Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding

32 quotes

Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding is a longtime inmate at Shawshank State Penitentiary and the story’s steady narrator. Known as the man who can get things, he becomes an important friend to Andy Dufresne. His lines are worth remembering because they speak plainly about prison life, hope, fear, and what it means to keep going.

Quotes by Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding

Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding's quote library gathers 32 published lines in one place. Themes include movies, life, wisdom, and inspiration.

Start with the selected quotes below, or use a theme link to filter this author inside the main quote collection.

Filter Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding by themeMovies Life Wisdom Inspiration Perseverance

“I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him.”

Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding

“They send you here for life; that's exactly what they take. The part that counts, anyway.”

Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding

“I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful it can't be expressed in words, and it makes your heart ache because of it.”

Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding

“It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made these walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.”

Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding

“I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright.”

Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding

“When they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice, but still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty now that they're gone.”

Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding

“There's a harsh truth to face: I'm not going to make it on the outside.”

Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding

“There must be a con like me in every prison in America. I'm the guy who can get it for you.”

Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding

“You're gonna fit right in. Everybody in here's innocent. Didn't you know that?”