Tuesday, 26 June 2018

Brief Naked As A Jailbird Review

By Jennifer Graham


The world views priests as the mouthpiece of God on earth. They are supposed to be close and take care of the poor and less privileged. Naked as a Jailbird is an attempt by Richard Shaw to demonstrate how the church, its leaders and the society should view persons in jail. In this narrative, he shares his expectations and experiences as a chaplain in jail.

The title captures the scenarios perfectly. Naked is the best description one can give of lives of people in prison. The first act involves stripping of their rights to ordinary clothing, freedom and privacy. The environment robs the prisoners of all the dignity that a human being craves. The lack and vulnerability that comes with nakedness is what dominates this narrative.

There is an element of nakedness that comes with being in prison, whether you are a prisoner or officer. This takes away the human element in the people because they are restricted to following a routine that does not grant them any freedom. For Shaw, the experience was a lesson he never thought of since learning appears to be confined to childhood. Despite being referred to as Father, he had a lot to learn from his role as a chaplain.

Another interesting perspective to get from this narrative is the treatment of church and religious leaders on wealth. In his words, the author says that churches and their leaders should have a maximum of 85cents in their accounts. They must agree to be used as vessels to alleviate the lives of the poor in society. Amassing wealth should not be part of their attribute in whichever way.

Poverty should be a principle that religious leaders commit to. This has been a challenge for churches and their leaders. It becomes a distraction that will cause them to lose sight of their noble role of helping the poor. The vow of poverty by priests must be maintained for the sake of the down trodden.

People rarely think about prisoners unless they have friends or relatives who have been incarcerated. Shaw presents the best narration of the experiences these people go through. In the presentation, you understand the setting and life behind bars. This makes it easier to understand what goes on behind bars. You will stop viewing those incarcerated as criminals but as people with feelings and human desires.

Jail is not made of just the prisoners. There are workers of different classes who are affected by the conditions behind bars. How does this environment affect their human side and interactions with other people? All this information is captured in this narrative by Shaw. You have a chance to read into their thoughts and experiences. You will develop a different idea of prison life.

Richard Shaw tells of the life in prison from the perspective of a religious leader. This is a fast paced and life changing book that will cause you to change your perspective of incarceration. It is also an opportunity to experience what passion can do as exemplified by Shaw in his vocation as a priest. It is an opportunity for all people to use their careers to change the lives of those they interact with.




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