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We Need to Talk About Kevin - Questions

1. Do you feel Eva writing these letters have any significant meaning to her husband Franklin?

I would say in a sense yes, because she tends to sound agitated when she is writing these letters. It could possibly be due to her husband’s constant denial that their son is a psychopath. It could also mean she is blaming him for loving this monster of a child, or how he didn’t listen to her from the beginning. How she never wanted to have children, but ultimately chose her husband’s happiness over hers.

2. Is Franklin even receiving the letters or is he just allowing her to write more?

I believe Franklin is dead, so he isn’t receiving them. Rather Eva is writing these letters to herself. Ranting about Kevin and the murders he committed, her disgust for mothering a child like him, or it can be her anger that because of him she gave birth to Kevin.

3. Is this book another piece of literature or does it somewhat help the mothers of school shooters?

I guess all the mothers of school shooters ask themselves one thing: “Why did he/she do it?” I like to think of it as they never paid attention to their child and left it isolated. They talked to them but never talked to them enough, now I could be sounding ignorant right now, I’m sure there are plenty of mothers of the shooters of tried helping their child to the best of their abilities but ultimately failed.

Escape From Camp 14 - Reflection #3

Two professors from McGill came to hear about our books and how they tie into our social justice paper. Brandon, William, and I had a similar topic. I chose to write about the atrocities happening in North Korea, William wrote about refugees in general, and Brandon wrote a similar paper like William. Here we discussed to one of the professors our thoughts about this book, how philosophy plays a huge factor for this memoir. Survival of the fittest and of course Plato’s allegory of the cave. The professor soon asked us if this was worth reading and should others read it to get a general idea. We all told her it was necessary because these are real life events and they are happening to this day, someone is being sent to a camp, someone is being executed, someone is being raped, mutilated, tortured, and someone is probably trying to escape all this madness.

So all in all I definitely recommend that all of you read Escape From Camp 14, it will open a new door of perspective for you all. It certainly has for myself, it allows us to gain more knowledge and to not be ignorant, as the world today people do seem to be very ignorant, hyperbole, or plain stupid.

The allegory of the cave is a great example for the North Koreans, they are chained and the government puts all this propaganda in their heads. They are only left to imagine if there is another world beyond the electrified fences, and there is I can assure you.

Shin’s guilt mirrors that of Raskolnikov, both men harboring guilt inside of them. But ultimately forgive themselves by either turning them self in to the police or talking to reporters for his mother and brother’s executions.

Escape From Camp 14 - Opinions

5. Chapters 20-22

Shin finally is free, he has left North Korea and is now bound for South Korea. These chapters to talk about Shin’s PTSD, and his guilt. He is happy that he can eat all the food his heart desires but that won’t bring him happiness. He is guilt ridden from his experiences at the camp and for his father. Who’s current status is unknown, he feels selfish for living the new lifestyle while tens of thousands are still in the camp, suffering a fate worse than death. It has been difficult for him to live this way, but as time goes on he must do the people of North Korea proud and live his life freely and without any oppression.

6. Chapter 23

The last chapter of the book, and I loved it. I read this memoir almost three or four times in the past, and I cannot help but reread it over and over again. It was nice to watch all the documentaries and interviews afterwards. Him speaking on behalf of all North Koreans, his own struggles and how he is living his life.

Escape From Camp 14 - Connections

5. We read the novel Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It basically is about a man who kills this elderly woman and her sister for vengeance. He later has nightmares and guilt for the murders and begins to have this sudden moral conscience. He becomes so guilt ridden, he turns himself in to the police.

This goes back to Shin, a man who was born inside one of North Korea’s worst prison camps. Here he learned to survive only by ratting others out to the guards for an additional meal, he even went as far to rat out his own mother and brother who were conspiring to escape the camp. Which would result in their deaths if caught, hoping to get more rations for the day he told the guard of the plan, Much later, he is brought to the execution grounds and sees his brother and mother. He watches them both die, and they died because of him. Now to him it was an obligation that he would report the escape plot, but it wasn’t until much later after he escapes the camp that he suffers a fate worse than death. The guilt of allowing this to happen and the consequences for his father who in fact, is possibly dead. He had been so damaged he had to be hospitalized, he hadn’t told anyone that he was responsible for his mother and brother’s deaths, but when he did he felt this relief in himself for harboring this for so long.

