Freedom In Bridget Keehan's Sorry For The Loss

One of the most important human rights is freedom. Freedom is considered as one of the most common basic rights in the western world, but we can easily be robbed of freedom by breaking the rules. In Bridget Keehan’s short story “Sorry for the Loss” from “Eagle in the Maze – An Anthology of Stories from the Rhys Davis Short Story Competition 2008”, freedom meets captivity.

Evie works as a chaplain in a prison, where she helps to run ETS – Enchanted Thinking Skills. A part of her job is to deliver death notices to the prisoners. In the short story “Sorry for the Loss”, Evie has to tell the prisoner Victor Zamora that his grandmother passed away last night. She is quite nervous about Victor’s reaction since she doesn’t know him or haven’t seen

“It gives her a chance to try and establish a feeling of calm in spite of the harsh surroundings” (page 3 line 31-32). She stands on the prisons highest level beneath a large arch window. It is, most likely, the only place in the prison where she can see the sky and feel the sun’s warmth on her face. Making it the only place where she can find nature in contrast to the enclosed brick building. Her job as a chaplain is not a typical occupation you associate with prisons. The two institutions, the church and the prison, are very different, almost contrasts. The church is welcoming, available to everyone and values freedom. The prison is forced, confining and incarcerating. The prisoners properly don’t have the same morals as the church has either, because they violated the church’s values by committing the crimes, which sent them to

She doesn’t want to seem soft or weak to the other employees. The prisons atmosphere seems to affect the other employees as well, it somehow toughens them up. The officer who shows her to Victor’s cell is a big guy, build like a rugby player, and speaks in short accurate sentences. At first he occurs as a stereotypical prison guard, broad-shouldered and tough – a complete contrast to chaplain Evie, but when he realizes that she is nervous, he switches from officious officer to avuncular guardian (page 3 line 66-67). His sentences become thoughtful and comforting and he assures her he’ll be keeping an eye on them. After her meeting with Victor, the officer catches Evie on the verge of tears, moved by the prisoners parting from their loved ones. She tries to feign that she is easily moved to tears, because she doesn’t want the officer to think her soft. But he just handles her a tissue and ask in about Victor’s reaction to the news. When she shows her sensible side he becomes more humane as