How Does Hard Rock Relate To Prison

This piece seems to me like an allegory of oral tradition. Hard Rock is, after all, a legend to all the prison inmates, and his exploits can only travel by word of mouth. That is perhaps why ‘WORD’ is given so much importance in the third stanza. It brings attention to the fact that all legend/folktales/myths were originally passed down orally. The use of slang: "nigger", "indian", "son of a bitch" gives the piece its edge; the gritty, harsh reality of prison life. This poem is very psychological, for it examines the emotional dependence the human psyche has on hope. In almost all situations, those who are oppressed have some form of hope. To the prison inmates, the stories of Hard Rock offer them hope. Also, psychologically, given the