The Language of the Black Condition and All Conditions: Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask”

979 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of the poem We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem, “We Wear The Mask” cleverly talks of the black condition in a language so universal that it could apply to any race of people that tries to hide their emotions from the world in order to survive.

Dunbar argues for the reality of the black man’s plight in America, the black man's struggle for equality in the world, and the struggle for peace within. These are circumstances of the poet’s life that influenced his writing of the poem.

PARAGRAPH 2: Background information on your author or document.

Paul Laurence Dunbar’s was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1872, to parents who were former slaves. His parents divorced when he was four years old. Dunbar developed a strong bond with his mother. She told him stories of her slavery days, which helped influence his writings of poetry and short stories (Dunbar 602).

“Dunbar was the only African-American in his class at Dayton Central High, and while he often had difficulty finding employment because of his race, he rose to great heights in school (Dunbar , U. of Dayton). Dunbar began writing in high school, becoming class president and poet. He supported himself by writing as an elevator operator. Dunbar died at the age of 33 from tuberculosis. He had “written 12 books of poetry, as well as a play, five novels, and four books of short stories (Dunbar, U. of Dayton). He had also been published in many magazines and journals. After his death, his Dayton house became a landmark open to the public, and he had a high school named after him” (quote)

Body Paragraphs: Paragraphs showing your critical analysis/interpretation of the work(s) of your author or of your document. Underline all topic setences

Dunbar’s argument for the reality of the black man’s ...

... middle of paper ...

...a, his struggles for equality, and for peace within. Dunbar’s is advocating courage in the face of racial domination and discrimination. He is trying to get across to the reader, the mask isn't real, and the world is only seeing us in disguise.

Works Cited
“An Analysis of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s We Wear the Mask.” 123HelpMe.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2009. .

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. Biography. Call & Response. The Riverside Anthology of the African American Literary Tradition. Reading.

- - -. “Biography: The Life of Laurence Dunbar.” The Paul Laurence Dunbar Website. Public Relations Office of U. of Dayton, 3 Feb. 2003. Web. 4 Dec. 2009. .

Johnson, Melody C. “Critical Appreciation of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask”.” Bookstove. N.p., 5 Nov. 2009. Web. 4 Dec. 2009. .

Show More
Related

  • Paul Laurence Dunbar

    1570 Words  | 4 Pages

    upon the natural ability of the race in song and is acknowledged to be Dunbar's

    Read More

  • Little Brown Baby Literary Devices

    1340 Words  | 3 Pages

    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/

    Read More

  • The Influential Work of Paul Laurence Dunbar

    1032 Words  | 3 Pages

    Turner, Darwin T. “Paul Laurence Dunbar: The Rejected Symbol.” DISCovering Authors. Student Resource Center-Gold. Gale. Bowie High School, Arlington, TX. 17 Nov. 2009.

    Read More

  • The Blacks and Whites of Misautogeny

    947 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the opening paragraph of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the protagonist introduces readers to what he means when he refers to himself as invisible: the protagonist is seen only for the color of his skin, and thus, grouped into an African-American general populace. In grouping the protagonist, whites not only refuse to see him but also forbid him from possessing an individual identity. Using Ellison’s prologue to Invisible Man, Louis Armstrong’s “Black and Blue” (referenced in the prologue), and additional intertextual allusions, this essay argues that jazz music enables Ellison’s protagonist to separate himself from the African-American general populace and retain his individuality; jazz music shows him that he already accepts his invisibility, and that he listens differently to the lyrics than others. The wider implication being made is that, by listening to jazz music, an invisible man is compelled to act. He learns to take advantage of his invisibility so as to undermine the culture that oppresses him and be seen.

    Read More

  • Paul Lawrence Dunbar's Poem: We Wear The Mask

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    Paul Lawrence Dunbar, an African-American poet, describes the suffering that blacks were subjected to in his 1913 poem, “We Wear the Mask”. In his poem, Dunbar asserts that blacks are partially responsible for the suffering of African Americans due to their belief that a deceptive “mask” was necessary for their survival.

