Introduction
Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask,” composed in 1895, was one of the first published works by the poet. He can be considered as one the very first prominent African American voices in the world of literature and poetry due to him being born to parents who were slaves and were freed during their lifetimes. The poem is about African Americans’ compliance and lack of complete freedom under a society founded for White Americans, where the minority group is deprived of its own voice and needs to be subjected to an unfair system, which benefits the majority group by making them feel forgiven, and their pasts are forgotten. Although the author touches on the topics of African American forgiveness and societal inequality against Black people, the ultimate message goes deeper, where he merely shows that the scars of slavery are deep and the current society is not helping in the cultural healing process. The poem is an outcry of African American cultural pain, which might not be as severe as it is used to be, but still persistent and strong, and these underlying messages are demonstrated through literary devices, such as metaphors, motifs, symbolism, and imagery.
Literature Review
In order to properly address the key message of the poem, it is important to overview the current literature on the themes of the piece. For instance, Okello et al. claim that the poem addresses a major concept of the critical race theory, which is race realism (422). The latter framework dispels “the idea that racism is primarily perpetuated by individual bigots and racists and instead looks toward the everyday beliefs, justifications, ideas, and behaviors that are inextricably tied to the broader sociocultural and historical context of globalized systemic inequality” (Salter and Haugen 123).
In other words, Okello et al. claim that the poem primarily addresses the fact that racial equality is unachievable for African Americans since it is the very basis upon which the American society is built, which is preventing fairness and equality from taking place (423). Therefore, many elements of the poem are manifestations of observations under the prism of critical race realism theory, where racism is sustained not through few individuals but general society.
Eaves claims that the poem addresses the topic of forgiveness at the very core of African American culture, which they express through a mismatch between internal pain and external hospitality (22). In other words, the poet is making it evident and clear that although African American community has forgiven White Americans, they are still experiencing the echoing effects of the past slavery, which is why forgiveness comes at a price.
Therefore, Eaves argument focuses on racial healing and redemption, which needs to be achieved by making sacrifices from both sides (23). According to the essay, the poem reflects the importance of forgiveness in the face of injustice and subsequent liberation, where the latter’s preservation can only be achieved through redemption (Eaves 22). It should be noted that the emphasis is put on actions needed to be taken going forward rather than addressing the past.
Argument
The main argument of the given poem analysis is that the past left major cultural scars and pain within the African American community, and the current state of society is not allowing these damages to be repaired. In other words, slavery left its deep mark on the very cultural essence of African Americans, which means there is no possibility of complete healing, however, the problem is worsened by the fact that White Americans are either deliberately ignorant on these issues and pretend that the past and present are disconnected. Such an act forces African Americans to comply with injustices left from the echoing effects of slavery, which are buried without properly addressing them.
Firstly, the poem utilizes metaphors and imagery in order to show how racism and past slavery morphed into a subtler form of racism, which is a major echo of the historical basis of African American culture. The poem states “and mouth with myriad subtleties,” which is a metaphor is referring to the subtle nature of racism after the abolishment of slavery in the United States (Dunbar, par. 1). In other words, it reflects that complaint action from African American community of being reciprocally subtle to the newly morphed form of racism, where it is not explicit but implied and strongly existent.
The stated actions and approaches might or might not be intended, but the fact of the matter is that they are still persistently present. The poem also states: “in counting all our tears and sighs,” which is a metaphor used to address the echoing influences of the past, which are manifested in pain within African American community (Dunbar, par. 2). Thus, it is important to note that the problem is due to deep social scars left from slavery, which are being not being healed but rather covered up in order to hide them from sight. The imagery is present in a line “torn and bleeding hearts we smile,” where the message is represented in a clear image, which is reflective of the scars left from past slavery (Dunbar, par. 1). In other words, the poet explicitly states how the cultural pain from the historical injustices is hidden from open discourse.
Secondly, the poem uses symbolism and motif to address the notion of forced compliance imposed upon African American community by both the current society and the echoing effects of past slavery. The poem utilizes the term mask, which makes a direct example of a motif, which also acts as a symbol of compliance of the minority group (Dunbar, par. 2). It symbolizes the fact that the community members are not allowed and encouraged to speak out freely and share their pain with the rest of the society, which would have helped in the general cultural healing process. Instead, the current society is only isolating the pain inflicting through slavery to be experienced and contained within African American community, and thus, these scars are not visible to other Americans. The poem also states: “to thee from tortured souls arise,” where the piece addresses the overall severity of social scars left by slavery (Dunbar, par. 3). Therefore, it also supports the thesis of slavery’s post-effects being significant to a degree, where its impacts are strongly present even after its abolishment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the poem is not about forgiveness or never-ending inequality, but rather about the cultural scars left by past slavery and how the healing process is not only slow but halted by the current approach of the American society, where it prefers to isolate the pain in African American community within the group instead of being involved in shared discussions and reparations. These messages are reflected in metaphors, motifs, symbolism, and imagery utilized in the poem by the author.
Works Cited
Dunbar, P. Laurence. ” We Wear the Mask.” Poetry Foundation, Web.
Eaves, Latoya E. “We Wear the Mask.” University of North Carolina Press, vol. 56, no. 1, 2016, pp. 22-28.
Okello, W. Kwamogi, et al. “We Wear the Mask”: Self-Definition as an Approach to Healing from Racial Battle Fatigue.” Journal of College Student Development, vol. 61, no. 4, 2020, pp. 422-438.
Salter, Phia S., and Andrea D. Haugen. “Critical Race Studies in Psychology.” The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Social Psychology, vol. 1, 2017, pp. 123-145.