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.
I don't want to go skating alone
I don't want to go skating alone because my friend said he couldn't go
The object pronoun “them” refers to him Pygmalion and his statue of ivory. Before starting carving for the woman’s shaped in the snow-white ivory material. The main idea of this short-tale it’s how Pygmalion previsualize him with this woman. He imagined her features, he dedicated to his creation and feel in love with it, and thanks to the divine forces at that time, the statue takes human form and they get together.
