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We wear the mask explanation
Breaking down "we wear the mask
Research Paul Laurence Dunbar
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Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask” is a lyric poem in which the point of attraction, the mask, represents the oppression and sadness held by African Americans in the late 19th century, around the time of slavery. As the poem progresses, Dunbar reveals the façade of the mask, portrayed in the third stanza where the speaker states, “But let the dream be otherwise” (13). The unreal character of the mask has played a significant role in the lives of African Americans, who pretend to put on a smile when they feel sad internally. This occasion, according to Dunbar, is the “debt we pay to human guile," meaning that their sadness is related to them deceiving others. Unlike his other poems, with its prevalent use of black dialect, Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask” acts as “an apologia (or justification) for the minstrel quality of some of his dialect poems” (Desmet, Hart, and Miller 466). Through the utilization of iambic tetrameter, end rhyme, sound devices, and figurative language, the speaker expresses the hidden pain and suffering African Americans possessed, as they were “tortured souls” behind their masks (10). The poem's meter, iambic tetrameter, represents the speaker's heartfelt attitude towards the sorrow that blacks kept away from whites, and in some cases, themselves. In the first stanza, the speaker declares that "[w]ith torn and bleeding hearts we smile, / And mouth with myriad subtleties" (lines 4-5). During the time when Dunbar published "We Wear the Mask," blacks faced constant discrimination and were treated without dignity. They felt helpless and unable to stop the series of unfortunate events that were happening to them, such as beatings, lynchings, and a lack of access to education and employment opportunities.... ... middle of paper ... ...To prevent any altercation, African Americans had to wear a mask that allowed them to smile "with torn and bleeding hearts" and "mouth. myriad subtleties" (4-5). Today, everyone is entitled to equal opportunities in the US. However, back in Dunbar's time, slavery prohibited black people from being ordinary members of society. Although they prayed heavily and persevered, they wore the mask for the time being, in the hopes of living in a world where the color of one's skin would not determine their character. No changes needed as this is a Works Cited section and should not be edited.
Paul Laurence Dunbar is one of the most influential African American poets to gain a nationwide reputation. Dunbar the son of two former slaves; was born in 1872 in Dayton, Ohio. His work is truly one of a kind, known for its rich, colorful language, encompassed by the use of dialect, a conversational tune, and a brilliant rhetorical structure. The style of Dunbar’s poetry includes two distinct voices; the standard English of the classical poet and the evocative dialect of the turn of the century black community in America. His works include a large body of dialect poems, standard English poems, essays, novels, and short stories. The hardships encountered by members of is race along with the efforts of African Americans to achieve equality in America were often the focus of his writings. http://www.dunbarsite.org/
The work, the Souls of Black Folk explains the problem of color-line in the twentieth century. Examining the time following the civil war the author, W.E.B. Dubois, explains the African American experience of living behind the “veil”. To fully explain the experience of living behind the veil, he provides the reader with situations that a black race experiences in reconstruction. This allowed the readers to metaphorically step into the veil with him. He accomplishes this with the use of “songs of sorrow” with were at the beginning of each chapter, and with the use of anecdotes.
The transition of being a black man in a time just after slavery was a hard one. A black man had to prove himself at the same time had to come to terms with the fact that he would never amount to much in a white dominated country. Some young black men did actually make it but it was a long and bitter road. Most young men fell into the same trappings as the narrator’s brother. Times were hard and most young boys growing up in Harlem were swept off their feet by the onslaught of change. For American blacks in the middle of the twentieth century, racism is another of the dark forces of destruction and meaninglessness which must be endured. Beauty, joy, triumph, security, suffering, and sorrow are all creations of community, especially of family and family-like groups. They are temporary havens from the world''s trouble, and they are also the meanings of human life.
The inconsistent American view of integrity exposed in “We Wear the Mask” Paul Laurence Dunbar and “Theme for English B” Langston Hughes acknowledges the struggle between how society views African Americans and how the community views itself. Circumstances were difficult in America amongst the end of the 19th and beginning of 20th century. An immense amount of changes were happening, and numerous people had a troublesome time dealing with them. African Americans specifically got in a culture that showed up to more superior to anything it had been before and surrounded by the Civil War. The truth was, things simply weren 't so divine. African-American of this time period are prime cases
...s. We have seen, through the two works analyzed above, how the incorporation and recognition of the past[both in terms of time(Biblical and Antebellum) and thought] depicted a metamorphosis within the "Negro" slave and his ability to transcend this institution of imprisonment. Du Bois, who coined the term double-consciousness, used it to label persons whose identities were multifaceted in nature. Of course we see Dunbar's use of two forms of verse as fitting pieces to the puzzle that is double-consciousness, but, we have yet to realize that we have not found all the pieces. The other pieces lie in the speakers within each poem, as exemplified in this essay. The transformation of perception, initiated and propelled by the acknowledgement of the past(in multiple forms), can certainly be at the crux of the double-consciousness that defines Paul Laurence Dunbar.
