The Study

The Prisoners are disunited. Several of them want to distance themselves from their assigned role. More surprisingly, the same is true of the Guards.

They may have all the luxuries, all the status and all the power in the prison. However, they are distrustful of their power, what it might do to them, and how they might be viewed in the world outside the prison.

On the evening of the first day, the Guards relax and discuss their situation. One of them, gTM, utters the heretical thought that he would prefer to be a Prisoner. But he is reminded by gFC, “No, come on, think of the food”.

gTM insists: “Oh man, I tell you, just when you put this badge on this uniform it’s unreal how, how different you look on things”. Another Guard, gTQ, draws out the implications: “That’s how Germany got to its crisis stage. 1939. Because that wave, that very essence of what you are talking about swept the country”.

So, while the Guards have the tools of power, they are unwilling – certainly as a group – to employ these tools. Quite the opposite in fact.