A Foucauldian Prison Approach to Jeffrey Archer and Stephen King

The main purpose of this book is to conduct a comparative study of selected prison narratives by Jeffrey Archer and Stephen King in the light of the Foucauldian prison approach. The book investigates the peculiar role of the Foucauldian prison approach in tackling the thorny issues predominating in British and American societies through a thorough examination of Foucault¿s inspirational book Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Archer and King apply the Foucauldian approach of power and punishment and elaborate on how prison institutions employ diverse means of corporal and disciplinary punishments to keep control over prisoners and suppress their resistant ideologies. They also highlight the gothic tradition embedded in the Foucauldian discourse of power and punishment. Further, they discuss the effect of surveillance and panopticism on rehabilitating prisoners. Furthermore, Archer and King tackle the failure of rehabilitation with a special reference to recidivism. Eventually, they reveal how hope is embraced by prisoners to fortify their endurance of the disciplinary procedures as well as inspire them to create their world amid the gothic atmosphere of the prison.