Sam Norton - Characters, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption | Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption -Summary & Themes - Novels PDF Download

Jesus, Take the Wheel

Sam Norton is the warden in Shawshank and is described by Red as "the foulest hypocrite that I ever saw in a high position" (224). He's a big-time Christian who quotes the Bible verbatim and has little homilies like "His Judgment Cometh and that Right Early" embroidered and tacked up on his wall. Despite his…close…relationship with God, he still runs a staggering variety of illegal rackets, including using prisoners as slave labor disguised as work furlough, which is clearly referenced in the Bible, um… somewhere. He swears.

Andy launders money for the grossly corrupt Norton, who thinks he can keep Andy as a virtual slave. Luckily, Andy really throws a wrench in Norton's plans when he bolts, leaving him "attending services at the Baptist church every Sunday, and wondering how the hell Andy Dufresne ever could have gotten the better of him" (457). (Even so, it beats what happens in the movie, where Norton gets to…eat a gun, for a lack of better words.)

Beyond the hypocrisy and corruption, Norton makes a very clear point about right and wrong in the book. He's as big a crook as any of his prisoners—even bigger than Andy, since Andy didn't actually kill his wife—yet he's getting rich while ruling over the prisoners with an iron fist. Unjust? You bet, but things tend to happen that way. It's the sort of thing that makes you lose hope, unless some very clever man can manage to undo him.

That man is Andy, and all he needs to do to defeat Norton is break out. Norton seems like the kind of guy who doesn't bend; he breaks. And when he breaks, he breaks hard. Think about it: He has a nice little illegal operation running, he's got millions of dollars pouring in, and he's got this handy banker completely under his thumb. Suddenly, Andy escapes, humiliating the warden and getting away clean in the process. Norton's view of a just universe is suddenly shattered and all his lovely (and lucrative) plans get flushed down the toilet. Even worse—he gets fired and suddenly has all the time in the world to think about it what he did wrong. That's enough to send anyone around the bend, especially someone like Norton who thinks he's got it all figured out.