Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem "We Wear The Mask"

Some imagery for this beautiful poem for many that do not know written by Deanna.


Clay is a natural product in nature that is earthy, moist material but when fired
or intensely heated it becomes hard. This a metaphor, comparing the African Americans to the clay substance as a warning that provoking or being fired, and enraged causes them to become hardened to the world, to become calloused and eventually turn on the world completely. Dunbar describes this process as "vile", showing that he understands the repercussions of the bigot's actions and that he disapproves. He also understands that it is a journey "along the mile" to the point of acceptance and forgiveness, the end of the struggle, and that it cannot just end with one poem."But let the world dream otherwise", unaware of the intensity of the battle and continuing to think that everything can be fixed. Paul Laurence Dunbar obvisiously feels that people are blind to the injustice of racial discrimination. The way he discusses the world in a cloudy, dream-like divide further stresses the idea of the mask, concealing the outside from the in. Paul Laurence Dunbar's "We Wear The Mask" is loaded with duplicity in that every statement, while having it's own meaning, can be interpreted to support his theme of masquerade. This theme or main idea is very important to the purpose of this poem because it illustrates his opinions of how the world reacts and copes with racism. He did this by beautifully writing each word to be weighted with sensual meaning and to have two faces, such that of his mysterious mask.