Realism Project: Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar was one of the first African Americans to be nationally recognized for his writing. He excelled at what he did, especially as a writer. (Wilhelm, 568) Two of his more famous poems are "Douglass" and "We Wear The Mask." Both of these are examples of naturalism, a sub genre of the realism literary. Naturalism believed that the strongest would succeed over the weak, but they also thought that while the strong prevailed, there was sometimes where the strong could not control certain things. His two poems are both pieces of literature that deal with this concept.

"Ah, Douglass, we have fall'n on evil days, Such days as thou, not even thou didst know, When thee, the eyes of that harsh long ago Saw, salient, at the cross of devious ways, And all the country heard thee with amaze. Not ended then, the passionate ebb and flow, The awful tide that battled to and from; We ride amid a tempest of dispraise" (Dunbar, 570). This goes hand in hand with the definition of naturalism, because Frederick Douglass, whom the poem is about, is not able to for see or control the events that were coming.

In this poem, the hero is Frederick Douglass, and again, this is a perfect example of naturalism. Frederick Douglass was a very amazing and inspirational abolitionist. He was a strong man and made very many speeches to encourage people to abolish slavery. He could be considered one of the "fittest," for he was very strong and intelligent. Even though he was a very strong man, he could not control everything. For example, he could not control when the people chose to abolish slavery, even though he spoke strongly of ending right then. This point ties into the poem and into the meaning of naturalism.

In the second poem, "We Wear the Mask," by Laurence Dunbar, the same characteristics as the first poem "Douglass" are present. "We Wear the Mask is still considered to be part of the naturalism sub genre of realism. The following stanzas explain why it displays naturalism. "Why should the world be overwise, In counting all our tears and sights? Nay, let them only see us, while We wear the mask. We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries To thee from tortured souls arise. We sing, but oh the clay is vile Beneath our feet, and long the mile; But let the world dream otherwise, We wear the mask!" (Dunbar, 571)

People from the realism literary period had religion, but it was not a major part or influencer of their lives, like the Puritans. This poem shows that. Basically, this poem says that the slaves pray for being rescued from the oppression, but that is not what directly saves them. Rather, they continue on showing their strength and surviving, pretending like nothing is wrong, and all of this for the world. This agrees with naturalism, because they are still being strong and persevering, yet they cannot control the outcome. They do as much as they can, but whatever happens, happens. This is how the two poems relate to realism and naturalism.

Works Cited

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

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

Wilhelm, Jeffery. "Meet Paul Laurence Dunbar." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 568.