The narrator of the story, Red, also speaks of Andy's such brightness. After Andy exchanged his tax advice to Hadley with several bottles of beers which his fellow prisoners could drink, Red says "All I know for sure is that Andy Dufresne wasn’t much like me or anyone else I ever knew. . . . It was a kind of inner light he carried around with him." The "Inner Light" Red says directly points out the sense of hope other prisoners could feel. For the prisoners who have been long confined in the prison where freedom and personal identity were strictly deprived, what Andy show must have been a whole new thing. At the same time, I also believe that it was the most valuable present for the prisoners. Although not directly described in the book, Andy gave a slight change to mundane prison life, the biggest contribution being expansion of the library. For those who were accustomed to simple yet self-killing prison life, Andy's appearance itself could have been a stimulus.
As the novel reaches its end, Andy's role as a "hope-giver" is once again emphasized. For Red who had been so long imprisoned, society was a whole new world, full of fearful things. Freedom which he longed for so desperately, become and threatening. Women were no more a friendly being he could love and workplaces were no more places where he could seek contentment. To Red, depressed with his unfitness to the real society, Andy approaches as a hope. The last sentences of the novel, "I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope," lucidly shows Andy's role.
"I hope Andy is down there.
I hope I can make it across the border.
I hope to see my friend and shake his hand.
I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams.
I hope."
This part resonated my mind. As Andy gave hope to his fellow prisoners, I hope I could be a figure who could encourage others.
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