Surviving The Last Plantation

Surviving the Last Plantation

N. LeVan

Self-preservation, natures first great law,
All the creatures, but man, doth awe.
-Andrew Marvelle

Love, family, and small thrills are but three things to live for. Sometimes they are the only things to live for. Sometimes they are what drive us to survive. For some of the inmates at Angola State Prison, there is little to live for and they still survive. Daniel Bergner once stated, "We live for whatever it is possible to live for…" (168). But what do the inmates of Angola live for? What brings meaning into their lives? Many of the inmates at Angola have been convicted of capital crimes. Many have no chance for parole. They still survive; they still find a reason to live. They find meaning in their lives.

Before purpose and survival or redemption and salvation can be discussed, an idea of what Angola is must be produced. The warden of Angola is a large man by the name of Burl Cain. Some believe that he is the reason for Angola being what it is. Bergner believes different:

The striking tranquility at Angola—confirmed by the ACLU’s National Prison Project and Louisiana’s own watchdogs—could not be credited to Warden Cain alone. Twenty-one years ago conditions had been so anarchic and murderous a federal judge had ruled that the prison "shocked the conscience" and breached the Eight Amendment’s guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment. Reform had begun then. […] [Warden Cain] aimed not merely at warehousing inmates safely, but at...

Surviving The Last Plantation

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