The Study

Day 4. As the Prisoners begin to plot and scheme, the Guards seem oblivious. Many of them remain uncomfortable with their power. That makes them all the more vulnerable to the Prisoners.

gTQ comes to the plotters’ cell and tries to engage them in conversation. He tries to deny that he is on top as a Guard and suggests instead that they are really friends on the same level: “I see two winners, if we can get to the end of this, and we can go down to the pub and have a drink”.

Two of the Prisoners, pJE and pPP, are not at all receptive to gTQ's overtures. They argue back and belittle his efforts. gTQ retreats and a third Prisoner, pKM, voices some doubts about targeting him. The others remind him of his loyalty to the group: “You’ve got to start forgetting about other peoples’ feelings and what they’re doing because the days when you’re sitting here starving hungry… and you’ve got nothing mate, you’ve got a ratty little bed and a stupid little blanket to sit under, and they’re under there in their duvets, they’ve got everything they want and they’re not giving two f***s about you. So – think on and f*** them”.

In a world of ‘us’ and ‘them’, the Guard acting as if everyone is equal both infuriates the Prisoners by seeming to cover up real group differences and emboldens them by revealing the Guards' weak grasp on power.