The poems “We Wear the Mask” and “Sympathy” are two poems written by a man named Paul Laurence Dunbar. Dunbar was an African American in a White society. He grew up in a society where he was oppressed even after the emancipation of slavery. He was mainly oppressed in his writing career and is not recognized for his poetry until after his death. It is not until then that people discover Dunbar’s intelligence in poetry. Dunbar uses his poetry as a vehicle to confront racial issues in society. His poetry mainly speaks about racism because of how he is treated in his writing career. He does not only speak out about racism for himself, but for all African Americans being oppressed. Through his poetry “We Wear the Mask” and “Sympathy,” Paul Laurence Dunbar confronts racial issues and promotes racial equality through metaphors, symbolism, and imagery.

The metaphors in both poems “We Wear the Mask” and “Sympathy” is very similar.

Dunbar’s metaphors most commonly represent African Americans being oppressed in one way or another. In his poem “We Wear the Mask,” his main metaphor is the mask in the poem. The mask is portrayed as covering up the true feelings of the narrator and the African American race in general: “We Wear the Mask that grins and lies” (Dunbar 654). In society during Dunbar’s time, African Americans are seen as inferior to people of white ethnicity. They have to put on this act and conform to opinions in society whether they personally believe these opinions or not. When someone thinks of wearing a mask, it is interpreted as covering up or hiding what is underneath the mask. In this poem, the mask is covering African Americans and their true selves, emotions, and opinions (“We Wear the Mask” 256). Another metaphor is the narrator of the

poem who is involved in wearing the mask. The narrator of the poem is interpreted as an African American facing the oppression of his or her race. In the narrator reading this poem, he or she would have to take his or her mask off for a second and become vulnerable in order to express his or her true feelings. This is difficult because after putting up this fake persona for so long, finally taking off the mask can become challenging. Taking the mask off brings the possibility of humiliation for expressing one’s true self, especially at a time when African Americans are thought of as inferior to other races (Keeling). Similar to “We Wear the Mask,” in Dunbar’s poem “Sympathy,” he mainly symbolizes ideas having to do with race. The caged bird in “Sympathy” is a metaphor for African Americans: “the bird forced to perform within confinement, could be taken as suggesting the slavery African Americans endured in the United States” (“Sympathy” 204). The bird is constantly pushed back into confinement no matter how hard it tries to find a way out in each attempt to free itself, the bird is hurt more. This represents African Americans trying to break free from societal stereotypes and opinions, but each time they are pushed back into conformity (“Sympathy” 204). Dunbar personally experiences this push to conformity in the writing community: “By being stereotyped early on as that great anomaly, a black poet, who could only properly interpret his race through dialect, Dunbar felt like an animal in a zoo” (“Sympathy” 212). Dunbar’s work is never given a chance until after his death and Dunbar is never freed from his cage until after death. The cage itself is a metaphor for what is suppressing the African American race: “his cage, which has been built by the white man’s view of how a black man is supposed to behave” (Allen). The cage represents the White race enslaving the African Americans. The oppression from society is strong and the more African Americans rebel, the more they suffer (“Sympathy” 204). The metaphors in both poems portray African Americans and their oppressors.

