Daily Dialogue — December 28, 2016

“My wife used to say I’m a hard man to know. Like a closed book. Complained about it all the time. She was beautiful. I loved her. But I
guess I couldn’t show it enough. I killed her, Red. I didn’t pull the trigger. But I drove her away. That’s why she died. Because of me, the way I am.”

— The Shawshank Redemption (1994), screenplay by Frank Darabont, short story by Stephen King

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Failure, suggested by Melinda Mahaffey and Will King.

Trivia: Stephen King has said that his original novella was a culmination of all the memories he had from watching prison movies when he was a child.

Dialogue On Dialogue: A critical scene in the movie, the last time Andy talks with Red before Andy escapes. Here he begins by confessing how he had failed as a husband, how the “way I am” drove her away and led to her death.

Interesting parallel in that Red does his own confession, the third time he appears in front of the parole board. Compare that appearance to the previous two which you can do with this video:

The fact both men speak to the failure of their lives in an honest way, acknowledging their responsibilities, followed by their respective departures from prison is a nice bit of symmetry.