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Paul L. Dunbar's They Wear The Mask

257 Words2 Pages

As I read, Paul L. Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask” I was interested in how he described what a mask represents. It is true that a mask was used to hide a person’s pain, emotion, or mood before the day known as Halloween developed. I love how Paul refers the use of the masks as a black or white person’s escape from other peoples’ worried faces. No one can ever understand what someone else is going through. People can never truly speak their truth or let out their suffering. Paul being one of few African Americans to speak his truths on the events he witnessed wrote this poem to show that no one should hide their thoughts or opinions behind a fake face or facial expression. The poem is like a fake speech on how the masks cannot shade your struggle.

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