Essay Questions

What is the theme of A WASP Woman Visits A Black Junkie In Prison?

The theme of all of Knight's poems is race; however, this poem is slightly different in that Knight separates the attitude of a system towards black people and the attitude of those who live within it. Although he fees that the justice system is essentially racist, he does not feel that individuals are automatically so.

The white Angl0-Saxon woman who visits the black prisoner in prison could not be more unlike him, and he to her. The two come from entirely different backgrounds. The woman has never committed a crime or been a drug addict; the man has never not done so. Yet they connect on human grounds, both sharing their life experiences in a spirit of learning about the other. The poem is thematically hopeful, and notes that racism in a system does not necessarily mean that those who live within the system are racists.

How does Knight show that he is a criminal when his family are not?

Knight describes his ancestors as farmers, and describes himself as a criminal. He feels different to them. He feels connected, and has a strong family bond, but he also knows that the man he has become is not a man that his ancestors would recognize because he is not like them.

He also ponders the nature of their differences, but does so with love for them as the central theme of the poem. As farmers, they were law abiding, and did no wrong. He has never been a farmer, and has always been free, but he has not followed their example or their path and has ended up in jail. He loves his family and feels a tie to his ancestors but is also anxious to point out their differences, and identifies himself as a criminal in order to do so.