The Shawshank Redemption · written by Frank Darabont · 1994

Andy reads Poe aloud to Tommy as his first lesson.

Scene 145 of 249 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act two

Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 1:15 into a 1:57 film

The story so farBefore scene 145

After a banker is wrongly imprisoned for murder, he uses patience, expertise, and friendship to survive Shawshank and build a path to freedom.

Scenes 1–8
Andy’s former life and conviction frame a banker whose apparent control has vanished.
Scenes 9–10
Inside prison, Andy needs a way to survive without surrendering the inner self he is trying to protect.
Scenes 11–30
Andy enters Shawshank and confronts its violence, hierarchy, and rules.
Scene 31
Andy and Red begin the friendship that will carry the film’s argument about hope and connection.
Scene 51
Andy tells Red that prisoners retain an inner life and hope, though Red warns hope can be dangerous.
Scene 112
Andy broadcasts Mozart; the whole prison experiences a brief freedom of mind, revealing what hope can still do.
Just before
Scene 142
Tommy plays cards with Andy, Red, and the others, comparing prisons.
Scene 143
Tommy visits with his young wife and baby through the glass.
Scene 144
Tommy asks Andy to help him earn his high-school equivalency.
Scene 145
This scene

145INT -- LIBRARY -- DAY (1965)

We find Andy giving an impassioned reading:

ANDY

"...and the lamplight o'er him

streaming throws his shadow on the

floor...and my soul from out that

shadow that lies floating on the

floor, shall be lifted nevermore!"

Andy slaps the book shut, immensely pleased with himself.

TOMMY

So this raven just sits there and

won't go away?

ANDY

That's right.

TOMMY

(beat)

Why don't that fella get hisself a

and dust the fucker?