Analysis of We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar Essay -- Slavery

Analysis of We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar â€Å"We Wear the Mask† by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a renowned piece of literature that has been the subject of various literary criticisms over the years. Because of the poem’s indirectness and generalized ambiguity, the interpretation of the â€Å"we† that wears the â€Å"mask† and why they do so is left unanimously undisclosed. It is up to the interpreter and the support given by the interpreter to produce a valid representation of the meaning that lies beneath the mask. One such analysis of â€Å"We Wear the Mask† is presented by Peter Revell on page 71 of his book Paul Laurence Dunbar, which was published in 1979 by G. K. Hall & Co. Unfortunately, the given argument nearly shames the profoundness of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem with its brevity and lack of sufficient support. In Revell’s short and weak interpretation of Dunbar’s â€Å"We Wear the Mask,† he suggests that it is impossible for the non-black reader to draw inspiration or admonition from the subject matter, and that it was written from within a black experience and exclusively for a black audience. However, this analysis can be viewed as primarily invalid because as Revell makes this claim, he fails to provide solid evidence from the text that would fully booster his assumption. He merely pulls an entire stanza from the poem to illustrate his point, without referencing specific words or phrases that would elucidate his argument. If Revell were to have supplied more fully the evidence of Dunbar’s other poetry of the time, showing how it objectively displayed a black theme and straightforwardly addressed the injustices of slavery, then a parallel of similarity could have been drawn between the two and his... ...s one such â€Å"mask† that profoundly affected Dunbar personally. Revell failed to see the possibility that â€Å"We Wear the Mask† could represent anything but the turmoil the black slaves endured because of Dunbar’s disposition as a descendent of slaves. However, the interpretation that this poem speaks to all people is supported more fully through the text as a result of Dunbar’s use of the universal â€Å"we† in coercion with religious reference. All people wear this â€Å"mask† and until one figures out the most appropriate way to take it off, â€Å"the world dream otherwise† and all will continue to fool and be fooled by the world’s countless masks. Works Cited Revell, Peter. Paul Luarence Dunbar. United States of America: G.K. Hall & Co., 1979 Brawly, Benjamin. Paul Laurence Dunbar Poet of his People. New York: The University of North Carolina Press, 1936.