6. We started talking about philosophy and how it plays in this memoir. Survival of the fittest was one yes, but then I said thinking of Plato and his allegory of the cave. I weaved it in this memoir, and how the allegory of Plato’s cave is the life of all the prisoners in Camp 14, they are told that there are no other places beyond the camps. So they did not know of the rest of Western Civilization, they were left to imagine how life was like if there were other places. Were they prisoners too? Or were they free from all oppression?

Escape From Camp 14 - Quotes

7. “To that end, the center has a staff that includes psychologists, career counselors, and teachers of everything from world history to drivers education. There are also doctors, nurses, and dentists. Over a three-month stay, defectors learn their rights under South Korean law and go on field trips to shopping centers, banks, and subway stations." (Chapter 21)

This goes back to all the North Korean defectors, they may need to be hospitalized. It may have to do with the brainwashing the regime does on its people with all its outrageous propaganda. Or it could have to do with PTSD, they have seen some horrible things and they have been so emotionally damaged because of it.

8. "He cannot enjoy his life when there are people suffering in the camps. He sees happiness as selfishness."

So as previously mentioned from one of my questions. He has been so emotionally damaged from his experiences at the camp he had to be hospitalized himself, and his selfishness comes from the thought of the other political prisoners in the camp, and again comes back to the execution of his mother and brother. He doesn’t feel he should be alive and that he should of died with them, this continues to haunt him to this day, but I feel he is trying to abandon all the darkness.

9. "Shin started to have disturbing dreams. He saw his mother hanged, Parks body on the fence, and visualized the torture he believed his father was subjected to after his escape. As the nightmares continued, he dropped out of a course in automobile repair. He did not take Driver’s Ed. He stopped eating. He struggled to sleep. He was all but paralyzed by guilt."

Still saving that connection for later, again it all goes back to how he is haunted by his grief and that the thought of his father being tortured and possibly executed for his escape frightens him. He stopped his recovery process and let the guilt and darkness inside consume him.

Escape From Camp 14 - Questions

7. Even though Park is dead, how has Park helped Shin even now? Without Park, would Shin have ever gathered the courage or knowledge to escape?

I would say no, because the thought of escaping has never crossed his mind until he met Park, he even ratted out his own mother and brother for conspiring to escape. It was the thought of barbecue pig, and broiled chicken. Having as much food as you want, gave this man the inspiration to escape and live to tell the tale.

8. Why does Shin blame himself for the things he is feeling guilty over?

He finally has this sudden regret. The regret he was harboring for so many years. The guilt that he is responsible for his mother and brother and possibly his father’s executions. His mother and brother being the core of his guilt while the thought of his father being executed because he had escaped. No one knows if his father is still alive or had been executed. I have a great connection which I will mention later.

9. Why does Shin feel selfish when he tries to enjoy his life?

He feels selfish due to the fact of his previous life. He was nothing but a prisoner, they had no goals or destinations. They had to follow orders, that in which sometimes would get them or others killed. When he escaped the camp he was beyond excited, so is no greater feeling than living your life freely with no boundaries. He thought he could escape all the madness that he left behind at the camp, yet he feels selfish that he is trying to forget the horrors he faced. It may also have to do with his mother and brother’s execution, not a day goes by where he doesn’t mention or think about them. He has to learn to forgive himself and just live his life to the fullest, to embrace the light and put aside all the darkness.

Escape From Camp 14 - Reflection #2

So for our second literature circle we discussed Shin’s escape from the camp (how ironic) and how he was granted asylum into South Korea and had begun his new life as free man.

Our main focus was an amazing reference to the allegory of Plato’s Cave. See in the camps the North Korean political prisoners are taught that there isn’t any other place beyond the electrified fences. Now we jump back to Ancient Greece, where people were taken from a very young age only to be subjected into seeing hazy images and allow their imagination to think what that object is, they do not know the difference between a dog and a tree. North Koreans feel the same, I’m sure they know what a dog is considering they can be mauled to death by one if they guards allowed it (which they very well do) and what a tree is, but. The fact that they were taken at a young age only to believe what hazy images are. It truly is unbelievable.

Escape From Camp 14 - Images

The early parts of Shin’s life, the first image was when the guards beat a six year old girl for having a few kernels of corn in her pocket. At that school they were taught the “Ten Commandments” which all resulted in death if you break one of the rules, the second image still happens to this day for those in the camps. As food is very scarce, not everyone can be fed sometimes when they have enough they don’t get fed. So they result in searching for rats, insects, and searching through cow dung for kernels of corn. The third image speaks for itself, Shin’s biggest painful memory the execution of his mother and brother, and who caused it? He did.

