Since 1994, Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption has held the honored reputation of being one of cinema’s greatest achievements, with its profound narrative, iconic lines, and indelible themes and characters to thank for its continued relevancy after three decades. One aspect of the film that’s overlooked, however, is its true main character, who, surprisingly, is neither Andy Dufresne nor “Red.”

Instead, The Shawshank Redemption‘s central protagonist belongs to a force mystical in nature yet grounded in even the harshest of realities, whose influence is more powerful than fear, anger, and despair combined. Though Red may be the narrator, he—along with Andy, Tommy, and Heywood—all share one key trait that sustains them through the worst of all odds: hope.

Hope Is The Real Main Character Of The Shawshank Redemption

Like the Biblical example of God descending to Earth in the human incarnation of Jesus, hope manifests for Ellis “Red” Redding (Morgan Freeman) in the form of the wrongly convicted banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), an enigmatic figure who remains undeterred by the soul-crushing walls and doctrines of Shawshank that rob others of their most basic humanity.

Rather than accept his unjust imprisonment, Andy remains steadfast in his innocence, never giving up on his decades-long pursuit of freedom. Because hope never abandons Andy, it enters Red once again after nearly half a century behind bars, providing him with the courage to join his friend in Zihuatanejo after years of embracing apathy over hope.

Hope not only follows Andy or Red, however, appearing most prominently to other inmates through music. This is seen with Heywood’s (William Sadler) love for Hank Williams and prominently in the scene where Andy plays an excerpt from Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” over the prison’s loudspeakers, providing the inmates with but a fleeting moment of hope and freedom.

Which Character Really Represents Hope In The Shawshank Redemption

As to the question of who is truly representative of hope in The Shawshank Redemption, the answer lies with both Red and Andy as two faces of the same coin. Whereas Andy never loses hope, Red’s has already vanished by the time the banker arrives at Shawshank, even ᴀsserting at one point that, “Hope is a dangerous thing.”

However, Andy’s escape awakens Red’s longing for freedom once more, a rebirth that is only solidified by Andy’s letter under the oak tree: “Hope is a good thing, and no good thing ever dies.” In this sense, Red represents hope reborn—a flame that rises powerfully out of the ashes of despair by the transcendent redemption hope offers.