As I first approached the prison that I was visiting, I got an overwhelming, unwelcoming feeling. As I entered the state prison I was first told that I must show a valid form of identification to enter any further. I presented the guard with my drivers license and he proceeded to inspect it carefully before handing it back with a stamp of approval. I was also asked to provide the guard with the inmate identification number in which I was visiting. In my specific case I was visiting a cousin. After getting approval to go forward, a background check was performed to make sure I did have a criminal history. As I proceed, I was directed to go through a metal detector and then asked to step forward where the correctional officers pat me down. They asked me to remove my earrings and checked to be sure that my clothing was appropriate for the prisons dress code. They do these thorough searches to be sure that no contraband or drugs are being brought inside of the prison.
Once I got inside I immediately saw all of the inmates. Some were in blue jumpsuits while others were in jeans and a t-shirt. When I entered the visiting room I walked up to the desk to tell them the inmate I was going to see. I spent three minutes looking around the room to see if my cousin had entered. The prison was extremely loud and filled with different voices and conversations. My cousin had finally come inside but it was difficult for me to see him at first glance because there was a lot of inmates. We walked to a table and sat down together. As I looked around all I saw was a lot of long tables with seats attached, three vending machines, one filled with snacks, one with drinks and the other with cheeseburgers and subs. There was card games and magazines. In one corner of the room they had a camera set up to take pictures with family and friends that were visiting. I walked to one of the machines to grab my cousin a burger and a soda. I had to heat the burger up in the microwave since it was frozen. I gave it to my cousin and instantly saw how much he truly appreciated it. This made me grateful for my freedom and I realized that some of things that I stress about aren’t actually important.
When I walked in the prison I had a already created perception of what the inmates would be like. I imagined that they would be intimidating, disrespectful, and unfriendly. However, they seemed like normal citizens. Many of them had family visiting. Some had a mother or father visiting, while others visited their spouse. I even saw children in the prison. Observing the way the inmates interacted with their children was eye opening for me. These individuals do not all fit into the typical inmate stereotype that many of us have in our minds. Almost every inmate that I was able to observe was caring, happy and calm while speaking with their families as well as with each other. Many of them had smiles on their faces and seemed to be very thankful and appreciative of the time that they were given to spent with their family or friends. I witnessed an inmate spending time with a little girl who appeared to be his daughter. He was going out of his way to make her laugh and show her that he loves her. It was evident by the look on his face that he cared about the little girl greatly and wanted to see her smile.
Observing these inmates, as well as my cousin while being in the prison for a short visit that day completely changed my perspective on these individuals. Although there are exceptions to everything, most of these individuals appeared to be very different from the images I had created in my head.
The essay was very detailed of how you seen multiple inmates interacting with their families. I was thinking maybe you could right the location of the prison you attended and the color of the prison inside and outside. Did you go any where else in the prison or just stood in one location? Was there anything that your cousin and yourself talked about? Each paragraph you wrote gave me a clear image of how everything went down when you first approached with the tight security check. The observations were very clear when you sat down with your cousin and talked / ate. When you were with your cousin is the inmates that have no visits in a different location when the visitors and inmates are together? Are there guards around to observe the areas if so where ?
I understand the subculture is the prison with all the inmates and how they live each day, but I couldn’t figure out the main point. Is it that some inmates are completely different then others are violent that went to jail?
Overall the structure is very good, I like the step step process of how you have to approach the prison in the paragraphs.
This is a fine choice of topic for ethnography. Your writing here is clear, well-organized, and reads well.
I like the reflection at end contrasting what your expectations had been to what you found. You might use some of those preconceptions as part of introduction, rather than saving for end, as a way to introduce your focus on culture of prisons.
I like the detail of inmate with little girl, and I think you could expand this some with more of this type of “snapshot” as well as more specific detail generally. Some examples of type of details that could be included: more of a description of outside and check-in room, with perhaps some dialogue with guard; more description of appearance of prisoners (clothing?); some dialogue with your cousin. You could use this dialogue to say more about life in prison (esp. if you asked him a few questions, or included what he wanted to talk about, for example).
Overall a good start!