Characters
Andy Dufresne - who crawled through a river of shit and came out cleen on the other side.
— Red · The Shawshank Redemption
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
Red praises Andy as someone who went through the foulest possible ordeal and came out clean. The crude image makes the achievement vivid. It's admiration for endurance, with the surprising part being that he emerged unspoiled.
Context reviewed