Prison Break

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It was sixty-five and sunny the day my family and I took a boat from San Francisco bay to Alcatraz. It only took about ten minutes to reach the minute island. The first thing that caught my eye when I got off the boat was a small souvenir shop. It seemed so out of place on this once highly guarded location. We listened to the tour guide give a brief history lesson on the establishment of the prison. I would be lying if I said I listened to what he was saying. I was more interested in the huge body of water that was surrounding me. There were sailboats spanning all across the bay and massive sea gulls diving into the ocean. After receiving a pamphlet containing all of the information that the guide just covered, my family and I headed up the cobblestone path. It took about fifteen minutes to reach the peak of the hill where the actual prison was located. When we stepped into the building we were greeted by a bunch of guides that handed each of us head phones and a video recorder. When I put on the head set and hit the play button on the recorder, it became apparent that this exploration of the prison would be unique to each tourist. My family and I walked next to each other as we listened to the voice on the recorder. It was telling us to look this way, walk that way, make observations about the contents of the prison cells. I thought we all looked kind of goofy walking so close to each other but not saying a word. My favorite part of the tour was when we got to hear about the attempts prisoners made at escaping Alcatraz. I got to learn about some of the most infamous inmates, like Clarence Victor “The Choctaw Kid” Carnes, Arthur R. “Doc” Barker, Frank Morris, and Roy “The Smiling Bandit” Gardner. I actually felt bad for the prisoners after seeing the condition of their cells. Each contained a couple shelves, a sink, a toilet, and a small bed. The ground and the walls were all made of concrete. Through the years the building has experienced a lot of damage. The paint on the walls is peeling, the toilets are in pieces, and the iron bars are rusting. After seeing the dining hall, recreational room, and offices where the guards stayed, we ended up in another gift shop. The store contained informational books, clothing, postcards, and even replicas of the items that were used by the prisoners to escape the island. At first I thought these items were offensive and mocked the lives of the prisoners. It just seemed like the company that was making money from selling mugs with Al Capone’s face on them made light of the way the prisoners were treated. However, after expressing my feelings with my mom about the gift shop contents, she helped me see the souvenirs in a different way. Instead of being offensive, she thought the merchandise honored the inmates. These were some of the most notorious characters of the day. They cultivated a bad reputation and would have liked to see the stories of their lives plastered all around the prison gift shop. Also, selling replicas of the items prisoners used to escape showed how intelligent and determined they were. I still have a hard time comprehending the fact that three inmates managed to escape without ever being caught. If they did manage to cross the bay and make it to shore, I wonder where they went. Another thing that I kept thinking about while on the island was how close I was to San Francisco. I wonder how the prisoners felt being able to see the city but not being able to reach it. I feel like that would be the greatest torture of all being surrounded by a bunch of people living their lives, seeing their families, working their jobs. I could never imagine being deprived of all that.

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