Dunbar's Works

"Douglass" and "We Wear the Mask" are both written by Paul Laurence Dunbar and also both demonstrate many of the traits of Realism, as well as some from Regionalism and Naturalism. These are both poems and they both have a sad edge to them. In "We Wear the Mask", Dunbar talks about the "masks" that people wear in the world to conceal what they are really feeling (Dunbar "We Wear"). Because of this, "We Wear the Mask" immediately seems like it will exhibit a lot of Realism, simply because everyone in the world knows what it is like to hide their feelings, thoughts, and emotions from people around them. "Douglass" also conveys Realism because Dunbar talks about how people used Douglass as a reassurance and as someone to look up to during the abolitionist movement of the mid eighteen hundreds (Dunbar "Douglass"). This is also relative to Realism because the people are looking for some kind of hero to look up to (Campbell "Realism"). Douglass resumes the role of the hero, in a way, and gives the people what they want (Dunbar "Douglass").

In "We Wear the Mask", Dunbar says that no one really shows the world who they really are, because they hide behind masks so that the world will see them in a certain way, and that people do not want the rest of the world to catch them with their guard down (Dunbar "We Wear"). Because of this, no one can really tell what a person is really like underneath the facade they present to the world and all the people in it. People can form opinions about each other, but they will never really know the truth. This is a very sad fact that could very well be true. There are plenty of people who never reveal themselves for who they really are, whether it be a good or bad thing. The emotions in the poem and the reality of how people present themselves make this very realistic (Campbell "Realism"). "Douglass" is part of Realism as well because, like I said before, Douglass was a sort of hero to people in the abolitionist movement while he was still a real, hardworking person (Dunbar "Douglass"). Douglass was the hero in Dunbar's poem, and probably rightfully so due to all of his work for women's rights and equality, as well as abolitionism.

Along with being pretty realistic, the poems both also have a tone of sadness. While they are very much a part of Realism, I do not think they can really be classified as Naturalism poems. There is no real scientific or analytical thinking involved, but there is also not a lot of emphasis on God or the idea of religion in general. They are both also emotional and they are in the moment, not looking toward the past or the future. Society plays a part in the two works, because they are portrayed in a couple of different ways. In "We Wear the Mask", society is not really reliable because everyone is apparently being fake in someway and not to be trusted(Dunbar "We Wear"). There was also no real connection to Regionalism, because Dunbar does not talk about specific places or settings, which is actually pretty common in poems like "We Wear the Mask" and "Douglass". The author does not place any significance on the setting, so the reader can infer that it is not important. Religion and government do not play a real part in the works either, except for a couple of mentions in "Douglass" because of the political part of abolitionism and women's rights.

Campbell, Donna M. "Realism in American Literature, 1860-1890." Literary Movements. Dept. of English, Washington State University. Web 21 March 2010.
http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/realism.htm

Dunbar, Paul L. ""Douglass"/"We Wear the Mask"" American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Douglas Fisher, Beverly A. Chin, and Jacqueline J. Royster. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. 568-71. Print.