Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

“I came to Shawshank when I was just twenty, and I am one of the few people in our happy little family willing to own up to what they did. I committed murder.”

Red says this at the outset when introducing himself. His intention here is to distinguish himself from the other inmates of the prison; he establishes that though he is a convicted murderer, he still believes in honesty. This honesty also establishes Red’s reliability as a narrator.

“Given a second chance I would not do it again, but I’m not sure that means I am rehabilitated.”

Red reveals a disconnect in the prison system of his time. While rehabilitation is supposed to be an essential aspect of imprisonment, as the narrative will reveal, it is not. That Red is unsure what rehabilitation actually is supposed to mean, he demonstrates the lack of value that Shawshank places on it. 

“Most cons are a low sort, no good to themselves or anyone else, and their worst luck was that their mothers carried them to term.”

Red suggests his deterministic worldview, which he will later emphasize when discussing Andy’s incarceration. Red suggests that for many inmates at Shawshank, their fate was inevitable at birth or even conception—they were destined to end up where they did.