Comparing Hughes Harlem And Laurence Dunbar's They Wear The Mask

Langston Hughes was the leading voice of African American people in his time, speaking through his poetry to represent blacks. His Influence through his poems are seen widely not just by blacks but by those who enjoy poetry in other races and social classes. Hughes poems, Harlem, The Negro speaks of rivers, Theme for English B, and Negro are great examples of his output for the racial inequality between the blacks and whites. The relationship between whites and blacks are rooted in America's history for the good and the bad. Hughes poems bring the history at large and present them in a proud manner. The injustice that blacks face because of their history of once being in bondage is something they are constantly reminded and ridiculed for but must overcome and bring to light that the thoughts of slavery and inequality will be a lesson and something to remember for a different future where that kind of prejudice is not found so widely.

The Harlem Renaissance was a period that started in the early 1920’s in which the concept of “the Negro” was intended to be changed (History.com). This period witnessed the thrive of African American art. White stereotypes had influenced not only the way African Americans were perceived in society but also their relationship between themselves and others. Participants like Gwendolyn Bennett, Langston Hughes, Paul Lawrence Dunbar and W.E.B. Du Bois were some of many authors of creative pieces that reflected their points of views. Like George Hutchinson writes in his article, The Harlem Renaissance brought many African Americans from South to North which helped the rise of literacy and the creation of organizations dedicated to promoting African American civil rights that resulted in the uplift of the race and the availability of socioeconomic opportunities (1). The distinctive expression through things like poetry and music during the Harlem Renaissance reflected the reality and experiences black people were going through. This essay is going to focus on the relationship between poetry, politics and representation while relying on the poem “We Wear the Mark” by Paul Lawrence Dunbar. At the same time, this paper will be supported with works from Langston Hughes, Alain Locke and W.E.B. Dubois.

Paul Laurence Dunbar is African-American poet who lived from in the late 1880s to the early 1900s. During his life, Dunbar wrote many poems, in both dialect and standard english. However, many of his poems are considered controversial now, due to negative racial stereotypes and dialect. Currently, some believe that Dunbar’s poetry perpetuates harmful stereotypes such as use of dialect; while others believe that it helps break racial stereotypes through the portrayed emotions. Dunbar’s dialect poetry is helpful for African-Americans, because it accurately depicts the experience of African Americans and humanizes them.

In accordance with Du Bois’ definition of double-consciousness, the African American has no true self-consciousness, but does have one that is more true to the self than the other (“the other” here being how one sees one’s self through the eyes of white America). Being that Dunbar was an African American at the turn of the century, one may assume that Dunbar’s dialect poetry is most true to his “self” over his “classical” style, but this is not true. The content and style of Dunbar’s dialect poetry is riddled with incomplete phrasing, poor diction, and is not what he experienced and learned growing up in Dayton, Ohio excelling at an all-white high school. For example, in his dialect poem When Malindy Sings (1897), Dunbar wrote what is assumed to be natural organs as “nachel o’gans.” (1039).

Oppression is at the root of many of the most serious, enduring conflicts in the world. Times were tough in America during the turn of the century. Lots of changes were occurring, and many folks had a difficult time coming to terms with them. Black Americans in particular found themselves caught in a culture that appeared somewhat better than it had been before and during the Civil War. But the fact of the matter was: things just weren't so peachy. This poem is a reaction to the racial climate of the late nineteenth century. The son of former slaves, Paul Laurence Dunbar, was born on June 27, 1872 in Dayton, Ohio to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American Civil War. At age 33, he died of tuberculosis on February 9, 1906. He was the first African-American poet to reach a wide audience, publishing verse poems and short stories before his early death. His use of both negro dialect and standard English helped to portray his cultural lifestyle, joys, and tribulations distinguishing him from other writers of the late 1800s, early 1900s. In his poem, the speaker opens the poem with the declaration that we wear masks that hide our true feelings. He goes on to emphasize the severity of the pain and suffering that these masks try to cover up. By the end we understand that all of the politeness and subdued emotions are just phony disguises of the painful truths that hide behind them. With that knowledge, he try’s to get his audience to understand his purpose in

In today’s society we face a lot of issues, but there is one issue that stands out to me most. Which these two poems address, that is injustice towards other race in America. In Langston Hughes “I Too” and “The Weary Blues” the trouble of unjust towards African Americans, weigh on the speaker’s mind. Each poem reflecting on the same issue just a little bit differently.

