Paul Luarence Dunbar once wrote a sad poem called “We Wear the Mask.” Reading this short poem many people will ask themselves: what is happening or what is the "Mask"?, who is this even happening to? and why is this happening?. There would be several questions about this poem from readers who don't know what's going on. In the 1960s, racial discrimination was a term used to describe terrible treatment of a group of people based on their race, color, or ethnicity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To begin with, when Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote this poem it was around the time slavery was abolished. Even though Dunbar wrote this poem, he was still around to experience the horrible effects of racism and hatred towards black people. Some readers may be confused about who wears the mask. Those wearing the masks are African Americans. They wore these masks to hide their true feelings and to do their best and fit in or be alone with white people. People might ask "Was the mask real?" no, the mask wasn't real, black people simply pretended to smile when they were around white people. African Americans even sang songs to pretend they were happy. Paul Laurence Dunbar uses imagery in his poem to allow readers to better understand why African Americans had to wear “The Mask.” The images are used to talk about the struggles of black people. Most people reading this poem might be confused about what the mask symbolizes? The mask symbolizes how African Americans should hide their true feelings and be who white people expect them to be. Black people were seen as stereotypes. The poem shows that black people should “mask” their emotions for the whole society to survive. Using a mask to hide someone's feelings or emotions is called "double consciousness." The famous civil rights activist WEB Dubois wrote that African Americans can survive only if they fulfill a role assigned to them by whites or that they can respect. During this time African Americans are actually someone they are not. They live in two different worlds or live two different lifestyles. They are masking their emotions and acting differently when they are in white society but, when they are with their own people, they act normally. This particular poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar shows that African Americans had to pay a price for being black. In the poem it says "With hearts torn and bleeding we smile", meaning that black people had to live a life that made it seem like they weren't worth being human. In poetry the debt is paid to human cunning. However, Dunbar used imagery and symbolism, but he also uses hyperbole. Stanza one line four “with hearts torn and bleeding we smile” this particular line used by Dunbar is hyperbole. In the poem this line meant that psychic wounds were inflicted on blacks. Paul also uses metaphors in his poem, stanza one line “we wear the mask that smiles and lies”. Dunbar included this particular line in his poem to make the reader understand that black people had to “mask” their true feelings and emotions towards white people. Paul Laurence Dunbar used several types of figurative language in his poetry. Meanwhile, as people around the world read this poem, they will wonder “how mask wearing is still relevant to today's society.” While writing this poem, Paul reflected on the Jim Crow laws of 1877-1950...