In the Penal Colony

The chains symbolize the suffering and powerlessness of the subjects. This symbol reinforces the story’s meditations on injustice, imprisonment, and abuse of power. From the very beginning, the prisoner is in chains like an animal, and the chains are described as excessive:

a chain from which numerous smaller chains were attached, a pair going to the prisoner’s hands and another for his feet, as well as one chain that was attached to his neck, and then all of these were interconnected by yet a third level of chains (74).

This intense level of physical subjugation represents the helplessness of the prisoner in the face of authoritarian rule. He has no say. Just an hour after the major’s complaint, the officer condemned the prisoner and “had this man out in chains” (81) without giving him any chance to defend himself.

The rusted chains also indicate the degrading and inhumane treatment of the oppressive penal system and the way it strips individuals of their freedom and dignity. When the prisoner attempts “to cover up his nakedness,” the soldier raises “the chains up high and finishe[s] by removing every last stitch of clothing” (86). This also highlights how the justice system has taken complete control of his life and fate.