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We Wear The Mask Identity Essay

621 Words3 Pages

Hidden Identity
Imagine feeling like an outcast and not fitting in with society. Masking your own identity because of fear and insecurity. That is how the character feels in the poem, We Wear The Mask By Paul Laurence
Dunbar. In the poem, We Wear The Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar, Erik Erikson's theory of Psychosocial Development is shown through African Americans trying to fit in, in a racist society. Throughout the poem, We Wear The Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar, Dunbar shows to the readers that the character is struggling with their identity, this struggle connects to Erik Erikson's crisis of “Identity vs Role Confusion”. In the poem, the author states “We wear the mask that grins and lies. It hides our cheeks and shades out eyes” (Dunbar, lines 1-2). This quote provided the readers with information stating that the character is covering their identity. It shows that the character is afraid of who they are and want to change their appearance. Masking your identity connects to …show more content…

The main character throughout the poem shows the readers how they project themselves in a different manner to mask their identity and their insecurities. The author states “We smile, but, oh great Christ, our cries to thee from tortured souls arise” (Dunbar, lines 10-11). This quote from the poem shows how much the main character is hurting inside. It shows the readers how the character is not comfortable in their own skin. This makes the character question “Who am I?”. In Erik Erikson's theory of Psychosocial Development, in the adolescent age, the person or character questions themselves with their identity, and this is exactly what the character is doing in this poem. The character doesn't want to show their true identity to a racist society so they put a fake face

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