d a hole in his head," "handcuffed and chained," "the jewel of a myth," and "barked in his face," paint vivid images in the readers mind. Knight's use of imagery keeps the reader interested in the poem while slowly drawing the reader into the story (emotionally). This element ultimately proves to be very useful to convey the motif of the poem.Knight's poem displays the corrupt elements of prison life while portraying an analogy about society. Since Hard Rock was a hero to the other prisoners, the authorities took extreme actions to end his defiance. This is an obvious reference to the civil rights movement and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hard Rock, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., did not accept the corrupt structure and regulations of his "community." Hard Rock took action, as did Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to represent the rights of his "people," and he was a hero to those who would not "take a stand." Ultimately, he was silenced unjustly by the "Screws," referencing to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After Hard Rock's "silencing," the other prisoners did not strive to preserve the "spirit" of his rebellion, but they "turned away." This is very similar to the recession of the civil rights movement after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Combining graphic images of Hard Rock's rebellion and oppression with analogies about Hard Rock's prison life, and appropriate dictation, I feel that Knight effectively eludes the reader to his point. "Authorities" often oppress those who voice their beliefs in order to make a change in a predetermined social structure. King exposes this sad truth by creating a fictional story in a setting similar to that of a governmental structure, and correlating the life of Hard Rock to the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Knight wrote "Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane" in 1968, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassi...
