Comparing Masking In Invisible Man And They Wear The Mask

Thesis Statement: In the story, Invisible Man by Ellison and the poem “We Wear the Mask” by Dunbar they both use the theme of masking. Firstly, one can notice the theme of masking in Invisible Man. One example of masking is when the women had to perform for the men. One can see that she had to put on a brave face however, she was afraid. Ellison says; “And all the while the blonde continued dancing, smiling faintly at the big shots who watcher her with fascination, and faintly smiling at our fear.” (267). However, the dancer was scared in her situation. One can see that Ellison uses the word “faintly” to describe the dancer’s smile. Ellison says; “I saw the terror and disgust in her eyes, almost like my own terror and that which I saw …show more content…
Ellison says; “I was shocked to see some of the most important men of the town quite tipsy. They were all there---bankers, lawyers, judges, doctors, fire chiefs, teachers, merchants. Even one of the more fashionable pastors.” (266). This can lead one to question how can somebody in high positions engage in activities like this. Those men are simply wearing mask when they work to cover who they truly are. One can see that even people with power are corrupt and must have mask to cover who they truly are. Dunbar says; “We wear the mask that grins and lies, / It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes, ---” (1-2). Dunbar is saying that one uses a mask to look nice on the outside, however it is all just a lie. One can tell that the mask is just simply a disguise. Then Dunbar says that the mask “shades our eyes”. One can be reminded of a saying “the eyes are the windows to the soul”. However, if the eyes are hidden and the face is completely covered one can not see how that person truly feels. Therefore, one can see the theme of masking in Invisible Man through the corrupt leaders that portray one thing but are extremely