The Emotional Quotations about Prisons

Prison, a place that no one wishes to be in or visits voluntarily, is often considered a symbol of punishment and restriction of freedom. People who find themselves in a prison cell are often overwhelmed by a mix of emotions – fear, anger, confusion, helplessness, and remorse. The following are some emotional quotations about prisons that attempt to capture the various feelings one may experience behind bars.


1. "The walls that separate us from our freedom are not as high as the walls we build inside our minds." – Unknown

This quote reflects the idea that often the greatest obstacle to our own freedom is the belief that we cannot achieve it. Many inmates may feel trapped mentally, blaming their situation on external factors and limiting their capacity for change.

2. "In prison, you learn to live in tight, enclosed spaces. You learn to appreciate the small things, like a ray of sunshine or the sound of laughter. They become all the more precious when they are so scarce." – Piper Kerman

Piper Kerman, author of the memoir Orange Is the New Black, speaks from personal experience, having served thirteen months in a women's prison. Her quote highlights the fact that being locked up can make people appreciate things they took for granted on the outside world, and how small pleasures become larger in the absence of them.

3. "Prisons don't disappear social problems, they disappear human beings." – Angela Davis

Angela Davis, a civil rights activist who spent time in jail for her activism, captures the harsh reality that prison does not address the root causes of crime and instead removes individuals from society, creating what she sees as a "prison industrial complex." The quotation also signifies that jails aren't addressing the issue at their core and just erasing the particular human beings rather than resolving the problem.

4. "I am convinced that imprisonment is a way of pretending to solve the problem of crime. It does nothing for the victims of crime, but perpetuates shame and guilt." – Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn, an American historian and social activist, echoes the same sentiment as Davis with the idea that prison is a mere facade of solving crimes, leading individuals to suffer from social stigmatization and shame. Imprisonment does nothing to eliminate the causes of crime and just makes people feel worse.

5. "In prison, those things withheld from and denied to the prisoner become precisely what he wants most of all." – Eldridge Cleaver

The quote of Eldridge Cleaver, an author and civil rights leader who served multiple jail sentences, implies the idea that imprisonment is the source of various longings that lead to inmates turning to risky ways. Being held in captivity instigates a desire for physical freedom, intimacy with loved ones, and access to things that the person values outside of jail.

In conclusion, the prison experience is an intensely emotional one, and the quotes above show the depth and complexity of what people who find themselves incarcerated can feel. Some feel trapped by their own minds; others can find solace in small moments of joy. Some believe that prison does not serve its intended purpose while others even long for things they were previously ignorant of. The hope remains that by better understanding the emotional turmoil wrought by the prison system, we can build for ourselves better systems that are more hopeful and that affect long-term changes for those behind bars.