Paul Laurence Dunbar uses a lot of symbolism in his poems. In “We Wear the Mask” (1897), Dunbar is referring to the hard exterior the African Americans had to portray in order to make it through the tough times. When Dunbar writes, “Why should the world be overwise, In counting all our tears and sighs” (Dunbar, 1897, p. 1808). What Dunbar is saying is why give the people anything else to us against them. There has been enough suffering, there is no need to add fuel to the fire so to speak. They will remember and honor their families, but they will never let anyone see the pain they struggle with every day (Dunbar, 1897). In the poem “Sympathy” (1899) Dunbar writes about a caged bird (Dunbar, 1897). The caged bird represents how his people are
“trapped” in a world they do not want to be in. The bird wants to be free to do as it please, but is forced to stay where it is. Even after the bird is freed, “...and a pain still throbs in the old, old scars” (Dunbar, 1897, p. 1809). Dunbar is saying no matter what, these wounds do not heal, the emotional and physical pain will remain forever (Dunbar, 1897). Between “We Wear the Mask” (1897) and “Sympathy” (1899), Dunbar’s symbols and theme remain the same; slavery and overcoming racism and living with and hiding the pain.
Within the lack of technology in the world of Anthem human being are unable to express themselves through the word “We”. The city is confined through a strict society known as Anthem. In the philosophical teaching known as Objectivism by Ayn Rand, the average age for a human being is forty. For a person in Anthem it is unable to choose freedom and is forced to become what is chosen for him. However as the story a progress Equality 7-2521 begins to discover self through events that have allowed him to find the truth. Since in the world of Anthem people must think as “we” and are forced to follow strict rules that force him to become unable to realize his inner being.
A theme in “Our Secret,” by Susan Griffin that is developed through the character of Himmler, and the symbolism with the development of a cell is that if individuals hide constantly behind masks, they will struggle internally.
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
The poem, "We Wear the Mask”, by Paul Laurence Dunbar is about separating Blacks people from the masks they wear. When Blacks wear their masks they are not simply hiding from their oppressor they are also hiding from themselves. This type of deceit cannot be repaid with material things. This debt can only be repaid through repentance and self-realization. The second stanza of “We Wear the Mask” tells Blacks whites should not know about their troubles. It would only give them leverage over Blacks. Black peoples’ pain and insecurities ought to be kept amongst themselves. There is no need for anyone outside the black race to know what lies beneath their masks. The third stanza turns to a divine being. Blacks look to god because he made them and is the only one that can understand them. They must wear their mask proudly. The world should stay in the dark about who they are. This poem is about Blacks knowing their place and staying in it. This is the only way they could be safe.
“In Defense of Mask,” by Kenneth Gergen he states that it is not possible for humans to find a coherent self identity without having a solution. The idea of developing a “coherent sense of identity” makes us act a certain way to please the wish of others. Gergen wants to find intentions of an individual 's choice of mask and how outward appearances and inward feelings we all come across. The author proves his statement by experimenting on people who had a positive and negative reaction from an interviewer.Therefore, the “coherent identity” versus “multiple identities” is detrimental to many individuals when they are trying to perceive into someone that they wish to become. I agree with Gergen, because having a mask hides
Paul Laurence Dunbar was born in a northern town near Dayton, Ohio on June 27, 1872 (Brawley 12). His parents instilled in him the value of an education, and he excelled at the all-white Dayton Central High-school where he held the titles of class president, the president of the school literary society, and the editor of the school's newspaper (15). Dunbar was extremely well learned; he spoke and wrote in Standard English, but just as often his poetry was written in black dialect. As one of the first professional African American literary figures (Baym 1038), Paul Laurence Dunbar's poetry consists of two distinct styles: his dialect pieces with the simple rhyme schemes of the ballad lyrical form, such as his 1897 poem When Malindy Sings, and his classical poetry that has more complex rhyme and form, and is written in Standard English like his 1897 poem, We Wear the Mask. The dialect poem, When Malindy Sings, is a result of what Dunbar called the mask, and what W.E.B. Dubois would later call double-consciousness. It portrays black society through the eyes of white America and how they wish to see it, while the poem written in classical form, We Wear the Mask, displays Dunbar’s true thoughts concerning his identity and the identity of his race.
In this essay James Baldwin’s world renowned story “Sonny’s Blues” will be analysed in detail, including Baldwin’s background, the artistic quality, thematic meanings, a plot summary, and the role this story plays in world literature. James Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924, in New York’s Harlem. At the time the center of black culture, Harlem was once a culturally vibrant community of artists of all kinds, but it was also a neighborhood deeply afflicted by poverty and violence. Baldwin’s mother was eventually left by Baldwin’s biological father, and assumed a job as a domestic servant and married the preacher David Baldwin, whose strong influence on Baldwin was evident not only in Baldwin’s writing but in his religious faith as well. Baldwin’s religious faith had its follies. He had a difficult relationship with his stepfather, and while attending High School in the Bronx, he began to accept his homosexuality, which further complicated his role in the church. During his highschool years, Baldwin’s literary talent took off. He began spending time in Greenwich Village, which was widely considered the heart of the post–World War II artistic community.
