes, living within the walls becomes daily routine. There is nothing to worry about. Convicts know exactly what will / is going to happen on any day of any year. All aspects of their activities are scheduled including bathroom breaks. They are immersed in a state of total obedience. At some point prisoners start to "like it here" because beyond the walls you have to make decisions, which requires a lot of willpower. And this is what long-timers lack. Guards take care of that. Moreover, long-timers usually get out when they are too old to change something in their lives. They are no longer a threat, but the outside is too big and complicated for them.

Most people on the outside have no compassion for convicts. Generally, we tend to think they deserve what they got. Stephen King gave us something to think about.

*U.S. spelling.

**I'm not sure I understand what you want to say here.

***U.S. style – period/comma goes inside the quotation marks.

What about Rita Hayworth?  :-)