We Wear The Mask Analysis

“Like circus performers, we smear on makeup to become someone else. Far beyond applying a little lip gloss or hair dye, our mask attempts to cover up who we really are. Our mask attempts to cover up who we really are […] what we’ve been through, what we know to be important, and what we are afraid to share with others”. (O’Leary, 36) John O’Leary focuses heavily on the concept of taking off our masks in his inspirational book, On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life. What O’Leary means by this analogy is that we should all break the barriers which we have erected to protect ourselves from the world, walls that were built after being hurt, experiencing something traumatic, or perhaps after being betrayed. However, such walls oftentimes do not benefit ourselves in the way that we may wish. Instead, more often than not, our masks do the opposite, and they isolate us from what we as humans need most: friendship, companionship, and love.

Paul Laurence Dunbar, in “We Wear The Mask”, talks about the “mask” he and others are forced to wear to provide an illusion of happiness, and cover up their real emotions from the rest of the world. Dunbar asks the rhetorical question of why the world should know their true emotions and be “over-wise” in counting their tears and sighs. He answers his own question by saying that they should only let them see them with their masks on. He concludes, by calling onto a higher power, exclaiming that the higher power is the only one that knows their true emotions, but he wants the rest of the world to believe otherwise. Both these poems, although different in situations, address the issues of social ignorance and standards by using metaphorical symbols and wording.

In the second stanza, Dunbar asks a rhetorical question to prove a point. One should not let others make them suffer by hiding all feelings and emotions from society. When he says, “Why should the world be overwise, / In counting all our tears and sighs?” (Line 6-7), it contradicts the idea that this poem is universal with the phrase “the world”. Throughout the poem, the time frame of the publication does not shift the poem at all. But one would

In the poem, We Wear The Mask, Paul Laurence Dunbar, uses irony to express the representation of the mask on the faces of African-Americans. A mask is a manner or expression that hides one’s true character of feelings; a pretense. The truth that lies behind the mask consist of lies as well as emotional and physical pain.

“We Wear the Mask” brings up the question to reader for them to explore. Does the mask in this poem hide or show the matter that Dunbar carries? Using symbolism in a rondeau--fifteen lines, two rhymes, and refrain (repeating lines,) he introduce the readers the unseen world of the people who wear mask to

In “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, the audience is deferred by who is being addressed because of the use of “we.” This all-inclusive point of view in the poem opens up the question of who this poem is directed towards and what the mask is covering. Because of the ambiguous manner of the poem, it is easy for all readers to empathize with. This poem can be taken in the literal sense of humans in general hiding behind masks or the racial oppression of the time and the meanings behind those masks.

As in its title, the poem depicts the feeling of human beings hiding their central emotions. Giving into the natural prediction of the human society. Enclosing ourselves to the nature of feelings. In Dunbar’s writing he uses the main character to show the emotions. The character explains the feelings that are felt. Feeling of sadness, sorrow, and despair. Enhancing that the feelings of sadness cut deep into its own soul. Dunbar uses the term, We Wear the Masks, simply stating that we cover the emotions the we truly have. A mask that is put up as a front so other do not discover our true emotions. The mask we use towards friends, strangers, and others. The smile we use, the laugh, a separate persona that tucks away our inner demons. Paul Dunbar writes, “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”(Dunbar). Just like Robinson’s “Richard Cory”, Dunbar uses the theme of humans truly not knowing one another. The theme that humans do not show their true emotions on the outside. They compare in this way because both of these writers have the same point they are trying to get across. The point of creating two different worlds. The world you show to others, and the world your heart, and mind experience. They compare in having the central theme. As in

I cover my face, because with this mask I don’t have to prove I’m different.

Do you carry a certain look? Do you feel you have to be someone else all the time never truly being who you are? Never revealing what’s really going on? Do you carry a mask that masquerades the true you? Do you act with people to impress them or to come across happy? Are you constantly smiling or frowning all for the wrong reasons?

The speaker of “We Wear the Mask” talks about people covering their pain and torment by smiling through the pain or hiding their true selves with a “mask”. They question why the world should have to see their tears and sighs. The speaker changes their focus and becomes more emotional, and cries for help for this feeling of being forced to hide. The speaker cries for help by proclaiming, “We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries To thee from tortured souls arise.” (lines 10-11). The repetition of the word “smile” shows that they cover the same emotions up with the mask, which suggests that when they start feeling emotional, they will smile to cover their agony. When the speaker continues with the phrase “O great Christ”, they show that they

The theme of Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem “We Wear the Mask” is that people hide how they truly feel to prevent social ridicule, but it does not make those emotions go away. Dunbar emphasizes the pain one feels from not being able to properly convey their feelings to others, in fear that they will be judge. He does so by saying, “in counting all our tears and sighs”, as if society is counting how many insecurities or hardships you have and judging you for it. Yet “the tortured souls” lets the reader know that the mask we wear to hide our emotions does not suppress the emotions, and actually escalates them by adding the weight of having to pretend to the weight of being unhappy. It’s very hard for someone to be able to open up about their emotions,

“We wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a late 19th century poem that millennials can relate with due to a shared trait. The poem touches on the problem of individuals hiding their true identity via a mask, thus hurting themselves in order to have a fitting identity. The poem therefore can be applied to the conditions of the aspiring young adults here in the Silicon Valley as we all wear masks in order to clash and fight our way to the pursuit of happiness.

In the poem, We Wear the Masks, the poet wrote about what we hide and why we hide it behind the mask. In the poem, it states, “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”(Dunbar). Dunbar wanted to explain that we hide or give distort vibes when showing our emotions or feelings to others. Some hide themselves and their true feelings behind their mask, people lie to loved ones, people shove their hurt feelings out the door when it comes to showing them. People wear masks usually, but that doesn't exactly mean it's okay to wear

The poem we wear the mask is filled with a lot of different rhymes and schemes. The poem is a great poem to read and a very relatable poem. The poem goes through a lot of different vibes and feelings. The purpose of this poem to me is to get people to think outside the box and get different thoughts in there mind. The rhymes of the poem are real ackwerd and weird but unique at the same time. The poem will have five lines in a row that rhyme then will switch up the flow and not rhyme for the next two, then start back on that flow and it is the pattern. All of the patterns work in the poem in a weird way they all fit together. Patterns A and B really help the poem because those patterns make the poem rhyme and makes it sound real cool, but to

Stephen Doherty, a researcher and blogger for the Symantec Corporation, provides a case study that proves targeted attacks are growing and evolving. His case study entitled, “The Mask,” is a cyber-espionage group established in 2007 to hack, monitor and exfiltrate data from infected targets. Their method of breach uses intense spear phishing to lure the victims in using deceiving emails. In addition, The Mask coincidently enough specializes in tools that target Spanish speakers.