[shiroiushi]

Of course, many of King's stories do seem to push "fetishized characteristics" as you call them: in The Shining, Danny had the power to "shine". In Green Mile, the protagonist had a magical healing ability. But what characteristics did the characters in Shawshank have? Both seemed fairly well-rounded to me, and certainly didn't have any supernatural abilities (which is one thing that set Shawshank apart from many King stories).