Paul Laurence Dunbar – "Douglass" and "We Wear the Mask"

In Paul Laurence Dunbar's "Douglass" he writes about Frederick Douglass, a former slave who escaped and became a speaker and leader against slavery (Dunbar, "Douglass"). Dunbar tells how Douglass' voice and speeches have helped the slaves get through their tough times. In Dunbar's poem, slavery is represented by a giant storm. The slaves are a ship that ride against the storm, and Douglass' voice leads them through the way to safety (Dunbar, "Douglass").

This poem represents Realism because it talks about the things that happen to the slaves. It may not talk about those things directly, but Dunbar uses figurative language and symbolism to get his point across. "We ride amid a tempest of dispraise...now, when the waves of swift dissension swarm...Oh, for thy voice high-sounding o'er the storm, for thy strong arm to guide the shivering bark, the blast-defying power of thy form, to give us comfort through the lonely dark" (Dunbar, "Douglass"). As said before, the boat is a symbol of the slaves, the storm is a symbol of slavery, and Douglass' voice helps the boat (slaves) get through the storm (slavery) (Dunbar, "Douglass"). Realism is present here because the underlying message of the poem is that the slaves are being tossed around by their slave owners, and they need someone to help them through the tough times. This is Realism because Realism because of what is real and what is true, and the way the slaves are feeling is real and true.

Dunbar's next poem, "We Wear The Mask", is about people who wear a mask around others who only see them for who they are when they wear "the mask" (Dunbar, "We"). In reading this poem one can come to the conclusion that the people wearing the mask are slaves, and the people who see them for who they are only when the wear the mask are the white people. "Why should the world be overwise, in counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, while we wear the mask" (Dunbar, "We"). The slaves wear a mask while working in the fields and on the plantations so that they white people cannot see what they are really feeling. They wear a mask through every aspect of their lives so that the white people cannot get any satisfaction from beating them or treating them unfairly. This is why the poem says, "Nay, let them only see us, while we wear the mask" (Dunbar, "We").

This poem represents Realism because the speaker talks about how he and his people are treated unfairly, but that they wear a mask so that people cannot see how they really feel. This is a representation of Realism because the poem tells the reader what is really going on, and why they protagonists are acting the way they are.

Both of these poems reflect society during their time period because they are about slaves. The poems are about how slaves are mistreated, and they speak of the quiet way they express their feelings towards the way they are being treated. These poems do not really talk about the American Dream, the Hero, government, or psychology. The first poem talks about nature because it describes slaves and slavery as a ship and a storm on the sea. The second poem only talks about religion in one sentence, "We Smile, but, O great Christ, our cries to thee from tortured souls arise" (Dunbar, "We"). This line does tell the reader though that they narrator of the poem is religious.


Works Cited:

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "Douglass." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 570. Print.

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "We Wear the Mask." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 571. Print.