El Raheem
The character of El Raheem is what many would describe as a black militant. He speaks often of the nature of the white man as evil. This aspect of his character is established early on through his extensive use of metaphorical language:
“But you are deliberately acting and thinking out of your nature…thinking like the white devil, Yacoub. Your presence infects the minds of my people like a fever. You, Yacoub, are the bearer of three thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine diseases…corrupt…evil…pork-chop eating brain.”
Pedophilia and Shame
The newest inmate on the block is Clark, convicted of raping a child and therefore on the lowest rung of the ladder. At one point he delivers a long monologue detailing one of his acts of assault and molestation in figurative language where guilt is a metaphorical presence:
“I pulled down my drawers…But then I felt too naked, so I put them back on…My eyes were closed…but I felt as if there was this giant eye off in the space staring at me.”
Stay out of My Business
Prison life creates its own unique subset of metaphorical language, of course, and that jargon pops up fairly often, occasionally without any immediately direct context. Most of the metaphors are easily enough comprehended, however, such as the metaphor one engages to tell another prisoner to stay keep their nose out:
“Juan, I like you, but don’t go in my kitchen without my permission.”
Hollywood and Prison
Visitors arrive for Juan and Longshoe. (Not the same visitors, but visitors arriving on the same day.) Juan is ready to head down immediately, but Longshoe tells the guard he is refusing to meet with his visitors. Juan is understandably perplexed and metaphorically alludes to the tough guy gangsters in 1930’s movies played by the actor James Cagney:
“Man, what kinda talk is that about—your people hustled out here from the Island and you refuse? You gonna show like Cagney?”
Yoda before Yoda
Years before Yoda’s sage advice to Luke—“Do or do not. There is no try”—El Raheem was handing out similar guidance to his fellow inmates. The wording’s slightly different and his version transform things into a metaphor, but it is essentially identical to Yoda’s instruction:
“Try is a failure. Do.”
Dirty dog simile
Cupcakes is describing the reasons for his arrest, disclosing that he was arrested as a result of taking drugs. He says that he spent his last Christmas "like a dirty dog... in a dark and dingy cell." This simile emphasizes how dehumanising this experience felt to Cupcakes.
On the gate metaphor
In the play, inmates often use the phrase "on the gate," to refer to an inmate who is close to their release date. This is a metaphor, in which the prisoner is metaphorically on the boundary between the world of the prison and the outside world.
Clark's release
Clark's release is ultimately a metaphor for the complexity of justice, and how the legal system can get things wrong. This is because Clark admits his crimes to his cellmate, but a court of law cannot find him guilty due to a lack of evidence. As such, this shows the difficulty of finding justice in a world that is so complex.
Clark's death
Clark's death ultimately symbolizes the intense human desire for justice, as the inmates themselves become vigilantes, deciding that Clark is guilty and punishing him accordingly.
Juan as a metaphor for morality/ peaceful
Juan is a metaphor for morality and peace, as he refuses to be a part of Clark's murder. Although he is disgusted about Clark's crimes, he does not believe it is right to kill another person and sticks to his guns.
