Paul Luarence Dunbar once wrote a sad poem called “We Wear the Mask”. While reading this short poem, many people would ask themselves the following questions: What is happening or what is the "Mask"?, Who is also happening? and Why does this happen?. Many questions would be asked about this poem from readers who don't know what's going on. In the 1960s, racial discrimination was a term used to describe terrible treatment of a group of people based on their race, color, or ethnicity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay To begin with, when Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote this poem, it was around the time slavery was being abolished. Even though Dunbar wrote this poem, he was still there to experience its horrible effects on racism and hatred towards black people. Some readers may not know who is wearing the mask. The mask wearers are African-American. They wore these masks to hide their true feelings and to do their best and fit in or be alone with white people. People may ask, “Was the mask real?” » no, the mask wasn't real, black people just pretended to smile when they were with white people. African Americans even sang songs to pretend they were happy. Paul Laurence Dunbar uses imagery in his poem to make readers better understand why African Americans had to wear “The Mask.” The images are used to talk about the struggles of black people. Most people reading this poem might be confused as to what the mask symbolizes? The mask symbolizes how African Americans must hide their true feelings and be who white people expect them to be. Black people were seen as stereotypes. The poem shows that black people should “hide” their emotions from society at large in order to get by. Using a mask to hide someone's feelings or emotions is called "double consciousness." Famous civil rights activist WEB Dubois wrote that African Americans can only survive if they play a role that whites have assigned them or can respect. During this time, African Americans are actually someone they are not. They live in two different worlds or lead two different lifestyles. They mask their emotions and act differently when they are in white society, but when they are with their own kind, they act normally. This particular poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar shows that African Americans had to pay the price for being black. In the poem it says "With torn and bleeding hearts we smile", meaning that black people had to live a life that made it seem like they were not worth being human. In the poem, the debt is paid to human cunning. Although Dunbar used imagery and symbolism, he also uses hyperbole. Stanza one line four “with torn and bleeding hearts we smile,” this particular line used by Dunbar is hyperbole. In the poem, this line meant that psychic wounds were being inflicted on black people. Paul also uses metaphors in his poem, stanza one line “we wear the mask that smiles and lies”. Dunbar put this particular line in his poem to make the reader understand that black people had to “mask” their true feelings and emotions towards white people. Paul Laruence Dunbar used several types of figurative language in his poem. In the meantime, while people around the world..