Caaging Of America By Adam Gopnik Analysis

Shawshank’s Redemption, an all-time best movie produced in 1994 starred and led by actors Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. A story about two imprisoned men’s experience with the corrupted prison institution through their way of self-redemption. There is a line, which was well read by Morgan Freeman, I am particularly fond of. Here I quote ‘These walls are funny. First you hate them, then you get used to them. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That 's institutionalized.’ A prison should aim at retribution, incapacitation, deterrence and rehabilitation. I am very well convinced that prison has served its first three purposes by depriving offenders’ freedom, but the

Transition to First Main Point: To begin, let’s take a look at what prison overcrowding is.

In America, the private prison industry was made for necessary profit based off of the management of prisons by large, private companies. In David Shapiro’s insightful report “Banking on Bondage”, he discusses the logistics of the United States prison system, saying “In America, our criminal justice system should keep us safe, operate fairly, and be cost-effective”. Today, the United States imprisons more people than any other nation in the world, including Russia, China, and Iran. Alongside the issues of private prisons, the increasingly apparent problem of mass incarceration has stripped record numbers of American citizens of their freedom, has a minimal effect on public

In 1971, 1 out of 12 Americans were incarcerated. Since that time, the prisoner ratio has exponentially increased; today, that ratio is 1 out of 51. With that number continuing to rise, many problems result out of it. Prison overcrowding is a growing problem in the United States. The number of people being taken in has regressive effects on the purpose behind imprisonment. Though the prisoners are not there for a comfortable and enjoyable stay, ethical rights are being ignored. How can a someone carry out their sentence rightfully if the focus is taken away from them and put on the judgment of the courts and justice system? Prison overcrowding is without a doubt problematic and inhumane. The mandatory sentencing laws, lack of attention on

Before the centralization of prison systems, prisoners had the privilege to decorate their prison cell, personalize their prison clothing, and have different types of furniture, such as bookshelves, rugs, and chairs. However, this changed when the prison system became more centralized. Austin and Irwin (2012) explained that “the centralization of authority and the formation of rules and regulations in prison systems resulted in stringent and uniform routines”, which eliminated the privileges of the prisoners.

Angela Davis in her book, Are Prisons Obsolete?, argues for the overall abolishment of prisons. Amongst the significant claims that support Davis’ argument for abolition, the inadequacy of prison reforms stands out as the most compelling. Reform movements truthfully only seek to slightly improve prison conditions, however, reform protocols are eventually placed unevenly between women and men. Additionally, while some feminist women considered the crusade to implement separate prisons for women and men as progressive, this reform movement proved faulty as female convicts increasingly became sexually assaulted. Following the theme of ineffectiveness, the reform movement that advocated for a female approach to punishment only succeeded in strengthening

If one thinks jails in modern-day U.S. society are bad, then he /she should consider

The poem “America” by Tony Hoagland dramatizes the conflict of life in America today. To many, poetry is a confusing group of words, but if the reader looks underneath the surface there is usually a deep hidden meaning of those words. In “America” the speaker is turning the words into metaphors to show the corrupted way of life Americans live. He uses key images in these metaphors to get the reader thinking. A key image is a word or phrase that doesn’t necessarily mean the literal object but instead shows characteristics of an unsaid object or idea.

Thesis: It is very important for the sake of Americans tax dollars that we change the way that prisons are run and increase the productivity of inmates so when they are released from jail they are ready to be a productive member in society and have the confidence to achieve new goals.

First, there is a long list of negatives that the prison system in America brings. The prison system is filled with crime, hate, and negativity almost as much as the free world is. When in prison, we see that those who were in gangs are still in gangs and that those who were not, are likely to join during their sentence. Naturally the prisons are filled with criminals who not only bring with them a record of past wrong but also an attitude of anger and or survival when they walk behind the walls of prison. This attitude of anger fueled by the thought of survival keeps most from ever experiencing renewal or change when behind bars. While in the world they were criminals running from the law and while in prison

Admittedly, some have argued in the article “Do prisoners have too much luxury/ too many privileges?”, “...prison can be a harsh and difficult time with some people spending many years there, so because of this they should at least have somewhere ‘comfortable’ to serve their time and receive as much

“Where to Invade next” is a social documentary movie. In this movie, Moore first visited an island prison in Norway, this prison just like a resort with only four guards for a prison population of 114, the prisoner could go fishing and sunbathing. That was totally amazed me for sure when I got this information, but on the following act, the warden explained that:“ I don’t understand why you think this is a strange idea. … The main idea is just to take away their freedom. That’s the only punishment we are giving them, We are trying to help them back to society.” those words sounds are not very reasonable to me, although it sounds like a humane idea, because no one could guarantee that those criminal not escape from the prison, but that fact is, it works very well and that encourages me to think deeper about it. Does the prison really deprive the freedom of

“The Men Who Built America DVD” begins immediately after the American Civil War. The United States was in a rebuilding stage and the future of the country seemed uncertain. During the next 35 years, there would be a group of men who would change the country and the world forever. These men would have power and wealth never before seen in the world and would direct the United States into the 20th century.

Does it make sense to lock up 2.4 million people on any given day, giving the U.S the highest incarceration rate in the world. More people are going to jail, this implies that people are taken to prison everyday for many facilities and many go for no reason. People go to jail and get treated the worst way as possible. This is a reason why the prison system needs to be changed. Inmates need to be treated better. The government treats prisoners as if they are nothing in this world. The U.S prison system needs to be reformed by building new and better prisons and making it more humane and fair.

I have never before visited a prison nor have I met a prisoner in my entire life. Why should I care about someone whom I would rarely see? But these inmates are our brothers and sisters who may have made bad choices, but don’t want their mistakes to hold them back. Throughout my life, my once miserable and hopeless circumstances were transformed by education, and I am certain that the same principle can be applied to anyone, including inmates, despite our differences in how we responded to circumstances. It is true that prison takes nearly everything away from them – even their hopes and dreams. But they have the time to correct past mistakes. In doing so, if they can learn from the worst time of their lives, upon release, they will enter the