Dunbar finishes off the poem with powerful lines: “But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core, But a plea that upward heaven he flings— I know why the caged bird sings!” The caged bird is depicted as battered, bruised, and beaten from his violent rebellion— praying as his last chance of freedom. The bird’s belief in its virtuous rebellion justifies the revolt, as we see the bird’s constant persistency, even as the mutiny is demoted to
To continue, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Maya Angelou, and Alicia Keys have utilized various forms of literary devices in their works to fully explain and emphasize their main theme and opinions. For example, in Dunbar’s poem, ‘Sympathy,’ there is a strong use of metaphors, which is a phrase or word that represents another object or idea that it would not normally be related to. In the poem, the author uses a caged bird to somewhat symbolize racially oppressed African Americans in the 1800s. The poem includes, “I know why the caged bird sings, ah me…” “When he beats his bars and he would be free; It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core…” By using the symbol of the caged bird in the poem, the author
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 otherwise” (13). The unreal character of the mask has played a significant role over the life of African Americans, whom pretend to put on a smile when they feel sad internally. This ocassion, 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).
“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” (Dunbar line 6-9). This stanza talks about there is real pain being felt by many people and that the world has a responsibility to recognize it. The people wearing the masks also have a responsibility to themselves and each other to be honest about their suffering, but they can’t show who they are. The world only sees them with their masks on, it isn’t merely concealing them for the sake of dishonesty, they wear these masks to hide their real emotions. Line 7 indicates the severity of the truth behind these masks, the line also says “In counting all our tears and sighs” (Dunbar line 7). This line tells me that there are more tears and sighs than the speaker’s which shows he’s talking about how the world doesn’t know the true feelings of the people ‘wearing a mask’ which is the meaning of this
“We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a lyrical poem describing the symbolic mask worn by black Americans to cover up their deep misery and pain while facing racial discrimination and psychological torment in the post-Civil War years. The overall impression the reader gets is that of a mournful commentary that delivers a sad reality. The struggle lies in the fact that black Americans do not wish to expose their suffering, and so they are forced to use the mask as a way to make the world believe they are content and satisfied. This is purely a survival tactic. In order for black Americans to assimilate into the society that has caused them and their ancestors pain, they feel the need to wear a mask that allows them to at least superficially express their gratitude for having been kept alive. In this fifteen-line poem, Dunbar expresses his anger at having to hide his emotions. When black Americans were beaten, lynched and discriminated against, they were obligated to absorb it and mask their true emotions with a smile. Paul Laurence Dunbar, a son of freed slaves, goes on to emphasize the severity of the pain and suffering that these masks cover up by concealing the emotions behind a façade of smiles and grins. The mask, in essence, becomes a symbol of both weakness and strength. At the beginning, the mask conceals the truth. Its wearer hides behind a false barrier. The mask is an outer shell that blacks adopt so that their true feelings are not exposed. Interestingly, towards the end of the poem, the mask shifts from something that conceals emotion to something that essentially drives the persecutors away. With the mask in place, the oppressors can’t detect how much their scorn and agony affect the victim. The mask, being th...
The bird represents African Americans and the cage portrays the Jim Crowe Laws. The Jim Crow Laws were laws that began enforcing racial segregation in the south that continued to be enforced until 1965. In most poems birds are made to represent innocence and freedom. The bird is trapped without freedom, violated, with all rights taken away.
Endorsed on August 18, 1920 the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S Constitution vouchsafed women with the right to vote also known as women’s suffrage. Women did not share all of the same rights as men, including the right to vote, but before women were granted the right to vote women like Susan B. Anthony tried to change that. Anthony went to 29 districts and addressed her speech, for women’s rights. While in “Sympathy” by Dunbar shows the bane that the “caged bird” feels, which refers to African Americans during the Jim Crows Laws. All though both texts are about equality and racism, they are different because the poem is suppose to show the lack of freedom for the African American’s during Dunbar’s time, while in Susan B. Anthony’s speech she
I chose these three poems because the subject matter appealed to me and I believe that the poems convey their meaning very effectively. Upon researching the poems, I discovered that Caged Bird was in fact inspired by Sympathy, which accounts for the similarities in language and imagery, as outlined below. All three poems deal with the subject of freedom using the imagery of birds; On Liberty and Slavery is narrated as a human plea for freedom, and makes reference to birds in that context, whereas Caged Bird and Sympathy both use the imagery of caged birds to explore the theme of loss of freedom. The symbolism of birds is used to depict freedom, as birds are essentially without constraints; in comparison to the limitations of humans, they have limitless possibilities. When a bird is caged, however, it loses that potential and is restricted not by its own limitations, but the limits set by another.