Summary Of We Wear The Mask By Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar was a famous poet that originated from Dayton Ohio who wrote this poem as a clear message about how African American slaves wore a mask to hide how they truly felt.. The line “We wear the mask that grins and lies” is saying that they African Americans hide behind smiles to hide how they felt and acted as if everything was okay. This mask that they wore shades their eyes, which is a very important part of the face as the eyes are said to be the key to the soul. If you’ve ever seen movies or TV shows involving slaves you will notice that they never looked into the Master’s eyes. Dunbar’s parents were freed slaves, so he often talked about slavery in his work This Poem explains how important it was for the slaves to wear this mask to hide their feelings and why they did so.
The mask that …show more content…
They found ways to be happy and content. They will wear the mask to hide what is behind it always. After all of the pain and suffering that went on during slavery, they still smiled and did what had to be done. Could you even imagine what life was like to be a slave? I think that it is amazing that people can find happiness even when they were treated to poorly. They held their head up high and didn’t tell a soul what was inside. Now that takes a great deal of strength.
Even though We wear the mask is clearly written about slaves, there could be another meaning. When you think about it, anyone can wear a mask. Anyone can hide behind a smile, not just slaves. In this day in age, most find it hard to express themselves freely so they too wear a mask. Slavery was an awful part of the history in America and most don’t like to look back at that part of history, but slaves were definitely not the only ones hiding. The “Mask” is definitely a defensive mechanism that can be used by