Analysis Of We Wear The Mask By Chestnutt

Paul Dunbar was an famous African- American poet known for his famous literary works and gained national critical aclaim for his ability to transform the struggle of the black race into powerful poems. His mother and farmer were both former slaves who served in the army. Dun bar’s family grew in extreme poverty, but his mother was always supportive of Dunbar’s love for poems which stemmed from having heard them from the family she used to work for.

Dunbar’s overall statement in We Wear the Mask is that these African-Americans, including himself, not once revealed all of the sadness, anger, and agony they went through; they simply smiled and faked their happiness while they were anguished and hurting inside, probably to avoid provoking conflict with Caucasian groups of people. The purpose of this title was to inform the reader of the exasperating struggle African-Americans had to endure during this period of time due to race inequality, all in a total of three stanzas and 15

In the poem, “We Wear the Mask’, the narrator, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, expresses the pain African American experienced during the slave trade and how the slaves learned to suppress their emotions. The poem shows a contrast between African American’s social faces and their “bleeding hearts”. The tone of the poem is not a corrective tone, but rather an explanatory one. In considering the time period, it would make sense that the narrator would be careful about insulting the white community. In the first stanza the tone starts as explanatory in just speaking of the masquerade and state of oppression. Then the last two stanzas are very matter of fact. When the narrator sarcastically states, “Why should the world be otherwise”. Showing

The lyric poem “We wear the mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a poem about the African American race, and how they had to conceal their unhappiness and anger from whites. This poem was written in 1895, which is around the era when slavery was abolished. Dunbar, living in this time period, was able to experience the gruesome effects of racism, hatred and prejudice against blacks at its worst. Using literary techniques such as: alliteration, metaphor, persona, cacophony, apostrophe and paradox, Paul Dunbar’s poem suggests blacks of his time wore masks of smiling faces to hide their true feelings.

Ultimately, since Dunbar avoids specifically mentioning blacks and their suffering, with the history of this poem in mind, this poem could stand as a lament on behalf of all of the individuals who were forcefully made to wear a “mask” just as a girl who tries to hide her pregnancy from her parents, or as a boy who

The early 1900s was a very challenging time for Negroes especially young women who developed issues in regards to their identities. Their concerns stemmed from their skin colors. Either they were fair skinned due mixed heritage or just dark skinned. Young African American women experienced issues with racial identity which caused them to be in a constant struggle that prohibits them from loving themselves and the skin they are in. The purpose of this paper is to examine those issues in the context of selected creative literature. I will be discussing the various aspects of them and to aid in my analysis, I will be utilizing the works of Nella Larsen from The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, Jessie Bennett Redmond Fauset,

In the story of "The wife of his youth" by Charles W. Chesnutt goes into detail about how the blacks were having problems with the society of the whites. This story was written after civil war. Where were a group of blacks who started this society called "The blue vein society". The group of people would get to together talk about how the whites could except them and for the blacks to except them would be a step back for them. The main character of the story is Mr. Ryder. He was in charge of the blue vein society, and everybody in the society look up the him. In this paper I will show how the people of the blue vein society had problems with their identities.

The life of African Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries has been a truly storied past. One of the most astonishing aspects of African American life, in this period, is the degree to which it was heterogeneous. The experiences of African Americans differed widely based on geographic location, class, gender, religion, and age. Despite a high degree of variability in the experiences of Blacks in America, if one were to consider the sociopolitical fact that Black people as a group in America were a subordinate caste in dominant society, then it becomes possible to make certain overarching connections. One such connection is the presence of secretive subversive ideologies and actions. The existence of these secretive subversive activities is apparent if one examines the labor tendencies, the folklore, and the outward societal projections of black people. By briefly examining the labor practices of Black women in Atlanta during the latter part of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries, The Uncle Remus tales, and cultural icon Louis Armstrong, one can deduce that secretive subversive actions and beliefs were an integrated aspect of Black existence during this period.

Many individuals are often alienated from society. One of many causes can be racism. The alienation caused by racism can affect individuals and society. Due to their race, they were discriminated and led to racial inequality. This can all be depicted in “Incident” by Countee Cullen, “ A Black Man Talks of Reaping” by Arna Bontemps, and “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar. In “Incident”, a young African American is called a racial slur because of her physical appearance. Also, “A Black Man Talks of Reaping”, describes how a black man is discriminated and face racial inequality. Lastly, in “We Wear the Mask” shows how blacks had to hide their true identity because they were colored and did not fit in society. In all three text of Cullen, Bontemps, and Dunbar all show how racism can make an individual feel alienated.

In this poem it is implied that everyone wakes up and chooses a mask from their “drawer”. By this I mean we wake up and choose which mood were going to show the world. “We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes” (Dunbar 906 lines 1-2). We wear the mask to hide the tears that fall from our eyes and roll down our cheeks. We put on a grin to make people think we are okay, but in reality it is a lie because we are broken inside. The mask could also be the frase “I am fine”. From an African American from the nineteenth centuries point of view “we” in this quote stands for the black community or others that go discriminated at the time. There is pain behind these masks that they wear. “This debt we pay to human guile, With torn and bleeding hearts we smile” (Dunbar 906 lines 3-4). “Human guile”

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (King). Today's society is based on the appearance of a person, and the color of a their skin. African Americans should not have to cover up themselves because of their race. In Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem, “We Wear the Mask”, he speaks up about slavery and inequality. The meaning in Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask” is discrimination of African Americans and how they get treated because the color of their skin.

We Wear The Mask was written in 1886 with post slavery America being the significant historical backdrop. In this poem, Dunbar explores the duality of experience of African American's at this time. The outward experience presented to the world at large - “We wear the mask that grins and lies” - versus the inward truth of suffering and turmoil - “With torn and bleeding hearts we smile”.

In The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois, the idea of the Veil is a dominant theme throughout the book. The Veil is a social phenomenon that describes the divide between black and white Americans through social and economic issues. To demonstrate these issues Du Bois utilizes vivid imagery to cement the abstract concept that is the Veil. He likens it by bringing together visions of the sea and land, exploring the parallels of John and John, personifying it into his own son and contrasting the city and rural village. Through this exploration of imagery, Du Bois creates a concrete image of the Veil and it’s warring sides.

“The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the colour line – the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the island of the sea.” (Du Bois 45) Du Bois claimed the African-Americans experience social relations in the United States as “the veil”. “The veil” is a metaphor for the colour-line which African-Americans would live for their entire life. They would live with the knowledge that they were different, and that others would see them in the different way. The existence of the veils made the seen with another identity even though they are American. The Blacks did not carry only one identity, but two conflicting identities, and Blacks did not actually gain their freedom if they continued

We Wear a Mask a poem written by Paul Laurence Dunbar has a deeper meaning than a person just wearing a mask. It represents a person trying to hide their true feelings. When the author uses “We” instead of “I” it indicates that the society as a whole wears a mask to hide from the truth. As mentioned in the first stanza it talks about the declaration that a group of people are wearing a mask; hides their true feeling. The second stanza translates to the world needs to pity and lament over the woes of the community. The third stanza translates to ending the poem with a proud declaration that even though we cry inside we take pride in it. The meaning of the poem leads to the tone being realistic, pleading and proud. In the poem, it says “with