These pictures are the final years of Shin’s stay at the camp, he was tortured for almost seven months for having knowledge of his mother and brother’s escape, here he was confined in an underground prison cell, he was also tortured with fire as the guards tied his hands and feet vertically over a coal fire like a rotisserie chicken. The final picture was a few months before the escape, where Shin dropped the machine while working which resulted in the amputation of his right middle finger at the first knuckle.

Escape From Camp 14 - Opinions

3. Chapters 11-15

Shin is still recovering from his mother and brother’s executions, along with the seven months of torture he had to endure from the guards who presumed he knew about their escape. Shin works at the pig farm from 1999-2003 which he describes as “relaxing” probably has to do with him eating vegetables and pork which is not allowed for the prisoners and if they were caught, they would be executed immediately. Soon Shin goes to work at the garment’s factory fixing up old machines, however one day he drops and breaks one of the machines resulting the amputation of his right middle finger at the first knuckle. He is soon assigned to spy on the new prisoner Park, who is an educated man who studied in East Germany, the Soviet Union, and lived in the North Korean capital Pyongyang. At this point of the story, Shin finally thinks freely and chooses not to spy on Park anymore and plots his escape with him. Shin has been following orders all his life, which resulted in the deaths of his brother and mother, his father’s sorrow, the last seven months of imprisonment, beatings, amputation you name it. He just wants to escape from the camp, begin a new life in South Korea and eat all the food the world has to offer.

4. Chapters 16-20

Shin and Park escape from the camp on January 2nd, 2005. This was the perfect opportunity, because the factories would shutdown for two days due to the New Years. Shin and Park make their way to the electrified fence and Park is immediately electrocuted due to pulling down the fence himself. Shin is now a free man, and is now the only man to have escaped Camp 14 and live to tell the tale. There with sheer luck he managed to lie, steal, and bribe himself out of North Korea into China, where he found the South Korean embassy and sought out asylum.

Escape From Camp 14 - Connections

3. I was watching VlogBrothers and I stumbled upon John Green’s video on Escape From Camp 14. Like all of their videos, they are able to explain books more better than I ever could and they’re famous. What’s not to love? Anyways for those who are interested in learning more about this book and have a famous author explain it to you, you should definitely watch it.

4. The second video again is from the VlogBrothers, but Hank Green takes the reins for this one. Here we learn more about North Korea, and their motives for the future. Why they hate the U.S. so much, and their atrocious crimes against humanity.

#vlogbrothers #john green #hank green

Escape From Camp 14 - Quotes

4. "The miracle of Shin’s friendship with Park is how quickly it blew up the box. Park’s spirit, his dignity, and his incendiary information gave Shin something that was both enthralling and unbearable: a context, a way to dream about the future. He suddenly understood where he was and what he was missing. Camp 14 was no longer home. It was an abhorrent cage, and Shin now had a well-traveled, broad-shouldered friend to help him get out." (Chapter 13, pg. 107-108)

Shin meeting Park was the most important aspect in his life. Park introduced him to a world he never knew about. He opened up Shin’s imagination allowing him to be open minded to the thought of escape. Though he began thinking about his mother and brother, he still decided he was going to escape.

5. "What he remembers most clearly about crawling through the fence was that Park’s body smelled like it was burning." (Chapter 15, pg. 118)

This is very important because the only reason Shin survived crossing the fence, was because Park went first. Shin was in front the entire time, but he lost his footing causing Park to take lead and use up all his strength to pull down the fence which resulted in Park being electrocuted, now cold weather usually reduces conductivity, and having multiple pieces of clothing can also help but due to their excessive sweating it reopened their pores resulting in high voltage electrocution for Park. Smelling Park’s body stood out to him so much maybe because he felt bad, but he had no choice but to continue forward with his escape.

6. "Shin could not have escaped North Korea without an abundance of luck, especially at the border. As he bribed his way toward China in late January 2005, a window happened to be open, allowing relatively low-risk illegal passage across the border." (Chapter 18, pg. 142)

Shin had luck on his side during his journey through North Korea. He was incredibly lucky on his journey, especially since Park was dead and he was his only compass for asylum. It could have to do with God’s will or it was strictly coincidental.

Escape From Camp 14 - Questions

4. What prompted Shin to finally say enough was enough and would lead him to escape?

It had to do with Park’s tales about his life in Pyongyang, and the amount of food he’s eaten. This is the driving cause for Shin’s escape from the camp, he was so intoxicated by the foods Park had consumed during his life. Which is funny because you would expect someone like Shin to see freedom from outside the camp and see the real North Korea, but no. He plans his escape for broiled chicken and barbecue pork.

