In 1917-1938, the Harlem Renaissance was in full swing. In a small neighborhood in New York called Harlem, blacks were beginning to gain social, cultural and artistic freedom. Black poets, writers, musicians, and scholars flocked to Harlem in search of this new freedom, yet many poets wrote about the difficulties they faced due to racism in expressing their feelings against oppression. In “We Wear the Mask” and “Sympathy,” Paul Laurence Dunbar depicts the harmful effects of racism through the use of symbolism, violent imagery, and a dark mood to develop the theme that oppression by society it causes a desire for freedom among minorities. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Dunbar uses symbolism to explain that oppression by society causes the desire for freedom. During the time these poems were written, black people were still being treated badly by white people and were looking for a way to end the oppression. In his poem “Sympathy,” Dunbar writes, “I know what the caged bird feels” (ll. 1, 7). He uses the caged bird to symbolize the oppressed black minority. A bird, by nature, wants to be free and in its natural habitat it can go wherever it wants. However, a caged bird cannot go far; it is limited to where it can go. In the historical period described by Dunbar, blacks were also limited in where they could and could not go. Blacks were not allowed to socialize with whites. They were forced to maintain distance through segregated facilities such as bathrooms and drinking fountains. While whites could do whatever they wanted, like birds in their natural habitat, blacks were segregated, like caged birds. This restriction that blacks faced led them to want to be equal and free like whites. In “We Wear the Mask,” Dunbar writes that “we wear the mask that smiles and lies” (l. 1). Dunbar uses the mask to symbolize the hidden feelings felt by the black majority as a whole. By saying that “we wear the mask” (Dunbar l. 1), he explains that not only he or a select few feel the effects of oppression; it's the entire black community. The mask worn by the black community was a facade to hide pain and suffering. By mirroring the feelings of free and unrestricted whites, they created an illusion of freedom. In “Mask: Hypocrite Bared in South House,” Erin Perkins echoes the symbolism in “We Wear the Mask.” Perkins writes that "their 'masks' are meant to disguise their flawed behaviors and backgrounds for the benefit of those watching" (Perkins 1). The mask provides a false sense of freedom to provide a sense of comfort to the white community. It allows white people to not recognize the oppression that black people face. With the illusion of freedom in place, white people can ignore the problems of racism. Since they do not see the suffering of the black community, they do not feel obligated to make a change in society, demonstrating that a false sense of freedom allows oppression to continue. Next, Dunbar uses violent imagery to explain that oppression by society causes a desire for freedom. Through the use of artistic expression, Black people fought for freedom by writing about freedom until they ran out of topic. In “Sympathy,” Dunbar writes, “I know why the caged bird beats his wing / Till his blood runs red on the cruel bars” (ll. 8-9). Sympathize with the caged bird. The bird is so desperate to escape the cage that it is willing to attempt escape until it is exhausted and injured.Just like the bird, blacks during the Harlem Renaissance were desperate to escape the restrictions caused by racism. Despair and the desire for freedom lead to many protests and other forms of resistance to gain artistic freedom. These attempts helped convey the desire to achieve freedom. Another example occurs when Dunbar writes that the bird's wing "is wounded and sore in his breast, - / when he beats the bars and is free" (ll. 16-17). The bird fights in its cage until the exhaustion to demonstrate how much he wants freedom; the bird wouldn't hurt himself and exhaust himself trying to get it. Eleanor Alexander, a writer for New York University Press, remembers memorizing the poems of Dunbar as a child; the black community saw him as their hero. She agrees that violent imagery plays a role in the desire for freedom, and in this sense explains that the flapping bird "is a dark one." parable of white oppression and tortured black identity" (Alexander 2). He further explains that the story of the bird desperately struggling to gain freedom from its cage is a clear representation of blacks struggling to gain freedom in a world where they are oppressed by whites. Finally, Dunbar uses a dark tone to express that oppression by white people. society causes a desire for freedom. Dunbar transports the reader into the role of a black American during the Harlem Renaissance to further explain the desire for freedom. For example, Dunbar writes “With hearts torn and bleeding we smile” (l. 4). It expresses the effects of racism through “torn and bleeding hearts” (Dubar l. 4). After many years of racism through segregation and slavery, the black community as a whole is degraded. They don't have the motivation to continue fighting for freedom. Pessimism has taken over the mentality of the black community, so African Americans put on a smile as a facade to hide the fact that they are torn and bleeding. And this pessimism felt by the black community radiates to the reader. The black community uses false freedom to mask the uncertainty of their real freedom. Black people want freedom so much, even though false freedom under racism is better than no freedom. Furthermore, Dunbar writes “When he beats his bars and could be free; / It is not a song of joy or happiness, / But a prayer that he sends from the bottom of his heart” (ll. 17-18). Dunbar explains that the caged bird is not singing in joy or mirth at being stuck in a cage, but in a prayer to heaven to be released from the cage. The bird is in a desperate attempt to escape its confined cage and is willing to pray as a last effort. The bird believes that after all the effort it has put into trying to escape, a higher power must be in control. As a last effort, the bird begs for help from the higher power. Indeed, blacks of the time began to face the same dilemma. The somber last effort of prayer echoes in black life during the Harlem Renaissance. Poems were written to express the feelings of black Americans; they expressed the difficulties that oppression had brought. Black poets thought that if white people could understand that the black community desperately wanted to end the emotional pain of oppression, freedom could finally be achieved. The poems were not written for entertainment; they were written as a last effort to express the desire to be free. The poems had to be dark and upsetting to demonstrate the fact that the black community needed freedom. If African Americans didn't want freedom. 2016.