Cell One

Despite being the titular setting of the story, Cell One remains a largely enigmatic space throughout; Nnamabia only ever reveals what happens outside of the cell while alluding to the horrors that occur within. As such, Cell One exists primarily in the imagination of the narrator rather than in the text itself. The narrator’s ominous observation after Nnamabia’s release—“Nnamabia did not say what happened to him in Cell One, or what happened at the new site” (Paragraph 68)—reinforces the horrific mystery surrounding Cell One. As such, Cell One symbolizes the terror associated with systemic violence throughout the story, which is intangible but ever-present.

In the beginning stages of “Cell One,” Nnamabia seems immune to this terror, either perpetrating it himself or laughing at its societal effects. During the family’s first visit to the prison, he “smiled, his face more beautiful than ever… and said that he had slipped money into his anus shortly after the arrest” (Paragraph 19). Though this devil-may-care attitude gradually wears away as Nnamabia becomes more aware of the injustices surrounding him in prison, it is only after he decides to stand up for