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To begin, Shawshank is a prison, which is the house of men who have committed crimes such as murder, rape, theft and many others where they continue to live a demeaning existence, trapped in cells and fences because of the inability to control themselves or their evils. Redemption is to make up for a crime, to redeem oneself is to pay and make up for ones wrong actions. Therefore, one could infer from the title that the general meaning is that this house of criminals is redeemed, which is exactly what happens. Throughout the course of the film, Andy creates a new chance for these men by constructing a library for them, to aide them in gaining an education, and eventually have a corrupt warden and guard captain removed. Andy also redeems himself of his conviction by his actions of self-sacrifice, he is raped by other prisoners, beaten by guards and locked away in solitary confinement numerous times, but all of it pays off in the end when Shawshank develops into a decent prison.

The opening didn’t exactly reek of redemption, Andy was found guilty of murder and taken to a dark, dank prison where the men bet on who would be the first to crack. That very same night the first man does indeed “crack” and gets cracked to death by the guard captain. This sets one of two persistent alternating moods in the film, this being the mood of hopelessness that can most often control a prisoners life. But, as the title suggests, one is awaiting when the redeeming starts, because one is lead to expect it by the title, meaning it has a direct influence and how one would view the film (Not literally view, but rather, regard).