Hotel California Short Story

Without any diversion from their actuality, the inmates start to feel as though their existence is pointless. Hopkins says, “It strikes me that for most of them, prison has become a life of waiting: waiting in line to eat, for a phone call, the mail, or a visit. Or just waiting for tomorrow-for parole and freedom. For the older ones, with no hope of

"Count!" The prison guard yelled on a brisk Saturday in Maidens, Virginia. I watched as the prisoners lined the walls of the James River Correctional Facility. While the majority of my friends spent their Saturdays enjoying pizza and ice cream with their family, my Saturdays consisted of being in a prison visitation room. My father was serving a thirty year sentence for distributing crack cocaine. As the years went on, I began to look forward to seeing the barbed wire and prison guards. I knew that in the midst of the penitentiary environment, I would at least be able to see a father figure for a few hours.

When we got to the prison, I was surprised to see multiple buildings all around a center courtyard. The inmates were dressed in green or gray and were busy doing various activities. The first thing that really swept me off my feet was when we visited the inmates near the gym in the knitting room. The things they were making required so much talent, which is something I had never considered prisoners to have, mostly because I had never thought about it. I was even more shocked by the talent of the brick layers and the high success rate that is found in the inmates that

In part 3, Morris (2002, p.171) discusses why prison conditions matter and why penal reformers, including himself, have devoted their lives and travelled thousands of miles

Whenever you imagine prison, you think up ideas and violent images that you have seen in the movies or on TV.   Outdated clichés consisting of men eating stale bread and drinking dirty water are only a small fraction of the number of horrible, yet “just” occurrences which are stereotypical of everyday life in prison.   Perhaps it could be a combination of your upbringing, horrific ideas about the punishment which our nation inflicts on those who violate its’ more serious laws that keeps people frightened just enough to lead a law-abiding life. Despite it’s success in keeping dangerous offenders off the streets, the American prison system fails in fulfilling its original design of restoring criminals to being productive members of society, it is also extremely expensive and wastes our precious tax dollars.

This book presents two individuals, named Richard and Perry, who strived to do a few things once they were out of prison that were very horrific, and unbearable which by any means is not permissible. During and after the killings of the Clutter family, Perry comes to his senses and speaks on the aftermath of what these killings have brought upon him. “The sounds of breathing, the gasps, the hysterical inhalations of a man with a severed windpipe. When Perry said, “I think there must be something wrong with us,” he was making an admission he “hated to make” (110). Criminals who admit on their behavior. The position becomes, are they human beings anymore, or are they dehumanized? The fact that Perry Smith comes to the realization that they are demented, should they be given a chance? The level of detail that speaks

This book is an honest account of life in Leavenworth Prison, Kansas based on interviews with notorious inmates and numerous other individuals. The book begins with introducing inmates such as Carl Bowles, Dallas Scott and William Post and offers insight information on the cultural aspect inside the prison itself. Once the basics are known to the reader, the author Pete Earley, develops the character of the prisoners and thus of the penitentiary as a whole.

After reading the book I have gained a new understanding of what inmates think about in prison. Working in an institution, I have a certain cynical attitude at times with inmates and their requests.

Hassine begins his narrative as he is entering prison but this time as an inmate. Prior to his incarceration, Hassine was an attorney (Hassine, 2011). Even then as an attorney, the high walls of prison intimated Hassine (Hassine, 2011). As Hassine was being processed into the system, he expressed how he systematically became hopeless from the very prison structure itself as well as because of the intimidation he felt by uniforms. Prisons of the past actually had a goal to aid individuals through rehabilitation by instilling new values in order to correct the wrongs that one may have committed during their lifetime but today this is no longer true. . Hassine draws colorful depictions of how dim and unfamiliar a prison can be in which instills fear in an individual soon as he or she

Michael Gray shows how the prison affects the small town of Elmira with examples from Elmira’s newspaper, “Elmira Daily Advertiser commented on the

In America, everyone seems to have a different idea about what goes on behind the grey, dismal walls of prison. For many of us, the idea itself conjures images of coiled barbed wire fences, chains dragging across the ground, somber faces behind rusting bars and those bright orange jumpsuits. These visions come from a variety of sources-- movies we’ve seen, the stories that we’ve been told and our own imagination that is constantly at work. However, the reality of prison life in America can only come from those who have stepped foot inside. Through memoirs written by Danner Darcleight and Ted Conover, I’ve had to reconsider some of these previously held visions of prison life. While Conover writes about the abusive relationship between the correctional officers and the prisons, through Darcleight’s writing we see the rewarding powers of having social life and the hopeful possibility for anyone to attain redemption. The first chapter of Concrete Carnival, by Danner Darcleight, as well as Guarding Sing Sing by Ted Conover has led me to re-evaluate these previously held visions of prison life, including the relationship between guards and inmates, social systems, and redemption.

Hollandsworth engages inside the minds of readers by establishing a base of knowledge of the unjust criminal sentencing Edwin was given. throughout the article “The Prisoner”, Edwin is portrayed as a cold-blooded killer who deserves to be locked up with no way of receiving a second chance at life. Hollandsworth concluded that Edwin is not the only twelve-year-old to be sentenced to a state prison as a juvenile, “According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, of the 140,000 inmates now housed in its prisons, approximately 2,000 are there for crimes that they committed as juveniles, which state law defines as anyone under the age of seventeen. Nearly a hundred of those inmates committed their crimes when they were only eleven, twelve, or thirteen years old” (Para 2). Edwin is also one of the youngest inmates to be sentenced to such a long and unimaginable verdict, “Of that group, only two have served more time than Edwin. “I’m considered the bad seed, the worst of the worst, all because of one stupid, terrible thing I did when I was twelve,” (Para 2). Edwin shows remorse and regret for his actions but still cannot seem to find a way to change the minds of his peers, “Why can’t people understand I’m not that twelve-year-old boy anymore? Why can’t I be given a second chance?” (Para 2). Edwin and his

For our second writing assignment, I have chosen Reading 37 (A Prison By Any Other Name) from the 40 Studies that Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of Psychological Research by Roger Hock. Holding the belief that humans have the tendency to engage in behaviors that are utterly different from their usual selves under the influences of the environment / situation, the famous psychologist, Philip Zimbardo set out an experiment to test his hypothesis by placing randomly assigned “normal” college students into a simulated prison environment. With the hope to simulate a prison experience that resemble real-life jail situation, Philip Zimbardo and his crew transformed the basement of the Stanford University’s psychology building into

Breakfast ends and we head to the playground for free play. Free play is the time where the prisoners are allowed to do whatever they like and play whichever sport pleases them. As a prisoner, all I can do is enjoy it to the best I can. The fresh air is soothing yet disturbing at the same time. As usual, I just sit by myself and reminisce on old times and past events. However, when my imagination takes me back in time, my reality doesn?t change. The harsh reality of being in prison.

“Hotel California” by The Eagles has been the recipient of much speculation since its release in 1976. Although many other interpretations exist including some which claim this song to be referencing drugs, much evidence suggests that “Hotel California” is, at least partly, making a statement about the lifestyle of drug and alcohol users particularly in the large cities of California. As with many songs, duality of meaning exists in “Hotel California.”