5. Why does Shin refuse to take the flour that was intended for him from his father?

It has to do with the bad blood *cue Taylor Swift picture* between Shin and his father, he blames his father for everything that has happened to him. His mother and brother’s execution which resulted him being locked away in a secret underground prison at the camp for nearly seven months where he was tortured. The guards had his arms and legs tied vertically and lit a coal fire beneath him and hung him up there like a rotisserie chicken, it could also have to do with his father causing the damage to the family, as he was the one who came to the camp because he was a traitor. Who knows.

6. How was North Korea's political setbacks a beneficial factor for Shin’s journey through North Korea?

Thanks to Park, he was able to learn about the corruption of the North Korean Government. On page. 87, we learn about the famine that occurred in the late 1990s, which wiped out 16% of the total population in North Korea. We also learn the West delivered more than one billion dollars worth food and items to North Korea, however the deliveries were controlled and transported solely by the government. The police officials were taking bribes, probably because they weren’t getting paid enough or weren’t being fed enough, bribery also helped Shin find his way out of North Korea to China.

Escape From Camp 14 - Reflection

Today we had our first literature circle regarding the novel Escape From Camp 14 by Blaine Harden. I have read this book almost ten times over the past three years of owning it, so I came very prepared for this discussion. What really struck me however, was how Brandon and William had their very own perspective for Shin’s story. Now William believed we have two perspectives, one being Shin Dong-hyuk himself and Blaine Harden. With these two individuals we see how North Korean culture is completely normal to Shin while Harden sees them as atrocious acts against humanity, not to mention the isolation factor altering Shin’s view of morality after witnessing all these executions occur in his life.

Brandon brought up the point of how we can relate this back to philosophy and Darwin’s theory. Survival of the fittest plays an important aspect in this man’s odyssey, Shin views his mother as a means for food, not caring whether or not she has eaten or not but rather giving himself all the food as it is very scarce in the camp. I then brought up how later on he rats out his mother and brother for plotting to escape, now when I first read the book. I was shocked that he would commit such a crime against his family, it was only after two years where we started learning about different philosophers and how they view the world with its laws. Shin had a obligation to rat out his mother and brother otherwise he would be executed for not alerting the guards beforehand.

We also discussed the heinous acts of torture being committed against these prisoners, forced abortions, complete isolation, mutilation, you name it. We also created a spectrum on how the North Korean Government overrules the guards who overrule the prisoners. Quite the hierarchy if you ask me.

I look forward to hearing what Brandon and William have to say for our next literature circle, both seem to be enjoying the book very much, and I hope they have more ideas to share.

#amberbooktalk #escape from camp 14 #shindonghyuk

Escape From Camp 14 - Images

Here 15,000 wrongly convicted people are isolated in this hellhole, in this collection of houses, fields, factories surrounded by an electrified fence. Satellite images are the only way of actually seeing the camp itself.

I march forward to death, I embrace it with open arms. I feel my father’s presence he feels scared, hopeless and defeated. When they take the blindfolds off, I see my mother and brother tied to the poles. A rope is tied to my mother’s neck, and three guards point their rifles at my brother, my mother and brother look at me one more time, I look at them. I don’t have the courage to stare any longer. As their eyes are blindfolded and their mouths stuffed with pebbles just so they don’t curse the nation. The guard kicks the stool as my mother asphyxiates herself, the guards shoot my brother three times each, nine shots in total. I feel nothing, I feel I honored my duty. I feel nothing, no sadness, no pain. Just the numbness from the cold.

#betrayal #numb #pain #death

Escape From Camp 14 - Opinions

1. I have read this book almost ten times, I bought in 2014 and the first time I read it, I was completely shocked, my jaw opened throughout the first 50 pages, one part in particular had to do with a little girl being beaten to death for having a few kernels of corn in her pocket, “The Ten Commandments” of the prison camp end with being “shot immediately” for theft, plotting to escape, lying, having sex. Truly unbelievable, it’s been almost three years and I still get the goosebumps.

2. When I found out Shin had ratted his mother and brother out for plotting to escape, I was very angry, I thought he was selfish for doing so. However as time went on and I started learning about philosophy, I realized that he was simply fending for himself. The first commandment in the camp is “Anyone who witnesses an escape or doesn’t report it will be shot immediately” so it was his moral duty to report them as they broke the rules. This could also have something to do with earning more food as a reward for turning them in, also the philosophy the prisoners follow is to survive and only the fit shall do so.

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