Title: Papillon
Author: Henri Charriere
Pages: 560
Pages: 560
Date finished:
Did this book change your thinking about the topic? How? Why? Is there one section that particularly swayed your view? Explain.
Could you imagine being sent to jail for the rest of your life for a crime you did not commit. This book is a true story about a young French man (aged 25) named Henri Charriere, also known as Papillon. Papillon is sentenced for a murder he did not commit. Sent to a penal colony of French Guiana. Only a short 42 days after he arrives he escapes with some of his friends. This book has changed my thoughts about the jails, guards, jail breaks and the convicts themselves. In the book Henri is sentenced for life for a murder he did not commit (it never says who he murdered.) He is sent to a holding area before they were to send him off to the penal area. Before they send him off Henri and a man he meets at the holding area attack a guard, and injure him very badly. As a result of attacking a guard Henri and the man he met named Julot were both thrown into separate rooms which they refer to as “black holes.” The guard that gives Henri his food and clothes is very kind. Although the guard is supposed to treat the convicts badly but because the person that they beat up was someone that the guard didn't like, he thanked them by giving the stake hidden in the bread, cigarettes and extra clothes. I had always thought that the guards were all extremely mean people which were why they did this job. I always thought this because when you watch movies, series or just really think about the subject, very rarely do you ever think that the guards are nice and kind people.
When Henri and his friends are in the hospital faking sick they all are planning they’re escape. I knew the when you break out of a prison it requires some planning, and maybe a little bit a planning ahead for once your out but in this book they plan months ahead. They already know where they’re going to head for and where to go before they get there. I had always thought that when you’re planning to get out it was like a hit and run thing. Kill the guard and get out without being seen.
Never had I thought that convicts were nice to each other or anyone unless they were friends outside of jail. In the book Papillon becomes very close with the few people that he escapes with and those that had helped him in the escape. Each of them knows a lot about each other and how they got sentenced to jail.
They each become friends of those in like a school who talk and chat with each other. All of the men who are traveling with Henri respect him and have somewhat made him the leader in their escape.
When Henri arrived upon new shores he was always welcomed very warmly. Although the people knew that he was a criminal and a convict they still all treated him as if he weren’t. They all gathered around him and treated him specially giving him all sorts of gifts for him journey once he leaves. This surprised me as I always thought that if you were considered a dangerous person that others wouldn’t want to be near you as you could hurt them.
Henri Charriere doesn’t seem to fit to me convict, He seems to me like Nelson Mandela.
Henri always tries to stay on the good side of people and when he tries to escape he hurts people as little as possible and tries to help them but can’t
Although he always tries to escape during his stays he always acts good and well mannered. He only does thing necessary for his life and only gives away stuff to the sick. To me he doesn’t seem like a convict but somewhat like Nelson Mandela.
