What is the taken punishment now of violating the laws or rules such killing, theft, and rape?  What comes to mind is that the most punishment is the prison; and that is for a reason, which is taking the prisoner's freedom or even his life. However, what if there is another possible punishment that aims to reform and discipline the prisoners? Michel Foucault, the French philosopher and social theorist has talked deeply about this topic in his book, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of The Prison. Panopticism is the solution of disciplining individuals. It has a deep meaning and it has an obvious relationship to our life norms and behaviors. (Foucault 240). Panopticism has changed my life to the better.

First, Panopticism is the social theory that developed by Foucault and it is the process of being in a Panopticon. The Panopticon is a prison designed by the British philosopher Jeremy Bentham. The Panopticon has a circular shape and it is divided into many cells, and there is an annular pierced tower at the center of the prison with windows overlooking to the cells that are situated on the periphery of the prison. Each cell has two windows, the first on the inside facing the tower, and the second on the out side let in sunlight. Every inmate is incarcerated inside his cell which he is facing the tower from the front and seen by the guardians, and the sidewalls do not allow him to contact with the other inmates, he cannot be a subject of communication. Furthermore, Panopticon implicitly has the meaning of organizing and dividing. Inmates are organized into categories correspond their crimes. In addition, they were divided everyone in a cell and every inmate is completely known, his name, age, job, address and everything relating to him are recorded. (Foucault 244). Foucault is saying that the Panopticon's main effect is producing a sense of awareness, visibility, and observation on the inmates. Inmates are always subject of surveillance, they are seen by guards, but they cannot see anyone. In a moment, it is possible that the inmate is being watched or not, but he do not guarantee that, he must be sure that he is always being looked at and everything he do can be monitored, and that is what Foucault called "the automatic function of power." (Foucault 245). In this way, prisoners are controlled, and over time, this became a symbol of controlling individuals rather than punishing them physically. Hence, Foucault's idea was that the societies, individuals, systems, and politics have developed by the function of Panopticism. The government and society have made small panoptic institutions like schools, houses, families, police stations, and systems of politic that obey the state. Even our culture, our behaviors, and the things that are accepted socially are controlling us. We are all in a Panopticon; we are controlled by our norms and observed by the state, government, and society. Therefore, the panoptic institutions are disciplinary machines that responsible for discipline individuals' behaviors.

Secondly, Panopticon has ubiquitous effects on my life. It is controlling my behaviors and my actions in addition that I live in a community filled by panoptic institutions. I prevent my self to steal something from stores even if the seller does not see me because I like to keep my self watched, likewise I do not do abnormal behaviors because they are socially unacceptable and I will be distorted in others' opinions. Likewise, I cannot disobey the God's commands because I know that he is watching me every moment. I always capture the small Panopticon prison in my head. The idea that I am always watched is saving me from many wrong actions. Another thing is the panoptic institutions, I am a student and I am under my embassy commands. The embassy is like my boss, people who work in the embassy watch my progress, my absence, and even my grades and my GPA. They update my status periodically to the Ministry of Higher Education in my home country. Their job is to take care that I am on the right track; they keep all my information into my record. The University does as well. Everything is organized and recorded in the system so I cannot deny any thing I did and when I will graduate, I will see my record and my all progress during the past 4 years in the university. Moreover, the hospital has an account for me contain my whole identity; they record every visit to the doctor so I get paid. I am a subject for of the information and I have to do whatever institutions that have an authority on me want. They watch me and I do not, I cannot violate the rules or refuse the commands. The Panopticism practice is affecting me in many positive ways; my doings when I know that I am watched is absolutely different than when I am not. Panopticism teaches me discipline; I am powerless to escape the social norms our society chooses to adopt because they are stuck in my head. In addition, I like to organize my self and my divide my work. Also, Panopticism makes me organized, I learned that the best way to finish a work is dividing it into small parts and analyzing and knowing every thing about each part.

In conclusion, Panopticism is a disciplinary power teaches discipline. It makes us moral and better, it changes the way that we think and the way we act; we are all in a Panopticon because centralized social norms and government controlled us. Thus, the Panopticon became Foucault's symbol for how politics and society developed since the first Panopticon in the 18th century.
