The warden said to me ~Etheridge Knight

"The warden said to me" is about the hierarchy of black and white in society, and the rifts that it causes. The speaker is an African American named Etheridge that is imprisoned. Etheridge is recalling a conversation that he had with the white warden. It appears that the warden's question is asked innocently out of curiosity with no malintentions, but the response from Etherdige is conditioned by poor treatment that African Americans have received since slavery. It is important that the speaker is African American because the message would likely be different if it came from a white person. In the situtation presented, if the speaker had been white, there may have been a condescending answer or one said with an unawareness of reality. The fact that this poem is presented as a conversation is also important because it shows that the warden and prisoner are on close levels; no one is being condescending or difficult.

The ideas of this poem that are conveyed through the speaker, tone, and presentation, are further enhanced by literary devices. Knight uses paranthetical thought to present the ideas that the speaker is having, but does not verbally present; for example, "(innocently, I think)," (2). Etheridge does not think the warden's question is asked with a malicious intent, but he is hesistant because of actions and ideas presented by society. Diction is also very critical in this poem. Knight presents the warden to be on a similar intellectual level as the the prisoner; for example, "'Say, etheridge,/ why come the black boys don't run off/ like the white boys do?,'" (2-4). The warden does not use proper English, just as the prisoner, Etheridge, does not; for example, "'Well, suh/I ain't for sure,"' (6-7). It is also important that the name Etheridge is not capitalized, just as suh is not capitalized. This shows that there is a minimal level of respect between the warden and prisoner. Etheridge is respectful enough to refer to the warden as suh because of what he was taught as a black boy growing up, but he does not respect the warden. The warden is not trying to be condescending or nasty to Etheridge, but the fact that he refers to the grown prisoners as boys is disrespectful.

"The Warden said to me" was interesting to me because it represents a miscommunication between races. I do not believe that either of these characters are truly racist towards one another, but because of what they are taught from a young age, they have racist tendencies. This example, which could be found in many other writings and texts, is a reflection of how family and society can influence a person's beliefs. The warden and Etheridge do not have any reason to dislike each other except for their positions in life, neither has done anything to the other. I feel that this situtation is not only found between black and white during the time period that the poem was published, but it can be found today in many forms, such as clicks. It is as if, we learn from mistakes, but can not completely rid ourselves of them because they are somehow ingrained in our nature.