Preview

We Wear The Mask Poem

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
165 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
We Wear The Mask Poem
I think that the author’s rhetorical purpose on the poem was to try to persuade others to think in a new way and see/look at things with a different perspective.

The author repeats the sentence “We wear the mask” 3 times in the poem. I feel like the author

The author uses words like “We” and “our”. I feel like the author does this to show that the poem isn't about him but about specifically to the african american/ black community.

The Author uses dishonest and hiding words in the poem. Some of those words are “Hides our cheeks” and “shades our eyes”

The author uses words that describe pain to the african american/ black community.

The author gives off an old fashion theme. The author of this poem lived in the late 1800s to early

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The poem tells the story of a young black girl exploring and experiencing what it is to become a black woman in her changing social circle. “it’s dropping food coloring in your eyes to make them blue and suffering their burn in silence. It’s popping a bleached white mophead over the kinks of your hair and primping in front of the mirrors that deny your reflection.” (Smith,9) The food coloring in her eyes, and the bleaching of her hair can only symbolize her need to grow into the more “accepted” form of society, the white skinned, blue eyed, blonde haired men…

    • 311 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To amplify how plain she was he fills the poem with many vibrant and strong words such as colors and strong language. Starting from the first paragraph he mentions flowers and eye shadow, which are both colorful and alive. He uses the words gangster and whore, which are both strong personalities in life that movies and books have been written about because of their unique lifestyle.…

    • 868 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    there are deeper meanings to this poem. The poem is no longer regarded as just a children’s…

    • 2664 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    would be an example of such. It seems as though the speaker is standing up for a particular group of people who have been mistreated and/or taken advantage of in some kind of way. Whether it was socially, economically, or politically. Taking the time frame that this piece was written in into consideration, I can only think that this selected group must have been Black people. The stanza that solidified this thought that this poem was in reference so Black people for me was:…

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    We Wear The Mask Analysis

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Dunbar’s We Wear the Mask addresses the faults of humanity and the intersectional themes of race, society and class within the poem. The “mask” within this piece is symbolic of the ways in which society structures and organizes individuals to conform to societal standards. To support this theory - Dunbar uses the American Dream and slavery to remind his readers “we” wore the mask back then and “we” still wear the mask to this day.…

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Emily Beesley PR1 ROUGH

    • 995 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the poem, the speaker shows the importance of letting go of the past, despite the feelings of uncertainty that the past may bring, and how broadening your perspective can lead you to your future. The speaker begins in a place of pain and isolation. He has closed himself off due to his need to hold onto his past. The speaker then portrays the idea of broadening his point of view with a “wide angle lens” in order to seek a different and broader perspective on life. He later learns that he must break down the walls of isolation he has made, by reliving and torturing himself with previous issues that cannot be altered, and let go of his past in order to move forward and discover his future. When dealing with the uncertainties of the past, the speaker chose to highlight the importance of widening your perspective and realizing that there is more to life than the problems of the past that may be holding you back.…

    • 995 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The lyric poem “We wear the mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a poem about the African American race, and how they had to conceal their unhappiness and anger from whites. This poem was written in 1895, which is around the era when slavery was abolished. Dunbar, living in this time period, was able to experience the gruesome effects of racism, hatred and prejudice against blacks at its worst. Using literary techniques such as: alliteration, metaphor, persona, cacophony, apostrophe and paradox, Paul Dunbar’s poem suggests blacks of his time wore masks of smiling faces to hide their true feelings.…

    • 932 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    We Wear The Mask

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Everyone lies to one another, keeping a sweet simple face to hide the truth. The poem, “We Wear the Mask” describes hardships blacks went through in America and how the blacks hide their sadness, grief, and sorrow behind a mask to survive and live from the whites. Confederate states in the south tried to keep slavery in order to keep the whites a superior and smarter race. Slaves lived a harsh life of work, and chores all day as somewhat expressed in “We Wear the Mask.” Many slaves believed in god or were religious in some aspect of life. The slaves would sing songs of praise to pass the time and keep their minds off the hurt that the whites put on them. Slaves did what they were told and shouldn’t be treated like work horses but as equals in life.…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem is a clear display of pride; “Let the fullness of Thy pity o’er the hot wrought spirits sway of the gallant colored soldiers who fell fighting on that day!” (Dunbar, 45, 46, 47, 48). Moreover, he repeats the line ‘of the gallant colored soldiers’ a few times in the poem. Dunbar is a famous poet known for activism of equality and equal rights for African American’s (poets.org). His captivating poem; ‘The Colored Soldiers’ is a strong example of his representation of African American…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    English Poetry Analysis

    • 1062 Words
    • 6 Pages

    believe that this poem is unique in the way that it represents an important point of view on the…

    • 1062 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    As it turns out, the poem is a piece of political satire trying to express the vain…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    We Real Cool

    • 387 Words
    • 1 Page

    The poem describes the boys in a bad way, but some words has connotative meaning showing that they’re not that bad, we can interpret their behavior in a bad way, but if we look at the different viewpoint, we will find their different side which is they also suffering for the sake of their families.…

    • 387 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    We Wear the Mask

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages

    4. What heavily connotative words are used? What words have unusual or special meanings? Are any words or phrases repeated? If so, why? Which words do you need to look up? This poem is very straightforward. There is no hidden meaning between the lines, just a wonderful poet pouring out her emotions on paper.…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    We Real Cool Analysis

    • 375 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Through the use of two different rhetorical devices I was able to find the importance of the poem, and it helped me understand the deeper meaning of the poem.…

    • 375 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Poets use their poetic license to express their feelings on the subject. One of the poems authored in the book is titled The Little Black Boy. This pome is about the life of black boy and his mother suffering from obvious discrimination. The boy realizes that although he has a heart just like a white boy and he possesses the same strength as the white boy, his skin is black. He therefore becomes curious to know the reason why he has a different skin. The boy sets out on a mission to find out and discover a new explanation concerning his differences in skin color versus his inner qualities. This undertaking sets him on a journey becoming the motivation in his…

    • 1587 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays