A Temporary Prisoner

A Temporary Prisoner - By Hannah Couchman.pdf

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A Temporary Prisoner - An Evaluation

The set up of ‘A Temporary Prisoner’ establishes the

protagonist as the prisoner Max Thompson, as he's escorted

from his cell at HMP Wandsworth. I use active cuts to

progress his walk to the prison office, advancing into the

inciting incident of the guard announcing Max’s release on

temporary licence for a day to visit his brother. This

establishes his relation to Sam Thompson. After another

active cut, Max is on the hook as he enters the ward, walking

past the waiting room. The point of no return, and therefore

the end of act one, occurs as Max enters room 182.

Act two starts as things go well for Max, beginning to talk

to Sam. The guard leaves the room, to which Max smiles,

hinting that everything is going to plan. Max then proceeds

to ask Sam where the letter of confession is, organically

exposing that getting out of prison is his ultimate goal.

This leads to the midpoint reversal, where Sam replies ‘What

confession?’. Things get significantly worse as Max

aggressively tries to remind Sam of their agreement. The

nurse, to Max’s resentment, gives Sam morphine and Clara

enters as things continue to get even worse, reincorporating

the dialogue around the crime and explaining the situation.

This leads into the lowest point, as Clara refuses to help

Max and leaves.

Act three starts with Max’s comeback, trying to convince Sam

once again to help him get out. This comeback is cut short by

the sudden plot twist in which Sam reveals he wasn’t

delirious and had overheard Max and Clara’s conversation.

This is the climax, the strategic control of information

helping the revelation to shock the reader and reveal that

Sam is the antagonist- the sole reason Max can’t reach his

goal. The climax heightens as Max’s own wife, Karen, shows

up, leaving before Max can get a chance to explain himself. I

use visual storytelling to explain her relation to him by

having her throw her wedding ring at him before storming off.

The resolution starts as the guard reveals Max’s time is up,

using an active cut to go back to the prison, right where

Max’s journey had started.

The narrative in this story is mainly from Max’s perspective,

in order to emphasise the shock of the revelations

throughout, since they directly impact him. Whilst never

actually seen, the letter of confession is a key object

throughout, of which Max thinks he is trying to find in order

to get out of prison. I also continually reincorporate the

dynamic between Max and the prison guard through their

dialogue, the guard mocking him right through until the end

when he laughs as he locks him up. I additionally use organic

exposition throughout to emphasise the gravity of the

situation, such as when I reveal Clara’s relation to Sam when

the nurse says that she asked her to ‘give her husband the

morphine’. I also organically reveal Clara’s involvement with

Max in terms of the agreement and their relationship, having

been hinted at through the visual storytelling of her double-

take in the waiting room before we’re introduced to her.