Paul Laurence Dunbar addresses the awful plight of African Americans in the poem "We Wear the Mask." He combines imagery, rhyme, rhythm, and word choice to establish connection to the reader.

In the poem Mr. Dunbar cleverly uses imagery to make his points. The first image is depicted in the first sentence. He has the mask grinning and lying. Is the mask lying to the person wearing the mask or lying to the reader of the poem. He later refers to torn and bleeding hearts. He uses this imagery to play upon the readers emotions. The reader is left with the impression the mask is hiding something more than the faces of the African Americans. It is really hiding emotions and feelings of how they were being treated. In particular, African Americans were not allowed to vote. They were not given land in which to earn an income...