English - College Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

English - College Literature - Essay Example The tone of despair and anger underlines a theme of hidden suffering, where people cover up their feelings, only expressing them in prayer, â€Å"We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries / To thee from tortured souls arise.† (1. 0-11). The speaker is not definable as male or female, young or old, but has a voice that could apply to many, as the poet shares the suffering experiences across a whole range of humanity, evidenced by the use of â€Å"we†. The metaphor of â€Å"the mask that grins and lies,† (l. 1) and the reason for using this protection, â€Å"Nay, let them only see us while / We wear the mask† (l. 8-9), signified how people may hurt inside for many reasons but want to hide the pain. It seemed to be a matter of pride, as in â€Å"why should the world be over-wise, / In counting all our tears and sighs?† (l. 6-7), to keep the suffering hidden. Dunbar was a child of slaves and he understood the suffering of slavery. But the concept of covering up our pain can apply to anyone; the mask is a symbol of the human need to protect itself. Often, at school or hanging out with friends, somebody can say something hurtful, maybe as a joke, so we smile or laugh in response, pretending not to be vulnerable and covering up our hurt. The poet expressed exactly how much we hurt and how the pretence can damage us. He makes us feel other’s pain and relate it to our own, and maybe realize that if we take off the mask, we could suffer less and become stronger. â€Å"Incident†, with the simple, repetitive rhythms of a child’s sung rhyme and point of view, gives a difference perspective on how people hurt each other. The boy speaker, most likely the poet, recalled a childhood memory with an ironic tone that suggests he had risen above that experience. Though the poem reads like a child telling a story, with true rhyme such as â€Å"glee† (l. 2) and â€Å"me† (l. 4), â€Å"bigger† (1. 6) and â€Å"nigger† (l. 8), its message is stark. The theme of racism and its