From the first episode of Orange is the New Black to the last season one episode of Orange is the New Black “Fool Me Once”, it is observable that Piper has changed mentally and demeanor-wise throughout this first season. I mainly explored the episode “Fool Me Once”, and noted various personalities that Piper tackles on and her responses to everyday prison events. The most notable difference is her change in tone and voice. In this episode, Piper speaks with a monotone and plain tone and has no emotion when she speaks. Compared to the first episode, Piper had constant emotion when speaking, and was not afraid to let out what she was feeling. As a result of the beatdown of prison life has her emotions toned down, making her seem depressed and more suppressed as a human being. Her reaction to new events in the prison has her bottling up her emotions more and more and having outbursts of anger at times in the episode. An example is seen when Alex confronted Piper about Piper ignoring her and one time in the kitchen when they were alone, Piper pushes Alex multiple times, screams in her face, and unleashes her anger when a few moments before that, she was simply lumber and ignorant of Alex’s actions.
In the first few episodes, after being scared deeply by the prison life, Piper hid in a corner and rarely wanted to socialize with anyone because of the fear of doing something or someone wrong. However, as she started to acclimate throughout the episodes and stepped out of her limits, Piper was not afraid to step up to take leadership roles and confront any inmates, as after going through so much trauma daily, there became virtually nothing that would faze her anymore. In a way, although Piper became stronger as a person and more will-powered. However, it is questionable regarding the amount of PTSD Piper will suffer when she gets out of prison, as it seems like with her personality shifting, her presence seems to decrease with each additional trauma.
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