The Tower Pig Essay -- essays research papers

What happens when in spite of each(prenominal) odds, foe becomes friend? What happens, when an infinite and unending chasm amid individuals is filled, and a void of mistrust, hatred and prejudice is replaced with more noble values, such(prenominal) as understanding and a sense of mutual respect? These ar among the themes in the American short story, The Tower Pig. The story is set behind, and outside, the walls of the Thomaston punitory in present day America. The story essentially revolves around a young man who suffers the hardships of imprisonment in an American correctional facility. The wizard is throughout the tale addressed only by his surname, Caine. Caine expresses incomprehensible arouse he feels for whizz of the wardens, an outcast despised by colleagues and inmates alike, and who is commonly cognize as The Tower Pig by all the prisoners at the facility. Pain, joy, worry, atomic number 18 shielded away until the cell doors slam and were alone in our solitude. For ten days in the seaman, I had nonhing to do only hate Strazinsky, the Tower Pig, for putting me there, and to mourn my grandmother, finally to sick to visit. When we ar first introduced to Caine, he has just come out of The Hole. The Hole is presumably a slang expression for a non-corporal punishment, which implies the use of isolation for the convolute offender. This sort of punishment is usually deployed as a reaction to a disciplinary offense this is also the case with Caine. Caine put in the hole because of a verbal fight with Strazinsky. While Caine undoubtedly finds Strazinsky to be responsible for his punishment, it seems, looking back in retrospective, that he is fully aware that he himself was to blame however all Caines inner turmoil and irritability is channelled into his hate for Strazinsky, and the fury towards his arch-enemy continues to blaze. Imprisonment tends to have a debilitating exploit on both mind and body alike. Therefore in ordain to counter a men tal breaking, one must(prenominal) deploy facades, facades that give strength and vitality, since any behaviour expressing the slightest trait of weakness will be preyed upon by both inmates and wardens. Caine seems fully aware of this, and prudently manages to keep all his fears and doubts to himself. Caine is greatly disturbed upon learning about the death of his beloved grandmother, the one person who, despite him being imprisoned, still managed to show him both... ... desired link of mind is what we call friendship. But sadly, in this present world control by the divisive spirit of greed and corruption, it is not possible to arrive at this intimacy of mind to any worth-while depth with just anyone. The minds of potential friends must from the outset already possess a mutual sense of affinity, not based on anything but an inexplicable sense of compatibillity. Although Strazinsky and Caine hardly check into the common definition of friendship, it seems that the two share mo re thoughts than either would tending to admit, honest exposure of the inner self to another is not easy, yet this is exactly what Strazinsky does. Strazinsky opens himself in a sincere manner to a man, whom he knows despises him with all of his heart. This courageous act initially only serves to confuse Caine. It is, however, my printing process that Caine, although reluctant to start a conversation with Strazinsky, suddenly begins to look at the warden in a different way. The gap between prisoner and warden is as self-evident as can be nonetheless, it is my distinct belief that the chances of a friendship arising from the ashes of a past enmity, could in this case be really realistic indeed.