We Wear The Mask Vs. Maya Angelou's The

During the years of the 1920 's through the early 1930 's, African Americans established themselves artistically, culturally and socially. This intellectual period was known as the Harlem Renaissance. The period of the Harlem Renaissance brought together black authors, musicians, and poets. One of the most notable poets of this era was Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes is considered one of leaders of this period. He 's famously known for his controversial bodies of work. One of the most controversial poems created by Hughes is his poem called "Silhouette". Silhouette was written in 1936, where racial segregation and prejudice was emphasized. What makes this piece of work so controversial is how the tone within the poem takes a drastic turn when the speaker and gender are changed. This paper will analyze the ambiguous meanings of the poem once the speakers identity is transitioned.

It speaks of how African Americans have to hide behind a mask that hides all their sorrow and pain. Dunbar questions why we have to wear the mask, “Why should the world be overwise, In counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, while We wear the mask.”(918). He speaks of how all of this should not be happening but in the end everyone is still hiding who they are and what they are really feeling. This poem could account for more than just African Americans. Everyone has worn a mask at one point in their lives but the real question is why? Temptations like in “Wife of His Youth” or to get away like in “’Member Youse a Nigger” have had major effects on people and their lives. Being an African American was a hard life for a long time because slavery and the civil war cause many deaths and many families to be broken

Maya Angelou and Amy Tan discuss religious problems and culture differences in their literature. The authors have captured these differences by their past experiences of friends and family. Both authors come from a diverse culture, but both face the same harsh society of the American culture and beliefs. The Author's both tell about situations in their short stories of being outcasts and coming from different racial backgrounds and trying to triumph over these obstacles. Angelou and Tan both have a very unique writing ability and style in their short stories.

The purpose of this essay is to clearly acknowledge similarities as well as differences amongst two great writers: Phyllis Wheatley and Paul L. Dunbar. Wheatley and Dunbar were two brilliant African American writers born of two different centuries. Both began writing at an early age and were seen as black child prodigies of their times.

In the poem, “We Wear the Mask’, the narrator, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, expresses the pain African American experienced during the slave trade and how the slaves learned to suppress their emotions. The poem shows a contrast between African American’s social faces and their “bleeding hearts”. The tone of the poem is not a corrective tone, but rather an explanatory one. In considering the time period, it would make sense that the narrator would be careful about insulting the white community. In the first stanza the tone starts as explanatory in just speaking of the masquerade and state of oppression. Then the last two stanzas are very matter of fact. When the narrator sarcastically states, “Why should the world be otherwise”. Showing

Paul Laurence Dunbar, dispatches the cold troubles of African Americans in the lyrical poem, "We Wear the Mask." In this poem, Dunbar links imagery, rhythm, rhyme, and word choice to in order to institute a connection to the reader. From reading the poem, one can infer that Mr. Dunbar is speaking in general, of the misery that many people keep concealed under a grin that they wear very well. But if one were to go further and take the time to research Mr. Dunbar’s selection of this piece and the era of which this poem was written, one would come to understand that this poem focuses entirely on Paul Laurence Dunbar’s viewpoints on racial prejudice and the struggle for equality for the African-American’s of his time period. Though this

Dually Randall and Paul Laurence Dunbar are two African American writers living during the early twentieth century. These men did not know each other, however, they both encountered the same hardship of being an African American living before the civil rights movement. Both men use poems that emphasize sound, structure and imagery to express what they experienced during that harsh time. A careful analysis of “We Wear the Mask” and “Ballad of Birmingham” expose that the shadows cast on their skin has a lasting impression.

