The Jailing of Cecelia Capture (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Janet Campbell Hale
- First Published: 1985
- Type of Plot: Psychological realism
- Time of Work: 1980
- Setting: Berkeley, California; Spokane and Tacoma, Washington; and reservations in Idaho and Washington
- Principal Characters: Cecelia Capture Welles, Mary Theresa Capture, Will Eagle Capture, Brian (Bud) Donahue, Nathan Welles
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism, Bildungsroman, Character study
- Subjects: Self-discovery, Prisoners, Prisons, Racism, Sexism, Twentieth century, Social issues, Marriage, Poverty or poor people, Native Americans or American Indians, San Francisco, Pacific Northwest, Fraud
- Locales: San Francisco, CA, Indian Reservation, Idaho, Tacoma, WA
The Novel
Drawn from the author’s experiences of growing up as a Native American in a white-dominated society, The Jailing of Cecelia Capture consists of the reflections of the title character, who is spending a weekend in jail after her arrest for drunk driving. She scans her entire life, discovering that in many ways she has been repeatedly imprisoned by her society and culture.
The novel begins in jail. Cecelia’s immediate fears center on the compulsory mugshots: They will make her look ugly, because she could not fix her face and hair. She recognizes that...
[The entire page is 2576 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
