Paul Laurence Dunbar was an American poet‚ playwright‚ and novelist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the poem “Life”‚ Paul Laurence Dunbar expresses his view on the lives of the underprivileged and the struggle one goes through to get by day by day in order to survive the hardships of reality. Throughout the poem “Life”‚ Mr. Dunbar continues to expand on his idea that people’s pain overwhelms the joy of life but with the help of companionship it makes things a little bit more enjoyable
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When one reads this poem the first thing that probably comes to mind is slavery. Why slavery? One has to think it’s slavery because if you know Paul Laurence Dunbar’s backstory you would know that both of his parents were slaves. So this poem pretty much sums up the whole experience‚ because it had may emotions. Such as sad‚ trapped‚ angry‚ hope‚ and perseverance. Also one has to tell that the poem means slavery because of the way it was written. For example: “Till it’s blood is red on the cruel
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“The Colored Soliders” by Paul Laurence Dunbar describes the period of the American Civil War of (1861-1865) which was a war where only the ‘whites’ were considered competent and worthy enough to fight. “These battles are the white man’s‚ and the whites will fight them out” (Dunbar‚ 11‚ 12). In the poem‚ Dunbar states that the blacks were only deemed worthy to fight when the ‘white’s’ discovered they could not win the war. ‘The Colored Soldiers’‚ written by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a reflection of society
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from what is hidden on the inside. "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson‚ "We wear the mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar‚ and "I’m nobody! Who are you?" by Emily Dickinson each give examples of appearances in contrast to reality. Robinson’s "Richard Cory" is essentially about a man who is set upon a golden pedestal by others and due to his suppressed sadness‚ kills himself. "We wear the mask" by Dunbar shows us society’s use of a "mask" to hide their sorrow and grief‚ grinning and smiling when they
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Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) We Wear the Mask WE wear the mask that grins and lies‚ It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes‚— This debt we pay to human guile; With torn and bleeding hearts we smile‚ And mouth with myriad subtleties. 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. We smile‚ but‚ O great Christ‚ our cries To thee from
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January 2011 Hiding behind the Mask As a non-traditional student attending college‚ I sometimes ponder on how I have secluded myself. I am taking both online and face-to-face classes‚ and seem to hide my fears one time or another. Like Paul Laurence Dunbar in his poem‚ “We Wear the Mask” I can tell that different types of people do hide behind the mask rather than being honest with themselves‚ because I seem to do that also‚ whether it is to save ourselves or the feelings of another. When
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Reading Response on “We Wear the Mask” Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem “We Wear the Mask” attempts to convey that all of humanity wears a mask for basic survival. The poet ultimately conveys that since we cannot be true to ourselves we can’t expect the more from the world than lies. Dunbar uses “we” as a general term for all of humanity‚ although he is not excluding himself from this generalization. We as a society have at one point felt the strain of what others decide who we should be based off
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Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem “We Wear the Mask” (1897) reflects how African Americans put on a “mask” in order for them to get through everyday life. The “mask” is the main symbol of this poem. The poem begins‚ “We wear the mask that grins and lies‚ it hides our checks and shades our eyes” (Dunbar‚ 1897‚ p. 1808). The “mask” hides their true feels‚ shows a fake smile‚ and hides their pain. Symbolism is used throughout Dunbar’s poems. “Sympathy” (1899) speaks of a “caged bird” (Dunbar‚ p. 1809).
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The separation of African American dialect‚ written by Paul Dunbar‚ created a common language for the black community and a message to decode for the white community. Paul Dunbar comprised about half of his poems using dialect of his ethnicity‚ which resembled a strength of his. “The Old-Front Gate” began with “wh’n daih’s chillun in de house/dey keep on a-gettin’ tall” (1-2). A first time reader would find the language extremely confusing based upon the choppy grammar; however‚ to an African American
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it is hard to lie to themselves and the world at the same time. In Paul Laurence Dunbar’s Poem of "We Wear the Mask‚" Dunbar uses theme is this poem to show how people hide themselves from the world and why people‚ like the women and the African Americans‚ wear their masks of theirs throughout the years. In the poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar‚ "We Wear the Mask"‚ Dunbar has written about how we are hiding ourselves everyday. Dunbar wants to express that we use masks to hide what we truly feel and
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