Essay of The Prison
“The prison” is a story written by Bernard Malamud about a young girl who steals each Monday from a candy shop. In this essay, the themes “Life as a prison” and “Hope for a change” will be analyzed. The theme “Life as a prison” can been seen in Tommy's character. He has a “bad life” or a life he does not want. For example, when his father and Rosa's father arranged their marriage promissing to open a candy shop for both to earn money, Tommy gets in a boring life, working a lot and has to cope with Rosa. This idea can be understood when it says “Yet he could not convince himself that what he felt he must do was unimportant”. The other theme is “Hope for a change”. Again, Tommy is the one that wants the change. He travels to Texas so as to try a new life and not to marry Rosa. This can be understood when it says “he beat it off to Texas”. The idea “Hope for a change” can also be interpreted when Tommy writes the letter to the young girl telling her she does not have to steal “