''We Wear the Mask'' BY Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872-1906, written in 1895
We Wear the Mask
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,-
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!
The African-American slaves of the early United States are prime examples of how emotions can be repressed. This group of people was treated with such disrespect and humiliation that it is understandable why they would mask their true thoughts and their emotions. To make their daily lives easier, they spoke and acted the ways that their white owners dictated. Their lives had, to a point, been taken away from them. But, there were some things that could never be taken away from them: their inner strength and their spirituality. No matter how a slave was treated, how hard he had to work, or how little he had, hedid have total control of his own thoughts and beliefs. Those things could never be taken from him.
This poem cries out with the hurt that African-Americans, throughout history, suffered with. To be able to endure this daily persecution, these people had to draw on their inner strength. When Dunbar wrote,"With torn and bleeding hearts we smile," it is obvious of the agony felt and of how a smile is sometimes worn in order to camouflage one's true emotions.
A deep, religious faith was a saving grace to these people as a whole. One's spirituality can carry them through even the most dreadful situations. This idea is evident when Dunbar penned the lines, "we smile,but, O great Christ, our cries To thee from tortured souls arise." When all else had failed, slaves could pray and feel that God had heard them. At last, their cries would be heard, their prayers answered, andtheir hearts relieved.
We all have hide our emotions at one time or another. We put on false faces and pretend for many different reasons. We all lie, in one form or another, be it a big lie or a little white one. Whether it be to save our self or the feelings of another we should all remember the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Luke 6:31)." When you stop lying to others you stop lying to yourself and start living your life. One should learn from the past, live today to it's fullest, and take off that mask sothat you can clearly see what lies ahead.
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,-
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!
The African-American slaves of the early United States are prime examples of how emotions can be repressed. This group of people was treated with such disrespect and humiliation that it is understandable why they would mask their true thoughts and their emotions. To make their daily lives easier, they spoke and acted the ways that their white owners dictated. Their lives had, to a point, been taken away from them. But, there were some things that could never be taken away from them: their inner strength and their spirituality. No matter how a slave was treated, how hard he had to work, or how little he had, hedid have total control of his own thoughts and beliefs. Those things could never be taken from him.
This poem cries out with the hurt that African-Americans, throughout history, suffered with. To be able to endure this daily persecution, these people had to draw on their inner strength. When Dunbar wrote,"With torn and bleeding hearts we smile," it is obvious of the agony felt and of how a smile is sometimes worn in order to camouflage one's true emotions.
A deep, religious faith was a saving grace to these people as a whole. One's spirituality can carry them through even the most dreadful situations. This idea is evident when Dunbar penned the lines, "we smile,but, O great Christ, our cries To thee from tortured souls arise." When all else had failed, slaves could pray and feel that God had heard them. At last, their cries would be heard, their prayers answered, andtheir hearts relieved.
We all have hide our emotions at one time or another. We put on false faces and pretend for many different reasons. We all lie, in one form or another, be it a big lie or a little white one. Whether it be to save our self or the feelings of another we should all remember the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Luke 6:31)." When you stop lying to others you stop lying to yourself and start living your life. One should learn from the past, live today to it's fullest, and take off that mask sothat you can clearly see what lies ahead.
@ Sister Irma,
I can see how you could arrive at your interpretation of the poem speaking of PERSONALITY, but it could also speak to covering up or hiding one's true feelings. I'd like to add that although there are many meanings listed for the word "Mask", I believe the meaning of mask can also be reflected in this definition; " a manner or expression that hides one's true character or feelings" taken from oxford online dictionary>>>
[We Wear the Mask -We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,...]
I've encounted many patients over the years who hide behind masks because they for one reason or another don't know how to cope with their situations whether that be financial, marital, parental, or professionalyl. I've also run into people who act like they are something they really are not. Lastly, I've encountered sisters and brothers who don't know how to take the mask off and those who don't want to take it off. The bigger question that I would like to ask you is why is it so difficult for us to take the masks off when we are among one another? I've never understood this, but when something is going on like Racism, we pretend that we are so unified. Thus the mask of "False Unity" continues.
Any thoughts on how we can finally remove these masks?