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Paul Lawrence Dunbar Sympathy

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The Tropical Bird Cage Hanging in a Condominium’s Window In the poem, “Sympathy” written by Paul Lawrence Dunbar, the caged bird is a metaphor that portrays the notion of injustice through many unique literary devices such as detail, diction, and imagery. Dunbar evinces a tempestuous attitude of injustice, including freedom and exploitation, as a story of a bird’s life is used as a metaphor for these two characteristics. Dunbar writes, “When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;/when the wind stirs soft through the spring grass.” (Dunbar 2-3) From this quote, an individual can comprehend that Dunbar uses imagery--describing the calm and bright landscape--to exhibit the idea of freedom. An individual may also notice that the author uses diction,

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