Erica’s Comments (group member since Mar 22, 2017)
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Anna, I completely agree!! Piper was locked up for a year because a crime that was committed 10 years ago! Piper's statement to Judge Norgle before incarceration consisted of "Your honor, more than a decade ago I made bad decisions, on both a practice and a moral level" (page 30). Piper spent almost 6 years under supervision by the feds after being indicted, waiting for her court date. What i want to know is: Why did the process take so long that had Piper believing she was "miraculously spared? (page 25)."
In addition to what Luke said, I think another purpose of Kerman's book was to demonstrate that everyone has their own story. I know most people, myself included, look at the faces of those who are in prison with judgemental eyes. This book resonates well with us in that with Piper's imagery, we can actually imagine ourself in her position (as said in an earlier thread), therefore no longer completely shaming those who have committed crimes. In the beginning, Piper's lawyer's final words to her were "Don't make any friends" (page 31). As the story reaches conclusion, however, Piper realizes how much she needed her fellow inmates to lean on. "However, most of all, I realized that I was not alone in the world because of the women I lived with for over a year, who gave me a dawning recognition of what I shared with them" (page 292). Furthermore, Piper feels such a connection with this girls because of their shared stories, understanding, and different views on the world that have tremendously impacted her life.
To add onto the theme of family, I found more evidence. As another one of Piper's close friends was released, Piper describes how difficult it was to say goodbye. "I couldn't say anything else, and I started to cry. And then she was gone" (210). This short sentence cuts off as quickly as "Yoga Janet" left, and the reader feel sympathy for Piper. Also, Piper's word choice when talking to the fellow prisoner's shows how she cherishes them. She calls "Little Janet" her "baby," and "sweetie" (234). Piper is deeply affected when Little Janet is released, and this further proves that Piper thinks of her as a sister.
I think Anna and Emma nailed it when describing Pipers' identify shift once being in prison and as Emma describes, it was a learning experience. Piper does not stand alone in her opinion. On the day her "neighbor" Vanessa was released, Piper and her fellow inmates threw a surprise goodbye party in any empty classroom. Before Vanessa exits, she states "I had to come here to become a real woman" (202). Not only does this demonstrate that prison is like a "lesson learned" as Piper believes, but the scene also touches on the theme of family. Throughout the novel, Piper feels more attachment for these girls, and starts to look at them more as sisters, then just prisoners.
I noticed before the incarceration, Piper's tone is negative of the idea of going to prison. "Initially it was too terrible, too overwhelming, too uncertain to tell anyone what was happening" (page 25). However, her first impression of the prisoners are positive, and the tone changes on prison. A fellow prisoner "closed the door and smiled encouragingly" at Piper (page 40). Several women greeted her, asking if she was okay. "They seemed genuinely concerned" (42). Piper compares her new experience in PRISON to being a new student in a high school, confused but with helpful peers. I wouldn't have imagined how many similarities a jail as with a high school (expect Kings Park) so this comparison demonstrates shows a shift in Piper's attitude towards the prison, and like Emma said, how nonchalant she is.
Adding onto that, another example of pathos is "No matter how badly things had ended between us, I never dreamed that Nora would turn me in to save her skin (p. 22). This just shows that Nora was basically using Piper for the money, and I could just imagine the heartbreak she must have felt when she came to this realization. Like Val said, Piper described herself in the first chapter as not really being a risk taker, so for her to take such a huge risk to be involved in drug trafficking business, and travel around the world with a mysterious woman demonstrates how naive and ignorantly in love Piper was.
The first thing I noticed in this book was pathos. Even while describing her past, the reader still feels sympathy for Piper. "I wanted to go home... I alone had signed up for this misadventure and I alone would navigate it to some conclusion, although I was petrified that it might be a very dismal end" (p. 15). Piper was just young when she fell helplessly in love with Nora, or the idea of danger, and she made one foolish mistake. Lost, and confused in Europe, Piper has no where to turn to. She is too scared to talk to her parents, and she has realized that Nora is simply bad news.
Well for starters, I only watched the first episode of OITNB and I honestly don't even remember it so it won't affect me when reading the novel. I think the book will resonate with me simply because Piper's one mistake ruined her reputation, and resulted in her serving time. Hopefully, I never have to experience the events that take place in this book for myself! Also, this year I took criminal justice and visited the Suffolk County Jail in Riverhead, so I have a better understanding of the looks, and disgusting smell that comes from the inside of a prison
