Nunez 1

Bianca Nunez

English 123-0710

December 6, 2017

Final Essay

Underestimated Power

Using the New Historicism literary criticism to analyze literature is important in order to

make sense of the work that one is reading. In an Academic journal by Sidney C. Li, she states,

To understand and interpret a text under New Historicism, then, is to first learn about the texts

historical positionnot only in terms of period (i.e. Romanticism), but also in terms of the

author/speakers own ethnicity, financial conditions, and social interactions (Li). The literary

genre I will be analyzing is the young adult novel. This type of genre is marketed to be for those

individuals who are between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. The themes in this type of genre

are often focused around challenges that teen go through which makes them relatable to the

young adult reader (Goodreads). In the young adult novel, Al Capone Does My Homework by

Gennifer Choldenko, the time period and location in which all of the events take place is on

Alcatraz Island, located in San Francisco, California during the 1930s. This became apparent to

me because, at the top of the page, there are dates for each entry/chapter much like the format

that is used when writing in a personal diary. It is important to take this information into

consideration because the island where the story takes place, at the time, was a maximum

security prison home to, world-famous robbers, thieves, swindlers, sharp shooters, second-
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story burglars, mad-dog murderers, plus a whole lot of ordinary criminals (Choldenko 1). This

island was also home to the officials in charge of the criminals and their families.

With the diverse groups of people that were residing on Alcatraz Island, the New

Historicism aspect of the circulation of power is shown. According to Shmoop, the aspect of

circulation helps a reader, understand the way power circulates in a society, from big people,

down to the little people-and sometimes back up again! (Shmoop). Choldenko uses the element

of fiction of character to help develop the aspect of the circulation of power. This element of

fiction has two different meanings. One being the actual person in a work of fiction and the other

being the characteristics that the characters have. I believe that the actual characteristics are

much more helpful in understanding the theme of this young adult novel. A character, and their

characteristics, can be revealed in many ways. They can be revealed with their physical

appearance, what they might think, feel or dream, what they do or do not do, and what others say

about them and how others react to them (The Seven Key Elements of Fiction). Cam Flanagan,

the assistant warden at the prison, and Al Capone, a prisoner on Alcatraz, both have

characteristics that help illustrate the circulation of power happening on the island. Choldenko

illustrates, through Cam Flanagan and Al Capone, that the feeling of being powerless is really

just a perception and not necessarily a reality.

Cam Flanagan went from being the islands electrician, and having hardly any power at

all, to being the assistant warden on Alcatraz Island which would be considered a high rank. To

others on the island, Mr. Flanagan was not someone that they thought would have a lot of power.

For example, Mr. Flanagans son said that his father looked like, a middle-age dance

instructor. Youd never expect him to carry a firearm. An accordion maybe, but not a rifle (2).

Not even his own son believed in him. Mr. Flanagan, to me, seemed like a very down to earth
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and loving man. He is shown to have a good relationship with his wife and children. This is

shown when he was leaving to go start his first day of being the assistant warden. Him treating

his daughter Natalies buttons with the respect that he did and him kissing his wife goodbye

really shows how this may have been the cause of the confusion for his son. Despite the doubt

that was coming from others, Mr. Flanagan was a very strong person with power on the island.

When he and some other guards were interviewing on of the inmates, Al Capone, at Doc Ollies

house, Mr. Flanagan is shown as not being abusive of his power, which was not like what the

other guards were doing. Unlike the other guards, Mr. Flanagan did not treat Al Capone in a

cruel way. He treats him as he would any other person and even lets him eat a sandwich while

the interview was taking place.

Al Capone on the other hand, went from having a good amount of power to having close

to none after becoming a prisoner on Alcatraz. Moose, the assistant wardens son, describes Al

Capone much like any other person would. Moose says, Alphonse Capone, Alcatraz #85, is the

most famous gangster in America- maybe even the world (13). It seems to me that a lot of his

power comes from all of his fame. Al Capone is a notorious mob boss. Capone was responsible

for many brutal acts of violence, mainly against other gangsters. The most famous of these was

the St. Valentines Day Massacre in 1929, in which he ordered the assassination of seven rivals

(History.com). Being a prisoner almost completely changes this well-known character. In the

prison, Al Capone is shown to not be someone that would draw a lot of attention to himself. This

is shown at the time when the guards and the assistant warden are interviewing him to ask him if

he has any helpful information as to what it was that started the Flanagans home fire. Al Capone

gives up no names or information on the matter and says, Look boys, I keep my nose clean. Im

gonna do my time real nice, then head back home. It isnt me you should be worrying about
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(152-153). Al Capone might think that he is powerless, but the officials on the island think

differently. Why else would they choose to interrogate him? Al Capone is also shown to keep

himself lowkey an out of trouble while serving his time at Alcatraz. This is because he chooses

not to participate in the point system game like the other prisoners have. This point system

consists of the prisoners moving up the popularity scale by performing iniquitous acts. Some of

these acts consisted of spitting on a warden, making a shiv, stabbing a guard, and even killing the

warden (14-15)! Capone sort of pulls himself away from the other prisoners and stays away

from that type of crowd. With all this being said, the opinions coming from the people on the

island about Al Capone had changed. This is shown when Moose says, He could have

prevented this, but he wasnt willing to stick his neck out. Al Capone isnt as brave as people

think he is. My dad has more courage than he does (184). This shows the shift in power after

becoming a prisoner.

Using the New Historicism school of criticism to understand and analyze the

circumstances and the context of Choldenkos young adult novel was very necessary. One needs

to be aware of the time period and the history of Alcatraz Island. Being able to feel as if this

were a true story would not have happened if I was not aware of its history of being more than

just a tourist attraction and being an actual maximum security prison. The characteristics of both

Cam Flanagan an Al Capone undoubtedly demonstrated how the power circulates on Alcatraz

Island. These characters both helped lead me to be aware that there is no set definition for power.

They also lead me to the theme of the novel which is that even when you feel powerless you

really are not. Having a theme like this may appeal to the young adult reader because someone

who is much younger might not feel like they have any power in their lives but it is books like
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this that help restore a young adult readers faith. I know that, for me, this type of literature was

much more interesting to read. I will definitely be picking up another young adult novel soon.
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Works Cited

Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Homework. New York, Penguin Group, 2013.

Class Handout. The Seven Key Elements of Fiction..

Hostory.com Staff. Al Capone. History.com, A+E Networks, 2009,

www.history.com/topics/al-capone. Accessed 6 Dec. 2017.

Li, Sidney C. Advancing Multicultural Education: New Historicism in the High School

English Classroom. High School Journal, vol. 99, no. 1, 1 Oct. 2015, p. 13. EBSCOhost.

Accessed 3 Dec. 2017.

Shmoop Editorial Team. New Historicism. Shmoop. Shmoop University Inc.11 Nov.

2008.

Unkwown. Young Adult. Goodreads. Accessed 6 Dec. 2017.