Summary of Laura Bates's Shakespeare Saved My Life

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 I was able to sit down with a prisoner who had been in solitary confinement for more than ten years, and he was not crazy or dangerous, but reading Shakespeare.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822515833

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I was able to sit down with a prisoner who had been in solitary confinement for more than ten years, and he was not crazy or dangerous, but reading Shakespeare.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

I was born in a Chicago ghetto in the 1960s. My parents, who had escaped their home country during World War II, taught me the value of education. They also taught me not to fear anything, even bridges and elevators.

#2

I began working with prisoners in 1983, tutoring first-time offenders in a basic literacy program through the PACE Institute at Chicago’s Cook County Jail. I felt at home in prison, and in 1993, I went back to teach college classes to incarcerated students.

Insights from Chapter 3

#1

In 2000, Newton, a prisoner at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, was playing basketball with three other prisoners when one of them fell to the ground, clutching his ankle. The four armed officers arrived. Newton turned to his partners and screamed, What. Like they think they can just come in here and punk us off the rec pad. ! He then began to fight the officers.

#2

In 2000, Newton was trying to break out of supermax, while I was trying to break in. Our paths nearly crossed then, when he was trying to get water from a prisoner’s cell. Your hostage could’ve been me, I said.

Insights from Chapter 4

#1

I taught American literature to prisoners, and found that the plays I assigned them were speaking to them in a way that they could understand. The plays dealt with human emotions through the perspective of a good man who was considering doing a bad deed, which resonated with