The Nightmare Of Alcatraz Research Paper

The Nightmare of Alcatraz

Many of the men walk through the doors of Alcatraz but as soon as they walked through they almost never came back. The prison camp itself was horrible. The smell must have been awful. The men were in their cells for most of the time, and sometimes they would dispute amongst themselves. It was damp, cold, and most of the men were despondent. The impertinent men would also show great discontent. There was also always the clanging sound of metal and the occasional screams of men who were being punished. Many of the men wanted to show defiance but could not because of the isolationism of the place. It was a nightmare to almost all the people that went there. This was only some of the things that were going on at the time

According to the article “Alcatraz Closes its Doors” Alcatraz is located on California’s coast and was first discovered by Juan Manuel De Ayala in 1775. In fact Alcatraz wasn’t always a prison camp, instead in its early years it served as a naval defense fortification. After it was discovered by Juan, in McCollurn article “Escape to Alcatraz”, it became a old fort. Then according to Alcatraz History.com website, for almost two years it was occupied by Native Americans. This shows that Alcatraz Island originally was not always apart of the US. After this was occupied by Native Americans President Fillmore signed Alcatraz as a prison camp. Then because of the many birds on the island, and the bird population it was then given the name “Pelican Island”. This also could have been the original meaning of the word Alcatraz. Once it was given the nicknames, then named Alcatraz became one of the first lighthouses on the coast, this lighthouse would help guide ships in and out of its bay. Finally after its installation it had almost 100 canons (“Alcatraz” History). Even after Alcatraz was given the nickname “Pelican Island” it was even given other nicknames such as the “Rock” (McCollurn), and “America’s Devil Island” (“Alcatraz Closes”). By understanding Alcatraz’s past, origin and nicknames many people can start to get a view or understanding of what Alcatraz was really