We Wear the Mask

WE WEAR THE MASK

DO YOU EMPATHISE WITH THE SPEAKER OF THE POEM?WHAT ACTION WOULD YOU TAKE IF YOU FOUND YOUSELF LIVING UNDER SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES?

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This is asking for your opinion rather than mine. I can sympathise with the speaker but I have never felt the cultural or race trauma that he has faced. How can one heal from physical and psychological trauma? While Dunbar does not present a clear-cut solution, he explores the various ways in which these experiences of trauma are expressed: One might seek solace in religion ("O great Christ, our cries To thee from tortured souls arise"); one might use art as an outlet ("[w]e sing"). None of these mechanisms, however, fully resolve the masqueraders' pain. Dunbar critiques a bleak, apathetic, and violent society in which victims have no choice but to hide their trauma from their oppressors.