However, he still does see the beauty in life and always hopes to create a better life for himself that what he has now. He has received three life sentences, and therefore, does not hope to leave the prison.
However, he also states that, if given a second chance, he would not commit the crime again. In the beginning of the novel, he states that he is a murderer, and has no idea what the word rehabilitation even means. However, despite the brutal facts of prison life, Red and Andy develop a sense of hope that could not be trifled, and by the end of the novella, both have received what they truly desire. For convicted murderers, the hope of getting free by the legal process is all but nonexistent, at least in a time frame that would matter to them. The only motivating factor for a prisoner of Shawshank is hope.
