Guide Mentor

Character Role Analysis

Brooks

It's possible to argue that Andy teaches Brooks more than the other way around, but there's no denying that Brooks is the "old, wise one" of the bunch. He's been around twice as long as most of the other inmates, and has been on such good behavior he even gets treated to certain freedoms and liberties the others only dream of.

For Andy, Brooks represents a glimmer of hope. If Brooks can be entrusted to cart books around the halls and wander about by himself inside the library, then couldn't Andy—an educated, well-mannered young man—eventually prove himself to be worthy of the same advantages? In fact, he should be even more deserving of such concessions, since he doesn't keep a crow in his shirt pocket like a raving lunatic.