What is the significance of the etching on Ansel's prison cell wall in the novel, Notes on an Execution?

The etching on Ansel's prison cell wall reads “We Are All Rabid”, a motto that represents the part of himself that Packer shares with his fellow inmates. As the novel unfolds, however, the comment can also be seen as referencing, and foreshadowing, the different ways that the three other main characters - Lavender, Saffy, and Hazel - are all "rabid" in their own ways. "Rabid" here is used metaphorically, to represent the unpredictable, sometimes obsessive ways that people behave in response to aspects of their identity and circumstances.