Symbolism in “We Wear the Mask” and “Sympathy” expresses some effects of racism. In “We Wear the Mask,” acceptance is a big symbol: “Nay, let them only see us, while/ We Wear the Mask” (Dunbar 256). The only way African Americans could be accepted in the eyes of society would be through the false character they build over time. The people of this time period are close-minded to the idea that African Americans are not inferior in any way: “Why should the world be over-wise/ In counting all our tears and sighs” (Dunbar 256). Dunbar is expressing how the world feels as if it cannot be bothered with caring for African Americans. All of these examples of African Americans being oppressed and ridiculed ultimately lead to the cause of all the lies. The lies that African Americans convince themselves and other people. Because they are not allowed to speak their minds, they “agree” with all opinions and stereotypes, betraying their authentic selves, values, and beliefs. Many times Africans who put on this act and were seen as happy were able to do so based on their faith: “The mask that grins or pretends to be happy, possibly a reference to the stereotype of the happy and dancing plantation slave” (“We Wear the Mask” 257). Faith did get many African Americans through hard times, but the stereotype that they were all happy by dancing and praising to God continued this web of lies. These false hopes and far fetched truths of the lives of these men and women made hearing the beautiful lie easier than hearing the ugly truth (“We Wear the Mask” 257). In “Sympathy,” African Americans are confined by these lies and the lies of Whites: “For he must fly back to his perch and cling” (Dunbar 203). These lies of fake persona build the walls of the cage stronger. African Americans do not want to conform to society, but they are never free to express themselves without being judged. These people were restrained to live in this societal box they can never step out of: “I know why the caged bird beats his wing!” (Dunbar 203).  No matter how many times someone would try to step out of this box he or she was forced into, her or she would always be forced back in. Dunbar is also symbolized through his poem, “He was refused white collar work because of his race, forced to work in the confinement of an elevator and the barred library stacks that were the inspiration for the poem” (“Sympathy” 204). Even though he lived after slavery was abolished, he still faced discrimination as his recent ancestors did. Although Dunbar was a very intelligent man, he could never convince the people of the time otherwise. It was not until after his death that Dunbar was acknowledged for his intelligence in his work. Although Dunbar was finally accredited for his work, as symbolized in his poems many African Americans were still not granted acceptance in society. All racial issues Dunbar writes about stem from the lack of acceptance in society.

Lastly, imagery is what really gets to most people’s emotions because it makes one picture a scenario or emotion. Dunbar's poems does a good job of capturing the emotions of African Americans. In “We Wear the Mask,” the most obvious image is the mask itself: “We wear the mask that grins and lies” (Dunbar 654). This causes one to picture a literal mask covering up a face and smiling, which is what Dunbar is trying to portray. Dunbar also uses the imagery: “With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,” to portray the broken hearts of many African Americans (Dunbar 654). Describing their hearts as torn and bleeding adds detail that makes one sympathize with them. More detail makes one think more and feels more compassion during the reading. In “Sympathy,” Dunbar starts the poem with beautiful landscapes and scenery: “When the sun is bright on the upland slopes/ When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass” (Dunbar 900). This draws the reader to picture a warm sunny day but then turns the reader's attention to the reality of the caged bird. On a beautiful day, the bird should be free, but it is facing yet another day of confinement. This shows the reader what the bird is missing out on by being stuck in the cage (“Sympathy” 203). Dunbar visualizes the result of the bird's efforts to escape confinement: “When his wing is bruised and bosom sore” (Dunbar 900). After the reader visualizes the bird attempting to escape the cage, the reader then visualizes the bird’s bruises from its effort. This once again causes the reader to sympathize with the caged bird. When the reader interprets the caged bird as African Americans, he or she can start to sympathize with them. Because of this, Dunbar uses imagery as an instrument to draw emotion from his readers.

Using metaphor, symbolism, and imagery, Paul Laurence Dunbar combats racial issues and promotes equality in his poems. Using metaphors in “We Wear the Mask,” Dunbar portrays a mask as covering up the true feelings of oppressed African Americans. He also portrays the narrator as taking off the mask in order to read the poem and become vulnerable to the emotions that come with the poem. Using metaphors in “Sympathy,” Dunbar portrays the caged bird as African Americans and the cage itself as the bird's White oppressors. Through symbolism in “We Wear the Mask,” Dunbar focuses on the lack of acceptance in society as well as the lies or false personas that come with lack of accepting African Americans, authentic selves. Symbolism in “Sympathy,” expresses the confinement African Americans felt on a daily basis during Dunbar’s lifetime. It also expresses the personal confinement and oppression that Dunbar himself felt during his writing career. Lastly, through imagery Dunbar stirs emotions within his readers. In “We Wear the Mask,” Dunbar uses images of the mask and the torn and bleeding hearts of African Americans to cause readers to sympathize with them. In “Sympathy,” Dunbar visualizes beautiful and peaceful scenery to give the readers a taste of happiness before turning to the reality of the poem. After the peaceful imagery, Dunbar soon paints a picture of the reality of life for African Americans and how during that time the peaceful image was difficult to obtain. Dunbar has lived a life of oppression making him the perfect advocate for equality. Most issues today stem from a lack of acceptance and equality in society. Throughout Dunbar’s poems, one thing remains constant, and this is his portrayal of African Americans and their lack of equality.