坚强的人只能救赎自己，伟大的人才能拯救他人

　　Get busy living, Or get busy dying.

　　忙活，或者等死。（汲汲于生，或汲汲于死 ）

　　Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

　　希望是美好的，也许是人间至善，而美好的事物永不消逝.

　　“some birds aren't meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are just too bright...”

　　有的鸟是不会被关住的，因为它们的羽毛太美丽了！
        “刚入狱的时候，你痛恨周围的高墙；慢慢的，你习惯生活在其中；最终你会发现自己不得不依靠它而生存。”
这是 Red 在出监狱之后按照 Andy 在监狱中跟他约定的承诺在乡下的乱石堆里找到的 Andy 写给 Red 的一封信。你看见了吗？那字里行间渗透的对希望的执著追求以及因此带给我们的深深的思考！

Dear Red:

If you’re reading this, you’ve gotten out and if you’ve come this far, maybe you’d come a bit further. You remember the name of the town, don’t you? Zihuatanjo. I could use a good man to help me get my project on wheels. I’ll keep an eye out for you, and the chessborad ready.

Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things.And no good thing ever dies. I will be hoping that this letter finds you and finds you well.

Your friend
Andy

这段话的背景是Red前两次被审查是否能获得 approved 从而走出监狱时虽然他都表示自己已经成为对社会无危害的人了，但都莫名奇妙的　rejected． 这是影片中第三次监狱的officer和Red的对话．

 

-Please sit down.
Ellis Boyd Redding,your files say　

you've served 40 years of a life sentence.
You feel you've been rehabilitated?


-Rehabilitated?　
Well, now, let me see.
I don't have any idea what that means.

-It means you're ready to rejoin society...

-I know what you think it means, sonny.
To me it's just a made-up word.　A politician's word so that...young fellas like yourself can wear a suit and a tie...and have a job.　What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did?

-Well, are you?

-There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret.
Not because I'm in here or because you think I should.　
I look back on the way I was then...a young...stupid kid who committed that terrible crime.
I want to talk to him...
I want to try and talk some sense to him.
Tell him the way things are...But I can't...
That kid's long gone.．．and this old man is all that's left.
I got to live with that.
Rehabilitated? It's just a bullshit word.So you go on and stamp your forms,sonny, and stop wasting my time.Because to tell you the truth...I don't give a shit.