The Study

Even as the new Prisoner is proposing a new vision of the system, events are unfolding that help this vision gain credibility.

One of the other Guards has left his keys unattended and they have been taken by a Prisoner. What could be more serious than losing the keys? Both practically and symbolically they represent the position of Guard. But, if anything has illustrated the weakness and division of the Guards, it is what they do now. Rather than clamping down hard, they go along with the fiction that the keys have been ‘lost’ and they ask the Prisoners to help in searching for them. And when the keys are ‘found’ by the Prisoners, the Guards don’t demand them back, but agree to negotiate for their return.

All this forces the Guards as a whole to realise they are in crisis. Their system simply isn’t working. Something has to change.

The forthcoming negotiations are a golden opportunity for the Trades Unionist to sell his vision. But first, can he persuade the Prisoners to buy into this vision and to let him negotiate for them?