I. Lost in a barrel: Fish: A Memoir of a Boy in a Man's Prison
II. Fish: A Memoir of a Boy in a Man's Prison by T.J. Parsell, 2006, Caroll & Graf Publishers.
III. Tim is a seventeen year old boy who is convicted of armed robbery and was sentenced to a prison term of four and a half to fifteen years. Through the book, Tim struggles to identify his sexual orientation but after the prison term it became very clear to him. The events occurred in the 1970's in Michigan's Jackson prison, Riverside Correctional Facility, and Michigan Training Unit. The memoir began with Tim in his hometown and his daily life, it was rough since his parents were divorced and he did not like his step mom. His poor upbringing caused him to misbehave and end up in jail.
When he first arrived in Riverside Correctional Facility, he did not know about how the prison was ran and wasn't aware of the decorum. He asked the wrong questions and gave the wrong suggestions and ended up being raped. That is when he got a "man" or someone that is stronger to protect you against other inmates. He became very close with Slide Step but he was transferred to Michigan Training Unit where became familiar with the prison decorum. He was also raped several times during his prison transfers because word about his sexual status spreads very quickly between inmates. Paul was one of the inmates that helped him become acquainted with the prison rules and survive for the rest of his prison sentence. He successfully transferred back to Riverside Correctional Facility where he first found his identity and felt the most secure because of his man.
IV. "The Bible says that the meek shall inherit the earth...but inside these walls they're doing their boyfriend's laundry"(Parsell 74).
V. Tim was just recently transferred to Riverside Correctional Facility and was learning how things were ran inside the prison walls. He learns that the weak have to service the weak to gain the protection they need because they cannot fend for themselves against the other inmates. This quote describes the opposite world that exist inside prison walls where rules against killing do not exist in the mind of the inmates. There is a different society in prison and its best described by the quote.
