We Wear the Mask Paul Dunbar's "We Wear the Mask" was published in the late 1800s, a time when African Americans, like Paul Dunbar, were treated very badly and had access to very few rights. During this time a lot of changes were happening and people were having a hard time coming to terms with it. African Americans in particular found themselves trapped in a culture that wasn't right for them. Dunbar expresses these feelings with tone, which is shown by misery, anger, and unhappiness. He uses the metaphor of wearing a mask to express the general oppression of African Americans during this time period. Dunbar uses a lot of figurative language in this poem. He uses the word “we” to speak on behalf of the entire African American population and himself. He does this because he is painfully aware of the status his race lives in. Throughout this poem, Paul Dunbar illustrates the horrible injustices they had to suffer while "wearing the mask" to hide their true emotions behind a smile. I chose a few lines from the poem "We Wear the Mask" to break down and show what each line really means through the figurative language Dunbar uses. I chose to look at lines 1 through 11, and 14 and 15. In lines 1 and 2, "We wear the mask that smiles and lies, hides our cheeks and shades our eyes" shows that they do not portray their true selves to each. other. They act as if they are someone else because they are afraid of the judgment they might receive for showing their true self. They want to be accepted for who they are and the only way to do that is to act like their surroundings. Only in this way do they feel recognized in society. The use of "we" is to state that it's not just Dunbar who feels this way, it's either... middle of paper... offering them that hope. “We smile” shows us that they are capable of smiling from the inside because they know that their soul is in the hands of Christ and that through this He takes on all their suffering and pain. “Tortured Souls Arise” tells us that they no longer have control of the difficulties they are going through, they have given it to Christ to control them. Lines 14 and 15, “But let the world dream differently, let us wear the mask!” it shows us that these people's worldly responsibilities are simply put aside and are dreamed of as if they don't matter. The speaker shows us once again that it is easier for them to simply accept the mask and avoid the truth than it is to face them and accept them for who they are selflessly. While people who wear masks are not dreaming at all, they are more so in a nightmare than in a peaceful dream.