We Wear The Mask By Paul Laurence Dunbar

In The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B DuBois pioneers two concepts that describe the Black experience in America— the notions of “the veil” and “double-consciousness.” The meaning and implication of these words not only describe the plight of being Black and American then, it also refers to what it means to still be Black and American today – the remnants of the past live on. DuBois explains the veil concept in reference to three things: the literal darker skin of Blacks, which is the physical demarcation of the difference from whiteness, white people’s lack of clarity in order to see Blacks as “true” Americans, and lastly Blacks’ lack of clarity to see themselves outside of what white America prescribes for them. The idea of double consciousness refers to the two-ness, caused by our nations flawed and polarized system, felt by many Blacks. I argue that although DuBois was the first to coin these two terms, it is clear through analyzing Uncle Tom’s Cabin and 12 Years a Slave that these two significant concepts gave a name to what African-Americans had been feeling for years but previously could not define.

The poem “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar talks about how African Americans put up an act and how they can seem ok about their social circumstances but behind it all, behind all their act there is hypocrisy and deception. This poem represents all the pretending, and the truth as painful as it can be hides behind it this masks. “We wear the mask that grins and lies, it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes” (1,2-37) In the poem the reader can have a sense of how they are not exactly doing a good job of hiding behind those masks and covering things up. They are feeling bad inside and can’t be honest about their feelings.

Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem, The Mask (1895-6), is a piece of propaganda which contributed to the ‘New Negro Movement’ by spreading their message and highlighting the need for representation in the media and in the political sphere. In society and the arts world there was a definite ‘colour line’ which black artists were trying to cross, but they were met with resistance from both middle-class African Americans who seemed to have internalised racism (Hughes, The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, 1-2), and from the majority of white people. Therefore a lot of black artists’ work spoke of this struggle and was a tool used in the fight for acceptance - it was propaganda only because it had to be.

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

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

Many individuals are often alienated from society. One of many causes can be the racism of African Americans. The alienation caused by racism can affect individuals and society. Due to their race, they were discriminated and led to racial inequality. This can all be depicted in “Incident” by Countee Cullen, “ A Black Man Talks of Reaping” by Arna Bontemps, and “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar. In “Incident”, a young African American is called a racial slur because of her physical appearance. Also, “A Black Man Talks of Reaping”, describes how a black man is discriminated and face racial inequality. Lastly, in “We Wear the Mask” shows how blacks had to hide their true identity because they were colored and did not fit in society. In all three text of Cullen, Bontemps, and Dunbar all show how racism can make an individual feel alienated.

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

This semester was packed with new readings on levels I had yet experienced. I was introduced to new cultures, lifestyles, and the histories attached. These poems and novels all contained the most unique characters, all of who experienced the most unusual situations. There was not a character that could match another, each expressing different talents, flaws, and desires. Amongst our readings, one character sat on my mind. Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits had an assortment of characters, with Esteban Trueba catching my attention the most. He is a drastically flawed man who craves power, wealth, women, and even love. This project has caused me to question myself, as I am curious to why I would want to do a project on such a control freak. I have concluded that I am drawn to Esteban as a character because of his flaws, but also due to his ability to claim what he wants, whether he is in the right or the wrong. He is the only character that survives through the entire book, changing rapidly over the years. My understanding of Esteban has led me to express his character through art.

In his book, The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. Du Bois attempts to show readers through multiple essays the struggle that black men face in the late 1800s. He does this by introducing readers to what he refers to as “the veil” (8). This veil is described by Du Bois as a “sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others” (8). This idea sets the tone for his writings henceforth as he describes the plight African Americans face in the times following Emancipation, and it sheds light on the complexities that black people face in their pursuit to be simply be treated fairly while being not only an American, but also an African American (9).

W.E.B. Dubois also developed another concept known as “the veil”. There are three concepts to the veil that describe the symbolistic interaction of African Americans to the rest of society. The physical aspect which is how our actual skin is literally darker, which is an obvious sign of difference. Also, the Dubois theorizes that the veil conveys white people’s lack of lucidity to see black people as “real” Americans and black peoples lack of comprehensibility to see us outside of what this white society describes us as and prescribes for us. Although equality was always the goal in our struggles as a people, W.E.B. Dubois explains an inner self loathe and chaos among African Americans which causes an uncertainty when trying to gain a status to that of a white man, because is always a need to hold on to the African heritage and the constant want to considered completely

The idea of the mask points to the duality that Blacks experienced in everyday life, Du Bois in his work The Souls of Black Folks also comments on this duality calling it “double consciousness” in which the African American is divided by two worlds- two identities- the African and American. DuBois also comments that as a result of this duality, many African Americans are forced to live behind a veil, much like the mask that Dunbar discusses in this poem. (Brown,

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”.

Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask,” exposes the deception of a grin and the truth that lies behind it and demonstrates that Gatsby used his materials and wealth to fit into society. In the poem Dunbar implies that the mask is a facade that conceals the true emotion of someone. Gatsby masked his true persona and identified himself wearing a mask of wealth and materials. The mask gives power to the powerless but at the same time it allows people to live within a lie.

The lyric poem “We wear the mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a poem about the African American race, and how they had to conceal their unhappiness and anger from whites. This poem was written in 1895, which is around the era when slavery was abolished. Dunbar, living in this time period, was able to experience the gruesome effects of racism, hatred and prejudice against blacks at its worst. Using literary techniques such as: alliteration, metaphor, persona, cacophony, apostrophe and paradox, Paul Dunbar’s poem suggests blacks of his time wore masks of smiling faces to hide their true feelings.

The poem We Wear The Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar conceals the pain and suffer of slaves in the 1870s. Paul Laurence Dunbar created this poetry around the exact time period were former slaves was seeking civil rights and equality in America. Dunbar symbolism of the mask focused towards one’s true feelings underlying the unhappiness, disparity, and hopelessness. Furthermore, it brought to light how slaves would hide their affliction to show their perseverance towards the white oppressor. I believe that Dunbar displayed the mask as two-sided by portraying that hiding the truth as wrong and others viewing hiding the truth as the best to do.