48 pages 1 hour read

Piper Kerman

Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2010

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Essay Topics

1.

Throughout the memoir, Kerman frequently comments on the nature of the prison system. Is this an argumentative memoir? Why or why not?

2.

Discuss the role of womanhood throughout the novel. How is womanhood defined by the relationships the women have to each other? 

3.

Using specific examples, discuss the power dynamic between the prison officials and the inmates.