The background of the novel is 20 century 30s, when political corruption in America is late. In the story, Andy, a young banker，was subjected to various kinds of mental and physical - devastation in Shawshank prison. Nevertheless, Andy was not destroyed by his miserable fate. After more than 20 years of hard digging, he finally climbed out of a 500-yard-long sewage pipe on a thunderstorm night, regained his freedom and lived a free life on the Mexican coast.
小说的背景是20个世纪30年代，那时，“美国的政治腐败已经迟到了商人面前”。故事中，年轻的银行家安迪在肖申克监狱饱受了各种精神上和肉体上的摧残。然而，安迪并没有被多舛的命运毁掉，他经过20多年水滴石穿般地不懈挖掘，终于在一个雷雨交加的夜晚，从500码长的污粪管道中爬出，重获自由，在墨西哥海边过上了自由人的生活。
