Masks In Paul Laurence Dunbar's To Kill A Mockingbird

Looking Beyond the Character Many times people have said that appearances can be deceiving, or that appearances are not what they seem. This can be proved true with the characters in a novel. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, she shows many examples of this in her writing. The story covers a few characters who the readers eventually get to see and know more about, who demonstrate a theme of how people are not always what they seem to be. As a result, the readers learn about these characters that they are not as crazy and irregular as they are viewed, but far different than their appearances suggest.

The poem illustrates humans hiding themselves in a certain way in which people think of themselves. Jim struggles greatly with fitting into society and remain social order. As the poem states “we wear the mask that grins and lies” (Dunbar) the quote significance is that individuals lie to hide themselves and the mask is our shield. Similarity between Jim and the poem is very similar by hiding who you really are to survive in the world. Jim has to hide who he is because he is a runaway slave from Miss Watson.

“We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes-.” This quote is from the poem, “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar which is a poem about the struggle that Paul Laurence Dunbar’s family went through during their lives being enslaved. This quote represents the role that a mask can play in covering up true self. By wearing a mask, a person is covering up their unique features. Also, they are not letting anyone get to know them as well as hiding their persona from the public. Due to being confined behind a mask, it is more harmful to wear a mask.

The more complex form of We Wear the Mask reflects the content, as the poem’s message is also more complex. We Wear the Mask is a study of blackness instead of the exploitation of it as seen in his dialect poetry. It addresses an effect of double consciousness, seeing one’s self through the eyes of white society, as well as Dunbar’s tendency to portray what’s he sees there in his dialect poetry. The first line of Dunbar’s We Wear the Mask, describes a mask that “grins and lies” (1043). It “lies,” it is not truthful and does not accurately depict the wearer.

People thought they sang because they were content. These songs were far from joyful, they would sing “…the most pathetic sentiment in the most rapturous tone…” and these songs would “… [breathe] the prayer and complaint of souls boiling over with the bitterest anguish.” (29). Douglass argues against the positive image of slavery that portrayed slaves to be

In “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Dunbar, the poet talks about human sorrow due to racism and it is demonstrated through symbolism, allusions, and personification. “We wear the mask that grins and lies” is symbolism because masks have long been used for deception or protection. In this poem, it is used as symbolism for both. In Dunbar’s poem, he describes everyone as needing these masks to hide their true feelings from the rest of the world and as personal protection from the views of others. “… O great Christ...” in line ten is an allusion to Jesus Christ.

To Kill A Mockingbird is a beautifully written piece of literature that illustrates the symbolism of a mockingbird. Harper Lee has created this to show how not only is it a sin to kill a mockingbird but also people who act in the same manner. Tom Robinson plays a major role as a mocking bird because he is discriminated against, knocked down, and doesn’t fight back harshly. All mockingbirds do is sing sweet songs in the treetops and the only thing they get in return is death. Tom Robinson, similarly, shows kindness toward others but gets hatred in exchange.

The poem elaborates the concept of virtue, temptation, and dishonesty, which I can connect to and knowledge from my experience. The Gawain Poet incorporates Sir Gawain’s behaviors with common human behaviors and flaws that people have. Although he is honorable knight, he is not a perfect character in the poem just like people having their own flaws. Many early poets and authors also create their works based on this fundamental imperfection a person has the in reality. In conclusion, based on my experience I connect to Sir Gawain because of the struggles and imperfection I have.

The song “Southern Man” is about a man with a bunch of black slaves and how the black slaves do not use violence, but instead hold back their frustration and do not go to violence. Just writing a song like this needs a man to be aware of his surroundings and think about what problems are going on. He also needs to be extremely confident in his song since it is attacking racism, a topic that is controversy. He played this song during his 1973 tour to promote anti-violence and anti-racism. Around this time, the native Americans in the US were in a very bad condition, they were being mistreated and thrown around like dirt.

another thing they say is you're weird learn how to act properly. Also the way a person talks if they have accents and someone might keep saying I understand you, speak clearly. This can affect others because they start feeling like if they are not enough and that they should change the way they are and also their cultured too. Another impact is that they might commit suicide so they do not get discriminated any more. This is the reason why we should accept people, no matter their race or how they look, therefore, people tend to commit suicide in situation in situations they should not because many people ignorances does not