Paul Laurence Dunbar The Mask Analysis

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.

Paul Laurence Dunbar, dispatches the cold troubles of African Americans in the lyrical poem, "We Wear the Mask." In this poem, Dunbar links imagery, rhythm, rhyme, and word choice to in order to institute a connection to the reader. From reading the poem, one can infer that Mr. Dunbar is speaking in general, of the misery that many people keep concealed under a grin that they wear very well. But if one were to go further and take the time to research Mr. Dunbar’s selection of this piece and the era of which this poem was written, one would come to understand that this poem focuses entirely on Paul Laurence Dunbar’s viewpoints on racial prejudice and the struggle for equality for the African-American’s of his time period. Though this

Dually Randall and Paul Laurence Dunbar are two African American writers living during the early twentieth century. These men did not know each other, however, they both encountered the same hardship of being an African American living before the civil rights movement. Both men use poems that emphasize sound, structure and imagery to express what they experienced during that harsh time. A careful analysis of “We Wear the Mask” and “Ballad of Birmingham” expose that the shadows cast on their skin has a lasting impression.

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.

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

"The Negro wants to be everything but himself… He wants to integrate with the white man, but he cannot integrate with himself or with his own kind. The Negro wants to lose his identity because he does not know his own identity." (Black Nationalism 1962 Elijah Muhammad). In the 1950’s the races were divided, black people were disadvantaged in education, work, voting and other opportunities. However one man had a dream, Martin Luther King took a stand against racism and the Civil Rights Movement was born. A fight for equality to change the future for all people. Good morning, I am Stefanie Clark and I am here to discuss how art, such as literature, has influenced progression of the ideologies of the Civil Rights Movement.

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, blacks were in a constant fight for advancement and progress. However, class divisions gave rise to two contrasting platforms led by Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois. By examining the conditions and actions of African American working-class women in Atlanta from Tera W. Hunter’s To ‘Joy My Freedom, the platform that would most resonate with the African Americans’ quest for progress would be found in W.E.B. Du Bois.

Earlier this week in Miss Gates’ class we read a poem called “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar. The poem was about slaves who wear “masks”of contentedness to hide their true feelings. I have realized that many people right here in Maycomb wear masks to conceal their secrets and insecurities.

“The Negro artist works against an undertow of sharp criticism and misunderstanding from his own group and unintentional bribes from the whites”. This quote from Langston Hughes’ essay “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” demonstrates that around the time of the Harlem Renaissance, there were many pressures acting on black artists to present their race in a certain way. Hughes described not only pressures from black people to portray their race as “respectable” and “nice” people, but also conflicting pressures from white people to portray black people as conforming to their longstanding stereotypes of them. Hughes then puts his own pressure on black artists in which he states that “it is the duty of the younger Negro artist… to change

veil to shield the emotions of bearer of the mask and personal denial of specific

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”.

Hughes story, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain”, veers away from the conventions of Du Bois’s essay as rather than focusing on the value of black art as a key in social movements, it involves black artists who would rather neglect their blackness and rather took on the culture of whites. The speaker claims he enjoys being white more than being an African American, and Hughes describes this as “the mountain standing in the way of any true Negro art in America-this urge within the race towards whiteness…”. Much like Du Bois, Hughes writes about the “beauty” of Negro art, and aims to uplift the appeal of negro language and culture as he examines African American artists who stayed true to their roots and culture whose works are amongst those that are still heavily praised even decades later.

In Paul Laurence Dunbar's “We Wear the Mask” poem he uses different types of rhetorical patterns. On rhetorical pattern he puts “we wear the mask” in the poem three times. Paul used this as a rhetorical pattern because first of all it’s the title and by reading or being heard we wear the mask, is trying to catch the audience attention by repeating those four words. We wear the mask could be attended to african Americans because he's a African American himself, or just people in general. Whatever the intended audience is, Paul is letting them know we wear the mask meaning that we are not acting who we really are and instead we're pretending to be someone we're not.

Dunbar opens his poem with “We wear the mask,” to draw in any type of

Regardless of the human psyche, feelings, identities, and emotions, society overwhelming fits its people into predestined molds, shaped and constructed over long periods of time. While all individuals have their own notions of what is “correct” and “normal,” there is not and will never be a manual for living. Opinions are often based on a belief system crafted by the individual and their surrounding influences, and it is important to take into account that people are flawed beings who thrive primarily on their perception of themselves as well as how they are perceived by the individuals around them. The ego is a powerful weapon that can create or destroy depending on how it is used by the individual. Paul Laurence Dunbar’s We Wear the Mask expressed the notion that we all must protect ourselves by promoting a specific outward appearance to the world around us, whether it be joy in the face of adversity, a new identity, or a skewed perception of what is expected in the human experience. Taking the mask off may very well be the most harrowing experience we face as vulnerable beings. While I fight so hard to be accepted and do what is right for all people, I have a hesitancy toward being complacent in my view of the world around me. I use the removal of my personal mask to bring about raw honesty in my writing and exploration of my innermost thoughts.