Power
"If pop culture is the site of struggle, it is where this order of power is negotiated."
(Brandt and Clare 15)
"Welcome to Shawshank"
Power is a huge theme in the film, especially abuses of power. Both the warden of the prison and his number one guard, Byron Hadley, abuse their powers throughout the film.
Warden Norton
The Warden uses Hadley and Andy to do his dirty work. The Warden launders money through the prison, and in order to do so more successfully and risk-free, he forces Andy, a former banker, to start handling all of his laundering; this would also allow more blame to be put on Andy than the Warden if they are caught.
Warden Norton had Hadley handle the more violent and aggressive dirty work. Norton had Hadley beat prisoners and even had him murder one in cold blood because the prisoner was helping Andy prove his innocence and leave Shawshank, which would harm Norton and put him at risk of exposure for his crimes. The Warden uses his power to his advantage, especially so that he may gain wealth.
Byron Hadley
While Hadley often worked under the Warden's orders, he also abused his power as a prison guard on his own and would not follow the Warden's orders so well and closely, if he did not also enjoy the power. Bryon once beat a new inmate to death because he was crying in his cell. Byron killed a young inmate for the Warden by shooting him and also beat an inmate until he was paralyzed because the inmate almost killed Andy, while both of these two instances were orders from the Warden, Bryon did so without remorse or hesitation. We even see Byron threaten to throw Andy off of a roof because he spoke to the him and the other guards. Byron abuses his power over the inmates to be violent and cruel.