When you start out, your character has no skills in combat so all you can do is swing a stick around and barely kill rats and birds, and you're so weak that NPCs bully you around and force you to do stuff or rob your money in protection rackets.
As the game takes place in a prison, the solution is simple and just like real life, do a couple of favors for strong guys who aren't assholes, work out, pay these strong guys to teach you how to get stronger and how to handle a sword, THEN you can beat the crap out of the guys who treated you badly until they're unconscious, steal their stuff, and then insult and/or threaten them once they wake up so they'll leave you alone forever.
Best prison game. Remap the controls.