For Tuesday: Harden, Escape from Camp 14, Chapters 10-15
Answer TWO of the
following:
Q1: Many people who read
and/or study the Holocaust wonder why more prisoners didn’t try to escape. The
same question could be asked of prisoners of Camp 14 or any other camp in the
North Korean system. As if responding to this, why does Harden write in Chapter
15 that “their plan was simply—and insanely optimistic” (109)? Why did Shin and
Park’s ignorance play a large role in their escape attempt? And what made Camp
14 particularly difficult, in general, to escape from?
Q2: What does the term
“juche” mean and how does it relate not only to North Korea
Q3: Harden writes that
“Camp 14 is a fifty-year old Skinner box” (107). What is a ‘Skinner box’ and
why is this a useful way to understand the psychology of the camp? Related to this,
how could Shin, someone who grew up inside the box, find the strength to escape
its physical and mental confines?
Q4: Throughout these
chapters, we see Shin trying to act in a more moral fashion: taking a stand
against tyrannical bosses, and even refusing to snitch on a fellow inmate. He
claims early in the book that he had to learn the meaning of basic concepts
such as morality, friendship, etc. So are these passages attempts to write his
‘new’ identity into the narrative? Or are they true without being necessarily
the result of a new moral consciousness?
Q1. Most people in these camps do not know of any other forms of life. They generally believe that this is the whole world, pure torture. There is very little hope of anything better than the way they are living now, so why would they want to chance it? And even if they believed of a world beyond the fences, what if they believed it to be worse than Camp 14? Shin and Park had to remain optimistic to have the courage to attempt escaping. It was the only form of hope they had. Camp 14 was extremely difficult to escape from for many reasons. The guards that were on patrol and the electric fences that were made to kill were two very big reasons to hold people inside.
ReplyDeleteQ2. I believe these passages are the first stages of Shin's new identity. You can see the transformation when he decides not to tell the guards what Park tells him. Shin also begins to feel frustration when he sees other prisoners snitching people out. It is a slow process for Shin, but this is the start of his new identity.
Ethan Hays
ReplyDeleteQ1: Shin and Park had no idea how hard it was to escape Camp 14. They didn't know that the fences were made to kill anyone who came in contact with them. They didn't know that only two people had ever escaped from North Korean camps. They had no reason to believe that their escape attempt would be so difficult.
Q3: A 'Skinner Box' is a closely regulated chamber where guards assert absolute control over prisoners. Knowing that Camp 14 is a 'Skinner Box' helps us understand that there was really no hope for the prisoners. Everything they do is closely watched and the guards have complete authority over them. Shin found the strength to escape it after hearing all these wonderful stories about the outside from Park. The stories gave him hope and strength.
Colton Cellars
ReplyDeleteQ1- shin and jack have hope hearing the stories of the outside world. But the guards that would "kill first ask questions later", and the electric fences is more than enough to hinder their decision.
Q4- thought out the story, you can see shin's life change page by page. Going from snitching on his mom and brother to refusing to snitch on his friend. I think that when he snitched before and got beat for it it influenced him to think otherwise. He's slowing taking a stand against the north Korean camp.
Q3: Harden writes that “Camp 14 is a fifty-year old Skinner box” (107). What is a ‘Skinner box’ and why is this a useful way to understand the psychology of the camp? Related to this, how could Shin, someone who grew up inside the box, find the strength to escape its physical and mental confines? A skinner box is basically a box scientist use to study or train animals in experiments. Shin was trapped in a giant Skinner box, but he didn’t know this fully. He didn’t learn about his situation until someone had told him. To escape he would have had to needed help discovering not only his predicament. Shin found strength in one other person. Though it was a stupid plan his bravery lead to his escae. Strength and bravery are something he didn’t truly know until it was offered to him.
ReplyDeleteQ4: Throughout these chapters, we see Shin trying to act in a more moral fashion: taking a stand against tyrannical bosses, and even refusing to snitch on a fellow inmate. He claims early in the book that he had to learn the meaning of basic concepts such as morality, friendship, etc. So, are these passages attempts to write his ‘new’ identity into the narrative? Or are they true without being necessarily the result of a new moral consciousness? I believe everyone understands morality in some way shape or form. But people can be programmed out of them. I am a Christian, so I believe God has/will give us knowledge and wisdom about that morality. These people on the other hand don’t know about Christian salvation or even simplistic principles. Therefore, it is extremely easy to change their thought on this subject. Which is what happened in Camp 14. I believe these passages were telling about his discovery of morals and values of the average person. His “new identity”, if you will was being founded.
Rachel Griffis
ReplyDeleteQ1: No one really knows how hard it is to escape from the camp because anyone that has tried was either killed trying or caught and hanged. Or if they did escape they were never heard from again. Shin and Jack were lucky that they were kind of ignorant with the escape because they didn't know about the fence, which I guess the only person that was lucky about the fence was Shin. It is hard to escape from the camp because if anyone hears about your plan, they will most likely tell someone so they can benefit from it.
Q3: A "Skinner Box" is something that can be used to teach positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. Understanding what a "Skinner Box" is helps us understand that in the camp, if you do something good you will get a reward which will make you continue to do that action, positive reinforcement. Shin could learn to stray from what the camp has taught him if someone like Uncle or Jack tell him the greater things that the rest of the world has to offer, not just inside the camp.