Douglass" and "We Wear the Mask

Paul Laurence Dunbar was an extraordinary man. As a high school student he was the only black person in his entire school, and he was one of the tops students. While he was in high school Dunbar was the president of his class. So not only was the colored boy in a white eprsons school he was also the president of the school. Something almost unbelievable. After high school Dunbar's amazing life continued when, unable to afford college he work for the Wright Brothers. Yes those Wright Brothers, the ones who invented aviation. He worked for them and then while at the Worlds Fair read poetry with Frederick Douglas. After his death Dunbar's home was the first African American state memorial. In his short poem Douglass Dunbar writes about how bad everything is now that Douglas is gone. Saying " Ah Douglass we have fall'n in evil days, Such days as not even thou didst know, When thee, the eyes of that harsh long ago." (Dunbar). Dunbar is saying that what the african american people are going through now is even harder than what Douglas went through. As the poem goes on Dunbar says it is so hard now because " Oh, for they voice high-sounding o'er the storm For they strong arm to guide the shivering bark, the blast defying power of thy form" (Dunbar). It is so hard for them now that Douglas isn't there to tell people what they should to and to guide them. In his other power We Wear the Mask Dunbar is talking about how each and everyone of us put on a mask every day. He says "We wear the mask that grins and lies, it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes" (Dunbar) He is talking about how everyone's smile and laughter is fake and only a show for other people. When Dunbar writes " We smile, but, O great Christ our cries To thee from tortured souls arise. We sing, but oh the clay is vile Beneath our feet, and long the mile; But let the world dream otherwise, We wear the mask!" (Dunbar) That quote is talk about how black people still cry to Christ to save them, because even no they are not slaves anymore black people are now in a country that despises them and they feel just as bad as they do when they were. When he says and long is mile Dunbar is referring how long it will take the country to finally accept black people in to society. Dunbar wrote several of his most famous poems in what was called black tongue. Which is how black people spoke, and he really hated that fact. Those poems did so well because many people wanted to try and understand black people better so they read about them. They read about a people trapped in a country where they were unwanted. How would you feel if you were stuck somewhere where everybody hated you and thought just because you had blond or red hair you were stupid and should be slaves to everyone who has black hair.

"Meet Paul Laurence Dunbar." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 568. Print.

Dunbar, Paul Laurence "Douglas." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 570. Print.

Dunbar, Paul Laurence "We Wear the Mask." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 571. Print.