The Hole: Solitary Confinement Summary and Analysis

Abbott has served time in solitary confinement in a cell called "the hole" for years, if all the time was added up. He compares it to a coffin and being buried alive; one literally feels oneself decaying. There is only a seven-foot by three-foot path in the cell to walk; other space is taken up by the bunk or toilet. Abbott feels that animals in the zoo are treated better.

One must fight the routine and monotony. Abbott reads voraciously when he is in solitary confinement, and he mutters to himself just to hear something. He also describes something he deems "psyche-pain," which is the gradual wearing away of healthy aspects to one's psychology, and all that is left is pain, disappointment, and bad memories. Perception is amplified, and every little sensation elicits a memory...