Strazinsky And Caine example essay topic

What happens when in spite of all odds, foe becomes friend? What happens, when an infinite and unending chasm between individuals is filled, and a void of mistrust, hatred and prejudice is replaced with more noble values, such as understanding and a sense of mutual respect? These are among the themes in the American short story, "The Tower Pig". The story is set behind, and outside, the walls of the Thomaston Penitentiary in present day America. The story essentially revolves around a young man who suffers the hardships of imprisonment in an American correctional facility.

The protagonist is throughout the tale addressed only by his surname, Caine. Caine expresses incomprehensible anger he feels for one of the wardens, an outcast despised by colleagues and inmates alike, and who is commonly known as "The Tower Pig" by all the prisoners at the facility. "Pain, joy, worry, are shielded away until the cell doors slam and we " re alone in our solitude. For ten days in the hole, I had nothing to do but hate Strazinsky, the Tower Pig, for putting me there, and to mourn my grandmother, finally to sick to visit". When we are 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 involved 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; yet all Caine's inner turmoil and anger is channel led into his hate for Strazinsky, and the fury towards his arch-enemy continues to blaze. Imprisonment tends to have a debilitating effect on both mind and body alike. Therefore in order to counter a mental breaking, one must deploy facades, facades that show 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 love and care. Caine is granted permission to go to her funeral, but in spite of being only a minimum-security inmate, he must go in chains, and under the vigilant eye of a designated warden. Strazinsky is the warden in the Thomaston Penitentiary. He is the object that Cain directs most of his hatred towards. .".. Strazinsky stays up on the wall whenever he can, sequestered in North Post, the gun tower that commands the prison street.

Older inmates will argue how long he's been the Tower Pig, but no one denies he's been on that wall longer than most of us have been inside it. His brother officers, doing their eight hours in the tower and loathing their isolation, don't know what to make of him. To them he's a freak, an outcast, almost no better than the inmates". Strazinsky is an interesting character, a secluded individual estranged from all at the penitentiary and the nemesis of the main character. The hatred Caine has for Strazinsky seems repaid in kind at first, only later does one learn that such an assumption is incorrect. What makes Strazinsky a very interesting character is the fact that throughout the story he remains an enigma to all.

After the journey to the funeral, nobody is more confused than Caine. The inner machinations of Strazinsky are carefully guarded from all unwanted trespassers, which is similar to how Caine keeps his feelings inconspicuous. So, while the two are different in several obvious ways, they also share certain similarities. The ride to the funeral, and the funeral itself, are the real turning points of the story. Strazinsky begins to speak to Caine about how he understands the sorrow he must be feeling; Strazinsky even reveals that his mother passed away only recently, which resulted in pain that had proved difficult to handle.

Living a withdrawn existence is probably not a thing Strazinsky enjoys, and he evidently finds neither joy nor pleasure in his status as a recluse. So, in spite of his willing isolation, it is my guess that the daunting prospect of letting his emotions eat him up from the inside, is very much unwanted. Caine seems surprised to see Strazinsky suddenly behaving in a caring and understanding way. But the already existing sense of surprise is surpassed by the shock he feels, when Strazinsky offers to un cuff Caine before entering the funeral home. He explains that no one should be forced to face a loved one for the final time in such a state. The ending of the story is interesting, since it shows an enormous chasm between Caine and his family.

He realise's that he has practically ceased being a part of the family, and that the only real thing, which he and his family have in common, is the vast grief they share over the death of Nana, his grandmother. Upon this realization, Caine barely acknowledges his family before turning away from them and slipping into the pew besides Strazinsky. "He tensed awkwardly as I sat, then nodded sympathetically. I watched his vast bulk relax from the corner of my eye. He shook his head and watched the altar, waiting for the organist and "Just a Closer Walk with Thee". The themes of the story are those of prejudice, frustration, sorrow, hatred, repression of emotions etc.

However, the most noteworthy aspect of the text is in my opinion that of friendship. Perhaps not as much friendship as mutual respect. But nevertheless, the personal impact the journey has on Caine seems tremendous. Though many arguments could be made against why the two men could never be friends, and while I am aware that it would be a blatant and severe act of arrogance, if I should attempt to sufficiently define a concept as profound as friendship, I nonetheless wish to make my point; it remains among my deepest of beliefs that we each share a powerful natural inner drive to satisfy a ravenous natural hunger for intimacy of mind with other human beings. This greatly desired intimacy of mind is what we call friendship.

But sadly, in this present world ruled by the divisive spirit of greed and corruption, it is not possible to achieve 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 compatibility. Although Strazinsky and Caine hardly fit the common definition of friendship, it seems that the two share more thoughts than either would care 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 impression 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 very realistic indeed.