Question

Read this excerpt from "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar and answer the question that follows:

Answer 1

Answer:

In the poem "We Wear the Mask," Paul Laurence Dunbar voices his repressed anger and frustration toward American society. He repeats the title phrase three times in the poem, using the words mask and we to show that he is speaking about a common experience that the African American community shares. The first use of the phrase is matter-of-fact. In the second stanza, the statement is followed by a period, which shows resignation. However, at the end of the poem, Dunbar almost shouts the phrase defiantly. The mask seems to become something he wears proudly. Through this gradual emphasis on the phrase, Dunbar could be implying that African Americans used the "mask" to hide their suffering and gain a kind of victory against society.

Explanation:

Answer 2

Answer:

In the poem "We Wear the Mask," Paul Laurence Dunbar voices his repressed anger and frustration toward American society. He repeats the title phrase three times in the poem, using the words mask and we to show that people hide their true feelings behind a false expression.

The first use of the phrase is matter-of-fact. In the second stanza, the statement is followed by a period, which shows resignation. However, at the end of the poem, Dunbar almost shouts the phrase defiantly. The mask seems to become something he wears proudly. Through this gradual emphasis on the phrase, Dunbar could be implying that the world should only be allowed to “see us, while/ We wear the mask.” This suggests something beyond merely dissembling for the sake of duplicity or dishonesty.

This mask that “grins and lies” is hiding the existence of excruciating misery and suffering. The speaker says, “We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries/ To thee from tortured souls arise