"We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

When reading the poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar, the poem that jumped out to me the most was “We Wear the Mask”. The poem tells of the mask of happiness and gratefulness that the slaves were forced to wear in the presence of their owners. Just like Grandison in “The Passing of Grandison”, slaves were supposed to appear happy and content in their condition in slavery and hide their true desires of freedom. Dunbar writes that “With torn and bleeding hearts [they] smile,” telling of the slaves pain hidden behind the smiles that they are expected to wear (ln. 7). The last stanza reveals the inner thoughts of the slaves and the private prayers that they call out to God. Their suffering was hidden behind the mask and they “let the world dream otherwise” (ln. 15), just like the Colonel in “The Passing of Grandison”. The slave owners chose to believe that their slaves were in the best possible situation that they could find themselves. The belief was that the African Americans required the help and guidance of the White Americans. The position of slavery was often looked at as a role similar to that of a child under the care of apparent. I find this incredibly ironic, especially since the real children of the plantation owners would never be asked to work as a slave. I am currently reading Gone With the Wind and cannot ever see Scarlett O’Hara being required to work by her family as her father’s slaves do. I believe that the views of the plantation owners were only superficially accepted and that deep down, they knew that they were lying to themselves. I do not see how they could hold such false notions while treating other humans so inhumanly.

Charles Chestnutt's Hidden Message

Today we discussed “The Goophered Grapevine” and “Dave’s Neckliss,” both by Charles Chestnutt. While reading through “Dave’s Neckliss” I was struck by the horrible treatment that Dave received and how little the owner investigated into the thievery that was blamed on him. I did not, however, quite grasp the real tragedy of the story beyond the fact that Dave lost his mind due to the unjust treatment he received. Dave not only lost his fiancé, his friends, the trust of his master, and his position as pastor for the slaves, he also lost his entire identity. Dave became no more than the slab of ham that was hung around his neck for a month or more. He was treated inhumanly and it resulted in him losing his identity as a human. The comedy behind a person seeing themselves as a ham creates a blind spot in the story where it is difficult to see the real deep sadness beneath the surface of the tale. “Dave’s Neckliss” is a real tragedy that numerous slaves experienced due to the inhumane treatment that they received at the hands of the people who viewed them as nothing more than a piece of property and a slab of meat with only the benefit of being able to work. It was a real eye opener when this was brought to my attention in class. It made me really think about the meaning behind “The Goophered Grapevine” and search out any missing details that I may have overlooked initially. Despite the general silliness that these stories encompass, I think it is important to dig deep into the lesson that Chestnutt would have us learn. There is a lot said in the tale of “Dave Nickliss” that can be overlooked if the reader is not careful to see past the comedy that Chestnutt uses to disguise the sad and horrific truth that slavery in the south inspired.

Mary Wilkins Freeman

First of all, I have to say that I love Freeman's writing. I have now read several of her works and have found them all fascinating. One thing that was brought to my attention today that I failed to pick up during my reading was the many similarities between the tale of Old Woman Magoun and Snow White. This was just touched on at the end of class, but I looked back over the story and found it to be quite true. Lily is an innocent young girl of near marrying age whose beauty catches the attention of the men in the town. Her grandmother is very possessive of Lily and, although kind and generous to her, holds obvious power over the people in the town. Magoun is very protective of her granddaughter's purity to a possessive extent and is willing to murder the child to keep it to herself. She treats Lily kindly until the moment when she realizes that Lily must marry and give up her innocence to someone else. At this point in the story, the grandmother becomes harsh. This is similar to Snow White because the wicked witch only becomes a threat to Snow White when she realizes that she no longer possesses the greatest beauty. This happens once Snow White reaches a mature age and becomes an object of attraction to men.

There is also the reoccurring sour apple within the story that gets blamed for both Lily's and her mother's deaths. We discover that Lily has actually been poisoned, like Snow White, which brings to question the death of the mother. The grandmother is revealed to be a selfish and jealously possessive woman who could be compared to the wicked step mother in the tale of Snow White. I am thinking about writing my paper on this topic, so any feedback about this idea is greatly appreciated.