In Dubois (1903) “The Soul of Black Folk” the ideas of double consciousness and the veil affect blacks. A veil is a piece of clothing that conceals a face. The veil is figurative and is presented in the film through Buggin outs questions Sal of the wall of fame. Even though it’s Sal’s pizzeria Buggin out raises a great point. Buggin out tells Sal that the clientele he attracts are black folk. While black folk are the majority of the customers they should have a say on the wall of fame. The veil is to conceal the importance of blacks. To Sal and his sons blacks are not important enough to put on the wall. The community is diverse but Sal’s son Pino view blacks with hate and resentment. Pino views blacks as apes and animals not people. Another example of the veil can be the conversation Mookie has with Pino. Mookie criticizes Pino for constantly critiquing blacks and questions his favorite entertainers. Pino’s

In Dunbar’s We Wear the Mask it is showing how Blacks are agreeing to wear the mask but underneath that mask they are planning. This is shows when he says “Nay, let them only see us, while/ We wear the mask.” Dunbar is displaying how Blacks only wanted white people to see them with the mask on and they don’t want to be seen making plans on how to overcome discrimination. But by the end Blacks are taking off the mask to show their fight. This can be paralleled with Still I Rise because Angelou is more in your face and it shows how she has ripped the mask off and is speaking her mind. The speaker has power and confidence to overcome discrimination. This is exemplified when Angelou says “Did you want to see me broken? /Bowed head and lowered eyes?” The speaker is mocking white people in saying how Blacks should act, but really they are done conforming to what Whites want and fighting for equality. In both poems the mask shows the evolution of Blacks and how they overcame

The early 1900s was a very challenging time for Negroes especially young women who developed issues in regards to their identities. Their concerns stemmed from their skin colors. Either they were fair skinned due mixed heritage or just dark skinned. Young African American women experienced issues with racial identity which caused them to be in a constant struggle that prohibits them from loving themselves and the skin they are in. The purpose of this paper is to examine those issues in the context of selected creative literature. I will be discussing the various aspects of them and to aid in my analysis, I will be utilizing the works of Nella Larsen from The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, Jessie Bennett Redmond Fauset,

We Wear The Mask was written in 1886 with post slavery America being the significant historical backdrop. In this poem, Dunbar explores the duality of experience of African American's at this time. The outward experience presented to the world at large - “We wear the mask that grins and lies” - versus the inward truth of suffering and turmoil - “With torn and bleeding hearts we smile”.

as human beings we always strive to progress. Angelou states, that most of the problems in our world are results from useless hatred that prevents us from achieving our goals and negotiate with people who has different opinions.

Many times you hear people say “Don’t judge the books by their covers” or even “Until you have lived in my shoes, you can’t judge me”. Each person could look a certain way on the outside, but on the inside have complete different feelings; these people are masking how they truly feel. It appears in the poem “We Wear the Mask” that the author Paul Dunbar is trying to put this message out to his readers. In Paul Dunbar’s poem “We Wear the Mask” he describes the lives of the African Americans and what they do in order to mask how they truly feel toward the White Americans who are keeping them to do their dirty work.

One work of art that has influenced me is the poem “We wear the Mask,” by Paul Lawrence Dunbar. Paul Lawrence Dunbar was born into a freed slave family in Dayton, Ohio in 1872. He realized his destiny to write and share his literary brilliance through poetry when he had his poetry published in the “Dayton Herald” newspaper when he was just fourteen. When he entered high school, he continued to use his talent to edit the “Dayton Tattler” newspaper. Later in his career, Dunbar moved to Chicago and worked for the first “World’s Fair.” He also became good friends with Fredrick Douglass. Fredrick Douglass found Dunbar a job as a clerk and arranged for him to read his poems publicly. Douglass regarded Dunbar as, “the most promising young colored man in America.”

My initial reaction to the poem “We Wear the Mask” was amazed on how deep the meaning is. The poem can apply to almost anyone and its meaning is deeper than just applying to the African-Americans. Dunbar’s initial meaning was to express the distress of African-Americans had after the Civil War because they hid their feelings from the world, but this poem can be relatable to many groups of people. Muslims, Jews, and many more races/religions face hardships like the ones Dunbar explains in his poem. For example, women in many Muslim countries have to hide their thoughts and feelings and accept what happens such as the line in “We Wear the Mask”, “With torn and bleeding hearts we smile.” Dunbar also says in his poem, “We sing, but oh the clay