Andrew "Andy" Dufresne is the main protagonist in the 1994 drama film The Shawshank Redemption. He is a banker who is falsely convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. He is also a rockhound.
He was portrayed by Tim Robbins.
His Good Ranking[]
What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Good?[]
- He didn't give in to his anger by killing his wife and her affair, instead going home to sleep it off and throwing his gun into the river.
- After his wife's death, he vowed not to drink anymore to make sure he never lost control of himself and become a better person.
- He asks the name of the prisoner who was beat to death by Hadley, being the only one who cared enough to remember him despite not knowing the man at all.
- He helps Hadley legally shelter his $35,000 in exchange for giving his fellow inmates beer, refusing to drink any beer himself, showing it was done solely for them and not himself. Hadley later showed a modicum of gratitude by beating up Bogs.
- He helps a guard known as Denkins with his financial problems, then proceeds to help the rest of the staff at the prison with their taxes, including the guards from another prison who'd come to play baseball and had heard of his financial expertise.
- He talks Brooks out of killing Heywood and then comforts the former when he's sobbing.
- He plays opera music over the intercom in the warden's office to soothe the prisoners despite knowing the consequences, and then spends two weeks in solitary confinement as punishment.
- He gives Red a harmonica as a gift after Red had mentioned he used to play the harmonica as a younger man.
- He turns a reeking storage room into the Brooks Hatlen Memorial Library (named after an inmate who hanged himself not too long after being released), something that all the prisoners would enjoy greatly.
- He helps Tommy pass his GED test. When Tommy throws away the test in frustration believing he failed, Andy sends in the test anyway, and when he's put in solitary confinement, he smiles with pride upon learning that Tommy passed.
- He expresses guilt over not having been a better husband to his wife and being more open with her about his emotions.
- He indirectly defeats Norton and Hadley via tipping the press after escaping prison, ending all the corruption happening under their authority.
- Despite being imprisoned and enduring great pain from being raped by Bogs, being put into solitary confinement multiple times, and being convicted for a crime he never committed, Andy never gave up hope and after many years of effort, broke free from Shawshank prison.
- He gives Red a reason to not end up like Brooks by being his best friend, teaching him about the value of hope, and directing him to Mexico, where they both make a vacation paradise for future guests.
What Prevents Him From Being Pure Good?[]
- The whole reason that the library was funded in the first place was because he was willingly helping Warden Norton launder money, which even Andy himself knows makes him a crook, although this is more illegal than outright immoral, and Andy told Norton he wanted out of the money laundering since the library had already been finished and funded. He only continued after Norton threatened to burn down the library Andy made in Brooks' memory and to hand him over to the rapists if he backed out, so it's only a very minor prevention.
Trivia[]
- He is the current icon of the Mature template with his triumph over escaping Shawshank Prison.
- He and Bill Denbrough are the only two Stephen King Near Pure Good heroes.
External Links[]
- Andy Dufresne on the Heroes Wiki
- Andy Dufresne on the Shawshank Redemption Wiki
- Andy Dufresne on the Stephen King Wiki
- Andy Dufresne on the Guile Heroes Wiki
- Andy Dufresne on the The Ultimate Good Wiki
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