A Summary Of Hard Rock Returns From The Hospital For The Criminal Insane

Explication Essay of “Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane” by Etheridge Knight In "Hard Rock Returns from Prison Hospital for Criminal Insane," Etheridge Knight tells a touching story from the point of view of a collective speaker, perhaps one of his fellow prisoners or the entire gang, ruminating over Hard Rock’s return to prison after treatment in a psychiatric hospital (Milburn). The speaker accentuates Hard Rock as an imposing individual who stands out for his unwillingness to obey authorities and the scars he carries to prove his defiance. The poem is unveiled as the speaker narrates the talks on how Hard Rock was mistreated and the fanfare which welcomed his return home. Nevertheless, the fact is clear

The imagery depicted in the figures of the surgeon when he "bored a hole in his head" and "cut out part of his brain" is like what is usually depicted in the movies as invasive and dehumanized medical procedures (lines 8-9). Certain phrases of the text allude to the magnitude of the restraints over Hard Rock's body and mind, giving a picture of the method being both physically and mentally invasive. On the other hand, the use of figurative language, exemplified by the comparison of Hard Rock to a horse that had its penis removed, conveys the enormous loss of authority and emancipation that these people face upon their admission to this prison complex. Via arising such dense images, Hard Rock is compared with the castrated animal and it reflects the identity loss via institutionalized settings. Through the use of such moving images, however, Knight masterfully shows the main idea of the book, i.e., it is through the use of institutional control that people end up giving up their freedom, dignity, and

Knight employs this technique so as to give you the innate authenticity of the inmate's narrative, consequently, the reader finds himself in the private sphere of prison life. The meter of irregular line lengths and enjambment, in addition to the creation of the atmospheric quality, is also another reason why the poem is parallel to the tumultuous journey one experiences while in prison socially. This disintegration of form, in turn, gives expression to a dissolved and dislocated expertise that characterizes the lives of those who live behind the prison walls, where differences between time and space fade, and everything blends into the single whole. Knight's employment of this disorienting milieu to the reader adds to the poem's overall effect, making the realism of prison life and the way the individual is robbed of freedom within the setting a vivid feeling, a consequence of the power principle. In conclusion, "Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane" is a good example of a strong declaration of the theme of institutionalization and the effects of its dehumanization. By using descriptive imagery, dark situations, and the application of figures of speech, Etheridge Knight draws a daunting picture of how a person's identity and capacity become