Dunbar and his work were mentioned in major magazines and newspapers. By 1896 Dunbar had published his third collection, but first professionally published volume, Lyrics of Lowly Life. In this volume Dunbar wrote a poem called, “We Wear the Mask.” In the poem, “We Wear the Mask”, lies and deceit, suffering, race, and society and class are used as themes to illustrate the African American life during and before Dunbar’s lifetime. The purpose of this analysis is to explore certain

Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes were considered to be early black poets during the twentieth century around the period of civil right movement. “We wear the mask” and “Theme for English B” were written in 1895 and 1951 respectively. Even there is approximately 50 years gap between these two poems, the theme that these two poems address is somewhat similar. Even though Dunbar uses symbols as figurative devices while Hughes uses Irony, they both have the same goal, which is to point out the racial issues within American society.

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.

A difference in the two poets definitely comes into play when we look at of the speakers in these poems. Hughes’ persona is that of a black male looking back on how the black race was treated badly, but he is expressing the beauty in their struggle. Hughes talks about why black Americans should achieve their goals, “On the Cultural Achievements of African Americans”

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”

Langston Hughes was an African American writer who took the literary world by storm in the twentieth century. Hughes was known for incorporating African American culture into his poems and plays. Langston Hughes did this so much so that per, "Masterplots II: African American Literature" he was "…recognized as the unofficial poet laureate of the African American urban experience…" (Niemi). Hughes has written several poems in his career. Most of them have a theme of racial pride incorporated somewhere in the poems. By analyzing Langston Hughes's writings, it can be inferred that the poems "The Negro Speaks of Rivers", "Negro" and "I, Too" all have the theme of racial pride.

Paul Laurence Dunbar’s seemingly simple yet poignant poem "We Wear the Mask,” written in the late 19th century, gives an exceptionally insightful glimpse into what it meant to be a Black American of the time and a product of slavery. The poem’s focus is that of survival and addresses the importance of the “Mask” as a type of defense mechanism and means by which its wearers’ true self is concealed from the harsh and prejudiced world. The poem is an appealing and relevant work of art even in todays setting. Dunbar’s strategic use of metaphors, anaphora and personification throughout the poem are of the utmost importance in providing us with a sense of imagery and has a profound effect on the overall symbolism of the “Mask”.

In his most illustrious poem yet entitled, We Wear the Mask, Dunbar speaks out against the injustice and unconstitutionality of a country founded upon justice and constitutionalism, in which he coped and held the pain of his entire race within a mask that was abstruse to everyone who looked him in his eyes beyond those who were victims of prejudice, racism, discrimination, and the other dealings of the African-American population at the head of 20th century and before. I understand the pain that Dunbar his beneath his mask, but I am in no way capable of hiding under that same mask that he and my ancestors had to wear for their own welfare. However, my interpretation of this poem extends beyond the barriers of racism and other social issues that continue to flood our society on this present day, rather, I am concentrating on the intrapersonal aspects we all as individuals confront and shield from those surrounding

In the poem “We Wear the Mask”, Paul Laurence Dunbar directs his readers more towards the African American community during the period of slavery and even in his own lifetime. He goes as far as talking about the trials and tribulations the people of color had undergone, but he made sure to share to his readers in this poem; the way Blacks had kept their sanity and composure through the time wear discrimination, prejudice, and inequality was at its peak, which was to wear the “mask”. “We wear the mask that grins and lies, it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes” (1-2). These first two powerful lines in this 15-line poem, implies how Black’s would hide behind false smiles or better yet, “pretend faces” to hide their true feelings and expressions