We Wear the Mask

Analysis of “We Wear the Mask” In one of Paul Lawrence Dunbar’s most famous poem’s “We Wear the Mask,” he describes the harsh reality of the black race in America and how they hide their grief, sadness, and broken hearts under a mask for a survival strategy towards whites. “We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes, This debt we pay to human guile; With …

…and uses extended metaphor to have a penetrating insight to the reality of the frowned upon race in America, that struggles for equality and peace within a racial society. Bibliography In one of Paul Lawrence Dunbar’s most famous poem’s “We Wear the Mask,” he describes the harsh reality of the black race in America and how they hide their grief, sadness, and broken hearts under a mask for a survival strategy towards whites.