Paul Laurence Dunbar We Wear The Mask Analysis
Analysis of “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
The emotional and mental effects of wearing a hypothetical mask are discussed in Paul Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask.” The mask misrepresents the people who wear it, exhibiting false happiness. After researching Dunbar, I discovered that he was a poet who personally experienced racial discrimination in late 19th and early 20th centuries. This helps us understand why the poem illustrates African American men who present themselves in an enthusiastic manner, despite our knowledge that these are just “masks” they put on. In reality, the mask wearers are frustrated and hopeless, but the society is blindsided by their outside personas. Dunbar uses a mournful tone to empathize with those who cannot escape the mask and a frustrated tone for society who is unable to understand the consequences of their ignorance towards the mask wearers. The purpose of this poem is to provide insight into how a person can have two different faces. Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask” acknowledges the fault in …show more content…
Through literary devices, Dunbar illustrates that anything directly said to society would be useless which is why the speaker settles for mocking them and calling on God for help. The imagery provided in the poem allows for the reader to empathize with the mask wearers. Society’s role of acting ignorant toward African Americans shows how easily fooled they can be. If the problem is not directly said to one’s face, no one will care. Dunbar argues that it should not always be the struggling person’s responsibility to make every problem apparent, but it is the bystander’s responsibility to naturally be more aware and less judgmental of his or her surroundings. What society should take away from Dunbar’s poem is that not all those who appear a certain way to society are showing there true self and can often be hiding their true emotions, and society should not be ignorant to this
The emotional and mental effects of wearing a hypothetical mask are discussed in Paul Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask.” The mask misrepresents the people who wear it, exhibiting false happiness. After researching Dunbar, I discovered that he was a poet who personally experienced racial discrimination in late 19th and early 20th centuries. This helps us understand why the poem illustrates African American men who present themselves in an enthusiastic manner, despite our knowledge that these are just “masks” they put on. In reality, the mask wearers are frustrated and hopeless, but the society is blindsided by their outside personas. Dunbar uses a mournful tone to empathize with those who cannot escape the mask and a frustrated tone for society who is unable to understand the consequences of their ignorance towards the mask wearers. The purpose of this poem is to provide insight into how a person can have two different faces. Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask” acknowledges the fault in …show more content…
Through literary devices, Dunbar illustrates that anything directly said to society would be useless which is why the speaker settles for mocking them and calling on God for help. The imagery provided in the poem allows for the reader to empathize with the mask wearers. Society’s role of acting ignorant toward African Americans shows how easily fooled they can be. If the problem is not directly said to one’s face, no one will care. Dunbar argues that it should not always be the struggling person’s responsibility to make every problem apparent, but it is the bystander’s responsibility to naturally be more aware and less judgmental of his or her surroundings. What society should take away from Dunbar’s poem is that not all those who appear a certain way to society are showing there true self and can often be hiding their true emotions, and society should not be ignorant to this