In the Penal Colony

In the Penal Colony "In the Penal Colony" is told from the perspective of an explorer who, much like the reader, is a stranger of the penal colony, Western educated and moderate. He has come to figure out the usefulness of this machine, a device of punishment, torture, and execution. Of course, the explorer is totally against the whole thing from the start. Furthermore, a large portion of the novel, deals with the officer describing …

…everything it stands for has lost nearly all of its respect, no longer has any open supporters, and the explorer is the only witness to the execution. "In the Penal Colony" is a disturbing look at punishment and justice which can be seen reflected in the real world. Though in the U.S., we may feel separated from the kind of cruelty of the execution machine, torture still exists in many parts of the world!