Essay about We Wear the Mask

It speaks of how African Americans have to hide behind a mask that hides all their sorrow and pain. Dunbar questions why we have to wear the mask, “Why should the world be overwise, In counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, while We wear the mask.”(918). He speaks of how all of this should not be happening but in the end everyone is still hiding who they are and what they are really feeling. This poem could account for more than just African Americans. Everyone has worn a mask at one point in their lives but the real question is why? Temptations like in “Wife of His Youth” or to get away like in “’Member Youse a Nigger” have had major effects on people and their lives. Being an African American was a hard life for a long time because slavery and the civil war cause many deaths and many families to be broken

The structure of this poem is 3 stanzas with all the lines in the poem except Lines 9 and 15 in iambic tetrameter. In this metric pattern, a line has four pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables, for a total eight syllables. The internal structure of the poem is the narrator talking about the mask the African American people wear and the oppression that hurts them. Then the second stanza is sarcastic and negative towards the idea that it will ever change. Then the last stanza shows that they cling to Christ and the journey will be long.

This poem is written from the perspective of an African-American from a foreign country, who has come to America for the promise of equality,

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.

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.

In conclusion, the poem was used as a key to unlock some of the thoughts the negro had concerning Africa. The negro in this poem was a representative of all negroes during this time; their thoughts and the their feelings toward Africa. Cullen’s usage of the literary devices allow for an effective expression of the meaning of this poem. Poems are intensified language of experience, so the devices assured the connection of the reader to the poem and the experience. This applies to many issues in society today because as beautiful as our country is there are still dark clouds that cover the very essence of what the states once stood

Throughout this poem Hughes has placed many symbols in the readers mind to bring the image of the African American people to thought. He reminds African American readers of their origin and what they have been through by using the

The depiction black struggles within Dunbar’s dialect poetry makes Dunbar’s poetry beneficial for the black race. For example, in “An Ante-bellum Sermon,” when Dunbar writes “But when Moses wif his powah Comes an' sets us chillun free, We will praise de gracious Mastah, Dat has gin us liberty; An' we'll shout ouah halleluyahs, On dat mighty reck'nin' day, When we'se reco'nised ez citiz', Huh uh! Chillun, let us pray!”, he is depicting a common feeling of African Americans. Although this poem takes place before the Civil War, and before Dunbar’s birth, both of Dunbar’s parents were ex-slaves, which gave him an understanding of slavery. With an understanding of slavery, Dunbar was able to depict the desire for slaves to be rid of the unjust system. Beyond that, the idea is still applicable to the time in which he lived. From one issue to another, people anticipate equality while in dire situations. Similarly, in “Song,” Dunbar depicts the harmful race relations from his time. Instead of the black experience being told from a sympathizer perspective, Dunbar has a better understanding of what it was like to be black in the 1890s. The competition and hate between flowers symbolizes the conflict between white and black people. Through this metaphor, especially at the end when they celebrate the death of all daisies when he writes “In de fiel’ de flags is wavin’ in a tantalizing’ way, Kin o’ ‘joicin’ case de daisies all is daid,” Dunbar depicts the hateful race relations of his time. Dunbar’s representation of black issues brings attention to them, which benefits African Americans.

The story set place during the Civil Right movement in a black household of a little girl and her mother. The poem signal that African Americans are not gifted with their freedom when the girl asked her mother to join the Freedom March “to make our country free” (Randall). Getting their freedom taken away, many African American children march the street of Birmingham to regain their natural rights. Taking a stand to fight for one’s right is the responsibilities of everyone. Another example is the mother’s reason for refusing to let her daughter go march because of her fear of the danger behold there. The mother then direct her daughter to “go to church instead” (Randall). Ironically, the girl meet her fate at the place thought to be the most sacred place. This ironic situation revealed that ignoring the violation of the rules upon civil rights is as dangerous as challenging it.

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

Imagery within Dunbar’s work conveyed the harsh reality of African American life in America’s heritage. Dating back to when blacks forcefully came over to the United States for the purpose of manual labor, Dunbar explained the conditions in “Ode to Ethiopia.” Their duties entailed that “they tread the fields” (19) from sunrise to sunset until the worked reached an end. To pass away the time, they would sing “up to the skies in the beauty ring/and bolder grow each hour” (23-24). They would find themselves attempting to find some hope while plantation owners hollered at them if unproductive. “Very seldom has any author brought so vividly before us the black farm laborer of the plantation as he comes from the day’s toil” (Burch). Forced to brutal

During this time, Harlem drew black writers, artists, musicians, photographers, poets, and scholars. People had come from the South, fleeing oppression in order to find a place where they could freely express their talents. African Americans did manage to succeed in the arts but because of the color of their skin, they faced some problems. The poem “Sonnet To A Negro in Harlem” by Helene Johnson provided this “Why urge ahead your supercilious feet? Scorn will efface each footprint you make” which means that every time a black person succeeds, it will be erases by contempt that whites have towards them. As African Americans become more affluent, they realize that not everyone will accept their triumph so they end up putting up a front or wearing a mask that hides who they truly are. The poem “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Lawrence Dunbar says “Why should the world be over-wise, In counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us while, We wear the mask” which means why does the world pretend to understand the struggles that blacks have gone through. To avoid that situation, blacks should wear a mask to conceal their difficulties so that everybody else doesn’t need to claim they apprehend their endeavors. These poems show that the roles of African Americans changes from individuals who achieved success to ones who have to hide their

All three of the poems discussed in this essay relate to the struggles suffered by African Americans in the late 18th century to the early 19th century in many different ways. They had to live under harsh

In verse two feelings of the necessary trudge/empowering iambic stride further unfolds. On the one hand Dunbar points to all the “tears and sighs” experienced by the collective “We”. But in the throws of this potential unempowered feelings, Dunbar seizes upon an element of control that can be taken.  “Why should the world be over-wise … nay let them only see us whilst we wear the mask”. In these words there is a boldness and resignation to not let the world have the privilege or even satisfaction perhaps, of seeing behind the mask into the suffering that is really going on.

The rhetorical effect of this poem is it emphasizes that African Americans have to wear a mask because the people around them don’t let them show their true feelings. Before the Civil Rights Movement, blacks had no voice and could not speak their opinions. The rhetorical devices do very well to help meet the rhetorical