Question

Select the correct answer from the drop-down menu.

Answer 1

Answer:

He repeats the title phrase three times in the poem, using the words "mask" and "we" to show that:

A. he is speaking about a common experience that the African American community shares.

Explanation:

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) was an African American poet. Son of enslaved parents, Dunbar's works constantly questioned society, segregation, and racism.

"We Wear the Mask" is a social poem that shows concern for the life of the African American community in the post-civil war period. According to the speaker of the poem, the African American community was forced to wear a "mask", that is, to smile and pretend that things were okay when they were anything but. Former slaves were even forced to fight in the war - a war that was not theirs - and then act as if life was good.

With that in mind, we can choose the first option as the correct one. Dunbar repeats the title phrase three times in the poem, using the words "mask" and "we" to show that: A. he is speaking about a common experience that the African American community shares.