The
works “The Cask of Amontillado”, “My Papa’s Waltz”, and “Cincinnati” all
exhibit behaviors of mistreatment towards other human beings. “Stories from
Maximum Security” (an event run by Messina) also brought awareness towards this
central issue. Jessup Correctional Institution is a maximum security all-male
prison where the worst criminals in Maryland are often sent. Awareness was provided
for the awful and corrupt treatment of correctional officers in this specific
institution. Each of these works along with this informative on-campus event
provide evidence for a much-needed increased effort towards the treatment of
other human beings.
“The Cask of Amontillado” serves as
a prime example of harsh treatment to man. After receiving an insult from Fortunato,
Montresor felt obligated to seek revenge. Instead of insulting his acquaintance
in return, Montresor took his efforts to the next level. After getting Fortunato
extremely intoxicated, Montresor brought him down to his family vault where his
ancestors lay dead. Montresor later trapped Fortunato to a stone and buried him
in the wall, leaving him for death. It is quite evident Montresor treated
Fortunato much worse than he felt in return. His disregard for human life
resulted in the death of a fellow human being.
“My Papa’s Waltz” is an unfortunate
popular example of mistreatment. The speaker begins by addressing his father’s
issue with alcohol, which affects this treatment towards his son. While
explaining the extreme beatings he received around the house, he includes his
mother’s body language, implying her concern with no effort to help. The
speaker also incorporates his father’s battered knuckle which provides evidence
of the consistency of these beatings. He later ends the poem with a tone of acceptance
which is most disturbing aspect of the work. The speaker’s parents’ actions
exemplify the everyday reality of abuse.
After returning from a Japanese internment
camp, the speaker in “Cincinnati” shares another story of abuse and
mistreatment. The speaker arrived at Cincinnati in hope of freedom and a new
beginning. Unfortunately, ignorant people made this wish quite difficult. A
disturbing quote from the poem reads “no one knew me./ No one except one/
hissing voice that said/ dirty jap/ warm spittle on my right cheek”(lines
8-12). Due to the sole purpose of being Japanese, she was spit on, verbally
abused, and avoided in the street. This clearly displays one of the many types
inhumane treatment which needs improvement on a grand scale.
The panel in “Stories from Maximum
Security” did an extraordinary job raising awareness towards the mistreatment
of prisoners in the United States, specifically Maryland. Dr. Carlucci, a
professor who taught at Jessup, shared her own experience with corruption
inside the prison’s walls. She shared the humiliating actions she was forced to
take to pass security. She felt victimized despite not being an inmate. Father
Brown along with an ex-inmate (who failed to state his name), shared an extreme
example of human mistreatment inside Jessup. A pipe bursted during the winter,
leaving toilets and showers defective. Lack of effort to fix the pipe resulted
in months of showers in garbage pales and defecating inside trash cans located
inside cramped prison-cells. This obvious awful experience taking place for
months, is just one example of the inhumane abuse these prisoners face every
day.
Human treatment must be improved and
each literary work and the Messina event each give a different example as to
why. As shown in “The Cask of Amontillado” murder is the ultimate sin and has
no place in society. Child abuse is another example of an unfortunate popular
form of mistreatment that must be halted, exemplified in “My Papa’s Waltz”.
Racism is another popular and ongoing issue is today’s society. “Cincinnati”
reminds us of the disgusting behaviors humans can partake in because of pure diversity
of race. Lastly, this week’s event proves to us that mistreatment is evident in
invisible settings, providing importance for us as a community to make these mistreatments
visible and find an effective way to bring them to a halt.
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