

Barris also orders Travis to clean the prison toilets as punishment for his defiant attitude and his attempt to help Benjy. Barris, to Travis' surprise, puts Benjy's insulin within his reach, but later takes revenge by massing all the guards to beat Bosche severely, who is then left among the prison population. When Travis pleads for Bosche to intervene, Bosche tries to help by locating Benjy's insulin, but is caught by other guards. Travis discovers that Benjy, now severely ill, concealed his need for insulin, thinking that he could manage his diabetes with just diet. When fellow guard Bosch dissents, Barris pressures him to continue quitting early will cause the researcher's red light to come on and payment for everyone will be forfeited. The red light does not come on, and Barris takes this as a sign that his actions were "commensurate" and the guards are behaving appropriately. Under Barris' lead Travis is abducted, head shaved, and urinated upon. Realizing Travis is influencing prisoner dissent, Barris decides to humiliate him, as physical retribution is forbidden. Barris becomes more and more sadistic.ĭespite increasing abuse from the guards, Travis remains defiant. Instead, the guards grow more forceful in order to make prisoners 'obey at all costs'. Barris, concerned that some of the guards, particularly Chase, may be capable of violence, tries to dissuade them from aggressive behavior. Travis shares his cell with Benjy, a graphic novelist, and Nix, a member of the Aryan Brotherhood who served prison time before. If all manage to follow the rules for two weeks, each man will be paid $14,000. Archaleta stresses that the experiment will end immediately at the first sign of violence or quitting. The guards in turn must ensure prisoners obey the rules, and deal commensurately with transgressions within 30 minutes. Basic rules are outlined: prisoners must fully consume three meals a day there will be 30 minutes of mandatory rec daily prisoners must remain within designated areas they cannot speak to any guard unless spoken to first. Travis is assigned to be a prisoner (#77), and Barris to be a guard. The group is split into six guards and 20 prisoners, thereafter referred to only as a number. Among the volunteers is Travis (Brody), a proud anti-war protestor, and Michael Barris (Whitaker), a 42-year-old man who still lives with his domineering mother.Īfter interviews measuring responses to various scenes of violence are conducted, a chosen 26 are driven to an isolated prison setting with 24 hour a day camera coverage. Volunteers, enticed by the $1,000 per day paycheck, arrive for a psychological study led by Dr. ( September 2018) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed.