    Read More

  • Battle Royal, by Ralph Ellison

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Racial Invisibility Of Color In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

    1210 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 1950s, Ralph Ellison published Invisible Man which focused on the racial invisibility of people of color. The chapter, “Battle Royal,” reflects a pre-Civil Rights Era where blacks and whites were considered “separate, but equal.” Ellison describes a life where blacks were separate, but not truly equal because they still lived a life where they had to be careful and live consciously around whites or face harassment or even death. In Ellison’s story, an unnamed narrator receives a letter awarding him a scholarship. The narrator is asked to deliver a speech and at the event, he discovers that he will need to participate in a “battle royal.” In Ellison’s narrative, the event of the required “battle royal” symbolically illustrates how the

    Read More

  • Freedom for the Opressed

    1116 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...xtensive personification of freedom gives much depth to liberty and makes it a relatable subject. Dunbar is more discreet in implying that African-Americans should not let the mask hinder them from expressing their true desire of liberty from racism. Ultimately, both of these poems are very effective in drawing upon a new understanding in the consciences of his white American audience – that life would be very barren without freedom.

    Read More

  • We Wear The Mask Essay

    2387 Words  | 5 Pages

    The title itself directs readers towards a sense of assimilation by wearing a mask. Wearing a mask indicates hiding an original identity in order to please the mainstream one. This is exactly the case in “We Wear the Mask”. In this case, blacks had to hide their humiliation and suffering from their white counterparts by wearing a mask that lies. When Dunbar wrote, “With torn and bleeding hearts we smile” (646), it is evident that African Americans were forced to hide their pain by showing a fake smile. They suffered emotionally on the inside but could not express it. In addition to showing a fake smile, African Americans did not care about their heritage. The third stanza reads, “But let the world dream otherwise, / We wear the mask!” (14-15). The lines do not celebrate cultural heritage because the slaves had to show pleasure while they are being tortured. Letting the world dream otherwise shows the slaves’ carelessness when it comes to expressing their identity.They are concealing their true self by hiding their pain. Hiding their pain also means hiding their cultural

    Read More

  • Significant Poets of the Harlem Renaissance

    1990 Words  | 4 Pages

    UDRI Web Development Center, . "The Life of Paul Laurence Dunbar." Paul Laurence Dunbar Website. University of Dayton, 03 Feb 2004. Web. 25 Feb 2014. .

    Read More

  • We Wear the Mask

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...eding hearts” and “mouth . . . . myriad subtleties” (4-5).Today, everyone is entitled to having equal opportunities in the US. Back in Dunbar’s time, on the other hand, slavery prohibited blacks from being an ordinary person in 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 his or her character.

    Read More

  • Life Behind the Veil in Du Bois' The Souls of Black Folk

    2290 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...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.

    Read More

  • Durkheim and DuBois, Both Non-Rational and Collective Thinkers

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... collective consciousness of the Black community in the nineteen hundreds were seen throughout the veil a physical and psychological and division of race. The veil is not seen as a simple cloth to Du Bois but instead a prison which prevents the blacks from improving, or gain equality or education and makes them see themselves as the negative biases through the eyes of the whites which helps us see the sacred as evil. The veil is also seen as a blindfold and a trap on the many thousands which live with the veil hiding their true identity, segregated from the whites and confused themselves in biases of themselves. Du Bois’s Souls of Black Folks had helped to life off the veil and show the true paid and sorry which the people of the South had witnessed. Du Bois inclines the people not to live behind the veil but to live above it to better themselves as well as others.

    Read More

  • I, Too, Sing America By Langston Hughes

    1374 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Battle Royal, by Ralph Ellison

    2168 Words  | 5 Pages

    "Battle Royal", an excerpt from Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, is far more than a commentary on the racial issues faced in society at that time. It is an example of African-American literature that addresses not only the social impacts of racism, but the psychological components as well. The narrator (IM) is thrust from living according to the perceptions of who he believes himself to be to trying to survive in a realm where he isn't supposed to exist, much less thrive. The invisibility of a mass of people in a society fed the derivation of IM's accepted, willed, blindness. The reader must determine the source of what makes IM invisible. Is part of IM's invisibility due to his self-image or surrender to the dominant voice in the United States? The answer lies in whether or not the blindness and the invisibility were voluntary or compulsory.

    Read More

More about The Language of the Black Condition and All Conditions: Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask”

Open Document