Michael Hanson ENG3520-01 Masks We all wear masks. The mask is not always part of a costume or for a specific holiday. The masks we sometimes wear are to hide a part of us. Perhaps we are hiding our sadness at the death of loved one or our anger at some result. The mask might be to hide who we are to those that should not know our true selves. We can see masks in everything, from actors in moves to authors of books to writers of poetry. These masks can take many forms as we see but this also extends to the characters in the poems and the poems themselves. What this means is that the writers of early African-American poetry had to hide their true selves, their true feelings, in order to get their poetry published. Early poetry, …show more content…
How it hides what you truly want to say. Wearing a mask that outwardly shows compliance while truly hating everything about the situation. The African-American poet has a long history of poetry about freedom and hope and patriotism. When we consider that Africans were brought over as slaves and treated as a commodity, it is a little odd to see them write of patriotism and freedom. This was done so that the white publishers would allow their poetry to be printed. They coerced the white man with their words. This is a grand feat considering how they were treated in the 1800 's. To be able to convince a, most likely, slave owner to publish poetry written by a slave says a lot about the strength of the words. I believe that there is more than one way to use the patriotism and freedom. Just because you are not from the country you are in, one can indeed be patriotic towards the ideals that country was founded on even if the history of blacks in America is a history rich with strife and struggle. Patriotism is defined as a devotion to one 's country and concern for its defense. After a few generations of slaves have born and died in America they were no longer people brought from Africa. After a few generations they would be considered African-Americans and not just Africans. African-American poets wrote some of the most emotional poetry. While the majority of their poetry was aimed at slaves, their messages can apply to anyone going through tough times. Their message can apply to anyone hiding their emotions and 'putting on a brave face ' as the saying goes. Their poetry 's message is hidden behind a
Saeed Jones’s debut poetry collection, Prelude to Bruise (2016), is an essential contemporary piece of work comprised of narrative free verse’s that tackle an African-American historical past that is present in our existing society. During the 1960’s African American Studies began to be implemented in American universities due to the Civil Rights Movement and the rise of Black Nationalism (penguin dictionary). While the title of the collection implies the commencement of bruising and its inescapability, the growth of the poems throughout indicate steady progress in our society. Much of the collections focus is on historical contexts of Jones past and beyond, integrating brutality, race, violence and power. An African-American Studies reading of the collection reveals that the brutal past of African-Americans still weighs on modern society.
America The Not So Beautiful America is known as the land of the free and home of the brave, but the reality is that not everyone in America was free. This essay is about the influence black romantic writers have on their readers and how black Americans today can relate to the topics of the writings. I will include information about the writings of Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. While reading the works of these three writers I noticed some recurring themes within their experiences.
They way that the African Americans told their stories through the stuff they did spoke to other African Americans. In the 1920s the word “Negro” entered the American vocabulary. No longer would Africans silently endure the old ways of discrimination. In the work of the artists and writers explored the pains and joys
Back in the day, men wore masks to hide their identity so they could go around town and beg for offerings to help make their gumbo, but today masks are worn to hide the identity of revelers. Mardi gras face masks have a tradition which goes back to centuries, and they represent a number of many different things. The most common and oldest mask is the Colombina, which only covers the eyes and mouth of the person wearing it. It is worn to represent a person who is loving and intelligent. Another most common type of mask is a red and black mask that covers the whole face of a person which you will see throughout the entire city of New Orleans.
Langston Hughes wrote Let America be America Again explaining that he was never an equal or free in America. He also didn’t just focus on blacks, he also wrote “I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek.” (Hughes 8). Hughes explained that nobody in America is treated right unless a wealthy white man.
Such personification mirrors Dunbar’s use of figurative language, which relates the poems in more ways than one. Dunbar touches on human features such as cheeks and eyes in his poem but also uses a spiritual element to advance his point of view. Furthermore, “We Wear the Mask” was written in 1896; a period in American history that was post-slavery but still had widespread discrimination. The spiritual connotation within Dunbar’s poem can allude to African American churches and/or the hymns slaves sung on plantations. Nevertheless, the struggle of African Americans is a symbol of both presented
More than that, African – American literature presented the African - American experience from an African - American point of view. In the early republic, African – American literature represented a way for free blacks to negotiate their new identity in an individualized republic. They often tried to exercise their political and social autonomy in the face of resistance from the White public .Thus, an early theme of African - American literature was, like other American writings, what it meant to be a citizen in post –Revolutionary
In Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem, “We Wear the Mask” the speaker wears a mask to hide his internal suffering because he does not want the rest of the world to think he is weak. This poem relates the prejudice black people face against white people. The speaker starts the poem with the lines, “We wear the mask that grins and lies,” (1). Here he describes the kind of “masks” that he wears.
He utilizes the mask when he says that “I was brought up in America but educated at Oxford…” (Fitzgerald ##). He wants everyone including Nick Carraway, the narrator, to know that he is a valuable and worthy person. However, it backfires when Nick Carraway says “I knew why
Oppression is a continuous issue in societies globally. In United States history African Americans are a prime example of people that have been oppressed. During the 1800s and 1900s many reforms took place that was to help advance the lives of African Americans. Although the reforms were put into place African Americans continued to live in a society which they were oppressed, degraded, and seen as inferior. From this period of U.S. history many works of literature were created that expressed their views on how to approach and resolve the issue of oppression.
The mask is the hard shell that young men are expected to face the world with. They are expected to show only their best selves and hide their insecurities and worries. The mask is incredibly relatable to the social construction of gender, because it was created through the social construction of gender. Young males would not need to create a mask and live behind it if society didn 't force them too.
In 1773, there were slaves all over colonial America working in plantations, and cleaning their masters houses. It wasn’t common for a slave to be writing poetry with their owners consent. Phyllis Wheatley’s success as the first African American published poet was what inspired generations to tell her story. It was her intellectual mind and point of view that made her different from others, both black and white. Phyllis’s story broke the barrier for all African American writers, and proved that no matter the gender or race, all human beings are capable of having an intelligent state of mind.
The poem I chose to analyze is We Wear the Mask, written by Paul Lawrence Dunbar in 1896. Its theme is about hiding our true feelings and emotions, and lying about who we are. When looking at Dunbar’s life history, and the political context at the time, we understand that he efficiently uses this theme in order to talk about how black people have to hide how they feel about their social status and the treatment they receive from white people. He conveys the theme to the audience thanks to a clever word choice. Indeed, he talks about “grin” and “smile”, using facial expressions as a description of the mask (Dunbar, lines 1 & 4).
The poem I, Too, Sing America written by Langston Hughes shortly after World War II in 1945, is a lyrical poem about the neglected voices in America as a response to the Poem “I hear America singing.” During this time, African Americans were oppressed in society and they did not have equal rights to Caucasians. This poem expresses Langston Hughes hope for the future where black people are not oppressed when equality is achieved between races. This poem helps assert Langston Hughes’ ideas of racial pride, hope, and equality. Many black people fought in the war and after it ended, they still did not have equality, which caused questions of why they were not equal if they fought against another country.
Throughout the course of African American Experience in Literature, various cultural, historical, and social aspects are explored. Starting in the 16th century, Africa prior to Colonization, to the Black Arts Movement and Contemporary voice, it touches the development and contributions of African American writers from several genres of literature. Thru these developments, certain themes are constantly showing up and repeating as a way to reinforce their significances. Few of the prominent ideas in the readings offer in this this course are the act of be caution and the warnings the authors try to portray. The big message is for the readers to live and learn from experiences.