The victims of judgment, although bold on the outside, face several obstacles others are ignorant of. Dunbar, a member of the African-American community, assesses how the surrounding groups force him and his people to smile with “torn and bleeding hearts” (Dunbar 4). Artificially smiling, they, consequently, decide to ignore the truth of their hardships to feel secure. The strong adjectives associated with “hearts” emphasize the impact of these challenges on their lives. By exhibiting synthetic strength and not addressing these hurdles in life, Dunbar reveals how society refuses to accept and embrace others’ problems. Moreover, by repeating the phrase “We smile,” he shows how a simple facial movement is so powerful and allows individuals to ignore situations they deem difficult (Dunbar 10). In an environment that judges by a glimpse and often does not take the time to listen to the difficulties of others, it is not possible to open up and share. As a way to protect their dignity and maintain a sense of strength, they escape reality. Through both of these works of literature, it is clear that in an environment that compels change, the population will adapt to better fit in and reveal other sides to
In the story "Battle Royal" the narrator's grandfather tells the family to undermind the whites with "yeses" and "grins", he also instructs them to "agree'em to death and destruction". The grandfather felt that in order to keep the family safe and also hold on to the oppression that scars them everyday, they should put on a mask. This will keep the white man pleased and the blacks could keep there self respect because as soon as the opportunity for social equality comes they'll go for it. This didn't seem like a bad idea but it was hard for the narrator to comprehend.
The mask is a form of deception or illusion. Sometimes, it can be worn as both. It hides the true emotions of slaves, keeping the slave master from knowing what is going on in their minds. The mask also allows the slave to have an identity without the master’s detection. The mask gives the illusion that the slave is exactly how the masters believe, ignorant, incapable of true emotion, and unable to think for themselves.
	Unlike a few writers at that time, Dunbar did not only write about black people struggling to survive, but black people flourishing.
Angelou and Dunbar speak of hiding their true identities in the face of the world and it's adversity. Both authors speak to a communal mask that all men and women wear. Angelou and Dunbar suffer in their lives, so they must wear a mask to hide themselves from the glaring public eye, for the public cannot help them. The mask forms their identity to the world, but they themselves have a personal identity that only those truly close to them know of. In a wider sense, everyone wears a mask; hiding themselves from everyone else.
...one existing trapped within the view of hegemonic society; angry, but powerless so long as he remains in this state. Yet Sanchez provides a succinct plan for Black Americans in their quest to ascend the Veil: to exist as both African and American while feeding white America a pacifying view of a half truth-destruction fueled by deadly ignorance. The speakers of the poems are merely victims of the same system, seeking the same freedom. While the works of these authors differ greatly, one characteristic is common in both works: The desire for power to ascend the Veil that hangs heavily upon them like a cloak that prevents their ascension. The desire to live beyond the Veil.
The Concept of the veil has been a significant symbol of clearly differentiating from the whites, in aspects of political, economical and social prospects. Durkheim explained symbol as “something that stands for something else”(pg. 135). It is a symbol that calls up shared notions and values. In the example of the Blacks in the south, the veil symbolized an “iron curtain” separating the two races, separation and invisibility, of the black and white. The veil had previously been worn because of previous traditions demanding a clear separation of the sexes. The veil is seen as a social barrier to prevent the “others”, black African Americans, from surpassing into the clean and pure white world. Nonetheless Du bois also states, that its possible for one to, lift up the veil when one wishes, and he can also exist in a region on neither side, white nor black, which shows Du bois’ many different meaning and function with the symbol of the veil.
“We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar and “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson are two poems that depict how many people hide their feelings from others. The two poems are similar in theme, but are told from different points of view and differ in plot.
In the inspiring poem- I, too, sing America- Langston Hughes, states real life situations of the constant battle of racism in the world. A servant to the white family, waiting on their every move, making sure they are taken care of before himself. This poem can have a wide range of racial statements or actions, the black male does not seem to have fear, through his courageous actions, putting the consequences he may face aside to prove a point. A small act of bravery through this world wide sickness some people have, can make an enormous impact of many lives, regardless of race.
There are times in life where we are forced to do something we do not really want to do. There are certain situations like this that come to my mind. Every so often, my family gets together. As a teenager, I do not want to be confined. I realize some of my relatives are a lot older than me and I should spend as much time with them as I can. When my family gets together, I frequently am forced to go to these events and put a smile on my face. I am acting. I am putting on my “mask” and pretending that I am happy. This artificial face is the subject of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem, “We Wear the Mask.” Dunbar expresses his feelings on what African-Americans were forced to do a century ago. People thought they were happy doing the work they did for the white culture. In reality, they were not. That is the point Dunbar tries to explain to his readers.