Orange New Black
Piper Kerman's experiences reflect the readings about female penitentiaries. For example, she describes the building as being "heavily fortified…with a vicious-looking, razor-wire fence around it." This is in spite of the fact that it was a minimum security establishment. In this way, the prison experience is similar for men as for women. She describes the "drabness" of the ambiance, and how the building has not been maintained well since it was built so that it smells and there are leaks. The dismal physical environment is part and parcel of the prison scheme, used as a means to degrade and psychologically control inmates.
A second thing that Piper discusses is related to the unofficial rules vs. The official rules. There is a prison culture, which is expressed by both guards and inmates. Piper discusses the hypocrisies of the guards, who "selectively" enforce the rules and create an arbitrary system of punishment reflecting the informal social...
What is interesting, however, is Piper's note that she never witnessed a single act of violence in the entire time that she was locked up, at various institutions.
A third thing that Piper talks about is demographics. As our readings suggest, the majority of inmates are non-white minorities, and Piper points out that the vast majority of inmates were Latina. Many of the inmates were from middle class backgrounds, although the majority did not go to a college as elite as Smith. One's background in many ways determines how one fits into the different cliques that emerge, and also has a bearing on how one spends time in prison. Piper discusses a very important point related to this, which is that assignment to prison jobs is arbitrary. Although she was highly educated, they did not assign her to the GED teaching role and instead randomly assigned her to be an electrician in spite of having no background in this area. Thus, the…
