According to Michel Foucault, the prison form predates its systematic use in the penal system. The interior layout generally contrasts with the exterior's frightening and warning facades. The Universalis Encyclopaedia presents one of the best explanations of the historical background of the dilemma of prison architecture. Jeremy Bentham, known as the citizen of the world in his Panopticon (1791), formulated the archetype of the prison in the nineteenth century. The architecture of the prison represents the dilemma of autonomy and coercion, isolation and inclusion. It is important to underscore that the Benthamite program helps avoid not only the too heavy apparatus of coercion but also the "subaltern tyranny."  The word "subaltern" was first adopted by theorist Antonio Gramsci and figures prominently postcolonial theory, most notably in Gayatri C. Spivak's essay "Can the Subaltern Speak?" The analysis of Prison Architecture Dilemma corrects a classical case of catachresis by linking the work to its initial meaning as used by Gramsci in the study of Ngugi's Prison Trilogy.

Minata Kone was born in Korhogo in North-Côte d'Ivoire. She is currently an assistant professor at Cocody University. Her international research career started in 2007 with the research chair in literary and cultural transfers at the University of Ottawa-Canada, when the Francophone University Agency selected her for a scholarship. She moved from NYU-SCA to Columbia University's ICLS as a visiting scholar. Kone has been published in various journals including: Enquête, 2009; Revue du Groupe d'Etudes Linguistiques et Littéraires (G.E.L.L.),2008; African Journal of English Studies, 2008; Journal of the African Literature Association, Summer/Fall 2008; Black Renaissance Noire, 2010; and in Les Représentations dans les fictions Littéraires, 2011. She has attended many conferences organized by the African Literature Association and African Studies Association, and is a member of the Modern Language Associations. She presented her research on Ngugi's Prison Trilogy on March 20, 2012, at Columbia University.