We Wear the Mask

I think Paul Dunbar viewed life for African Americans in a very poor light. He felt as though he had to hide behind a mask because reality was too hard to deal with. The African Americans were treated very poorly and unfairly. They were forced to obey the orders of their masters and were looked down upon by the white race.

When Dunbar wrote this poem, there was a lot of discrimination against African Americans. Slavery and unequal rights were in effect. They could not attend certain schools or go into certain places due to their race.

Although there have been many changes in society since this poem was written, there is still a lot of meaning to the words of the poem. Unfortunately, people are still being judged by their appearance. Wether it be race, sex or just physical features, society still does not accept someone that is "different".

When I read this poem, it reminded me of the movie " Mask", starring Cher and Eric Stoltz. In this movie, the character known as Rocky has a facial deformity and has to use what he has on the inside in order for others to look past his "mask". It is sort of the opposite of the mask from the poem, which tries to hide the inside or the true self.