Andy Dufresne
Before getting locked up in Shawshank, Dufresne served as vice president of a bank in Portland, Maine. At the start of the film, he is sentenced to two life terms for murdering his wife and her lover. While he alleges that he was wrongfully convicted, the evidence does not support him. At Shawshank, Dufresne becomes the target of sexual abuse by a prison clique, The Sisters, because of his reputation as a soft-spoken and stuck-up inmate.
Soon enough, Andy proves that his unassuming manner masks an ingenious sense of strategy and confidence. He soon becomes the undercover financial advisor to nearly all the prison guards, earning their protection and the respect of his fellow inmates. All the while, he is a supportive, generous, and selfless prisoner, helping his fellow inmates without asking anything in return. He writes to the Senate every week for several years petitioning for funds to revamp the prison library, and helps inmates earn educations they otherwise would not have received.
Red describes Andy as meticulous, and is often perplexed by Andy's sense of hope, even when the odds are stacked against him. Andy's determination pays off, however, and he eventually escapes from Shawshank without anyone realizing until he's long gone. After his expert getaway, he takes Norton's money, stages Norton's demise, and flees to Mexico, leaving a trail behind for Red to follow.
Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding
Red is the narrator of the film, a seasoned inmate at Shawshank who "knows how to get things." He was convicted of murder nearly twenty years prior to the start of the film, and is calm, authoritative, friendly, and smart. The head prison smuggler, Red becomes close friends with Andy. He is soulful, strong, and knowledgable, but struggles to muster the kind of hope that Andy has for freedom.
When Red is finally released on parole, he fears he will not make it in the real world, and comes close to committing suicide. However, the memory of Andy's instructions leads him to the oak tree in Buxton, where he finds money and an invitation to Mexico, which he readily accepts.
Warden Samuel Norton
Norton is the devout Christian warden of the prison. Although he presents himself as pious and ethical, he is actually cruel, corrupt, and remorseless. His religiosity veils a cold-blooded ruthlessness that he uses to run a Machiavellian operation at Shawshank. He begins laundering money and using Andy to help him get ahead, but his greed eventually comes back to bite him when Andy takes the money for himself and turns Norton in to the cops.
Heywood
Heywood is a prisoner and a member of Red's gang of long-serving convicts. He is not especially intelligent, but he is a loyal friend and committed member of the group.
Captain Byron Hadley
Hadley is the sadistic chief of guards at Shawshank. To keep the inmates in line, Hadley has no problem with beating the prisoners senselessly. He gives Andy preferential treatment after Andy gives him helpful financial advice, but his loyalties are strictly contractual, not personal, and he has no soft feelings towards any of his inmates. He is the muscle behind Norton's evil and corrupt operation.
Tommy Williams
Tommy is a young criminal who enters the prison late in Andy's stay. He is a burglar who has been locked up several times and has a wife and kid waiting for him outside. Andy helps Tommy make something of himself by teaching him to read and helping him get a high school diploma. In the process of their acquaintanceship, Tommy reveals to Andy that he knows the man who actually killed Andy's wife and her lover. When Andy brings this information to Norton, hoping for a chance to get released from prison, Norton has Tommy killed, shot by a guard.
Brooks Hatlen
Brooks is an older prisoner and member of Red's gang. He has a soft spot for animals, taking care of birds in the tiny library over which he presides. After 50 years at Shawshank, he is released and enters a halfway house nearby. However, having spent so much time in prison, Brooks is daunted by the outside world and ends up hanging himself in his room, overwhelmed by the pace and anxiety of day-to-day life.
