* Alcatraz
Informative Speech Outline
General Purpose: To inform the class
Specific Purpose: To describe to the audience a brief history of Alcatraz.
Thesis: Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the stories exaggerated in movies and television shows.
INTRODUCTION
I. If you disobey the rules of society, they send you to prison; if you disobey the rules of the prison, they send you to Alcatraz.
II. Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the stories of mistreatment and escape attempts exaggerated in movies and television shows.
III. Alcatraz served as the federal government’s response to post-prohibition America. Both the institution …show more content…

This gives you an idea of the kind of life the prisoners really had on the island versus what you may have imagined or seen in the movies.
III. Now, I will discuss the popular culture of Alcatraz; including some failed escape attempts before the closing of the prison in 1963.
A. There have been several movies made around the myths of Alcatraz. To name a few; The Rock, starring Sean Connery, Murder in the First, starring Christian Slater and Kevin Bacon, Escape from Alcatraz starring Clint Eastwood, and JJ Abrams 2012 television series, Alcatraz.
B. Perhaps the most famous escape attempt was known as the “Battle of Alcatraz”. Six prisoners were involved; they gained power over the guards and got access to weapons and keys. The plan began to fall apart when they realized they didn’t have a key to unlock the door into the yard. They decided to fight it out and shot and killed two officers at point-blank range, and also injured 18 other officers. Two of the six men were tried for the murder of the officers, received the death penalty, and were executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin.
C. The escape attempt that I found the most intriguing was the one portrayed in movie, Escape from Alcatraz. They created an elaborate escape plan where they had made life-like dummy heads out of a homemade cement powder mixture, soap and toilet paper. They painted the heads with paints from the prison art-kits and