Realism in Dunbar's "Douglass" and "We Wear the Mask"

Paul Laurence Dunbar demonstrates many key values of the literary genre of Realism in his two poems, "Douglass" and "We Wear the Mask." Of these many characteristics, Dunbar highlights the society of the time period, as well as the human nature exhibited by most at that time, and he uses figurative language to add to the effectiveness of the literature. In his poem "Douglass," Dunbar essentially calls on a past African American abolitionist for guidance in helping the current racist situation he and his brothers and sisters are dealing with (Dunbar "Douglass" 570). Dunbar exhibits the overall society of the time well in this particular poem by speaking entirely about the oppression felt by the African Americans. Next, in his poem "We Wear the Mask," Dunbar uses much figurative language to convey the message of wearing a mask of oppression as an African American (Dunbar "We Wear" 571). Along with this portrayal, Dunbar reveals a lot of human nature through this poem mainly consisting of people hiding their true emotions whether it would be for the best or not. In each of these poems at some point, Dunbar depicts life as it is really happening, which is very typical of Realism in general (Werlock). For example, in "We Wear the Mask," Dunbar speaks of African Americans wearing a mask of normality in order to hide their true pain and suffering (Dunbar "We Wear" 571). This aspect really sets the down for the entirety of each poem's message.

The human nature shown in the poem "We Wear the Mask" is very relevant to society as well the people of the time. Dunbar does an excellent job of fusing these two common features of Realism into one poem. Because of the hatred bestowed upon them, African Americans were forced to just sort of go along with the world with a smile on their faces even though they were cruelly oppressed (Dunbar "We Wear" 571). This demonstrates what really was happening in the late 1890's in terms of the different races in society. Many people in modern times hide behind emotional masks just as the African Americans are depicted as doing in this poem, which proves that it is simply human nature to sometimes hide our true feelings when times are tough. "Douglass" exhibits similar signs of the society when it was first written around the same time as "We Wear Masks." He presents similar ideals as his other poem, but in a different manner. He uses a piece of figurative language similar to allusion in which he calls upon Frederick Douglass, a former slave abolitionist, to give him guidance dealing with the oppression of African Americans in his own time period (Dunbar "Douglass" 570). But figurative language is used even more effectively in "We Wear Masks" especially in relation to Realism. Dunbar uses rhyming as well as a simple structure of his poem. This is common throughout Realism to give the work a more "to the point" tone and exhibit life as it really exists (Werlock). With the combination in each of these poems of representation of the society and more specifically the struggle of African Americans, effective use of figurative language, and human nature generally exhibited throughout time, Dunbar's works undoubtedly fall into the category of Realism.

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "Douglass." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. 570. Print.

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "We Wear the Mask." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. 571. Print.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Feb 15, 2011.