In the Penal Colony

In the Penal Colony
"In the Penal Colony" is told from the perspective of an explorer who, much like the reader, is a stranger of the penal colony, Western educated and moderate. He has come to figure out the usefulness of this machine, a device of punishment, torture, and execution. Of course, the explorer is totally against the whole thing from the start.
Furthermore, a large portion of the novel, deals with the officer describing to the explorer, in detail, the specific functions of the machine. A system of needles slowly engraves the punishment on the body of the condemned man. The…