Characterizations:
John Caine has been in prison for eight years, five months and eleven days. That is a long time and it has affected his behavior in the prison. An example would be that he always plays dumb, because he knows that it makes the jailers nuts (p 2 line 54-55). This example shows that Caine does not care about the consequences he gets disobeying an order, because whatever punishment he gets he is still going to be in the prison. The jailers are jacking him very hard and that is the reason why I think he is trying to be this though inmate which he really is not. He just uses it as a defense mechanism to handle the hard time and it seems like the jailers have made him put away his feelings. “I did not cry for Nana the night before her funeral. Neither did I sleep.” (p 2 line 70-71) There is only one thing which makes him a little nervous and that is to be confronted with his family. Their reaction when he shows up at the funeral and sees their heads shaking at him. He could not blame them, junkiethieves was not so welcome among them. They have all given up on him years ago; it was only Nana who was stubborn enough to not let him go. The funeral was in Augusta, a place he once called home. The situation with his family makes him turn from them in the church and slip into the seat next to Strazinski.
Strazinski is the boss in the prison and he escorts Caine to the funeral. The other employees like Strazinski as much as they like the prisoners. He is the tower pig and he has been on the wall longer then the must of the prisoners had been in prison.
When they were going to Nana’s funeral Strazinski did not look at Caine, neither did he speak to him in the prison garage. But in the car Strazinski suddenly changes into this kind person. He start to talk with Caine even though he did not wont it. He had also lost his mother last year, so you can say that they have something in comment. Strazinski removes Caine’s hardware at the church and he shows his sympathy.
Theme:
The top themes are particular: Adaptability, the situations in the American prisons, keeps up appearances and the ability to adjust a certain pattern.
Ending:
I think that the story ends in this exciting way, which makes you feel hungry to now what happens next, but somehow you are also satisfied. Satisfied, because the story has a happy ending when it all seems most impossible. Caine’s family has turned their backs on him for a long time ago, and the only person believing in him is dead. Caine also says in the text at the funeral that he is on the right side of walls of Thomaston.
You are hungry, because you want to know more about the relationship between Caine and Strazinski.
I think that the reason why the short story ends like it does, it so the readers have sympathy with both Caine and Strazinski. In the last part of the story are there two surprises; when Strazinski removes the hardware from Caine and when Caine is taking the seat next to Strazinski in the church.
But most of all you keep thinking what is going to happened with Caine and his family. Do they ever get united as a whole family again?