dunbars sympathty
During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the black population was enslaved and tortured by whites. African Americans were treated as animals, denied the right to life, forced to work endlessly, and suffer abuse from their masters. White Americans forced the blacks to become slaves due to the fact that whites possessed all of the power and wealth in that time. Dunbar's "Sympathy" suggests to the reader a comparison between the lifestyle of a caged bird, and the African Americans of the nineteenth and twentieth century. Dunbar uses repetition, symbolism, vivid language to relay his comparison throughout the poem. Ironically, the life of a caged bird is indeed the life of the African American. An African American, like the caged bird, was forced to live in captivity and please others on command. Dunbar begins with "I know what the caged bird feels, alas"(1). This suggests to the reader that the slaves understand the life of a caged bird. Also, Dunbar uses this to emphasize his point that someone trapped by bondage is not fortunate enough to enjoy the pleasures and feelings of independence that lies within freedom. When one thinks of a bird, they may be reminded of their delicateness and the vast freedom of mo
Dunbar writes about the beauty of nature in the first stanza, "When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; "I know why the caged bird sings, ah me", begins the third stanza of "Sympathy". Singing for the most part is thought to be a mean of happiness and contentment. On the other hand, singing can be born out of misery such as we see in the history of African American song, singing for the slaves was for this reason. Slaves sang to express their unhappiness and to express their tales of woe. Their music acted as a lifeline, one of their last rays of hope to keep their culture alive. Slaves were able to express their emotions in song without receiving severe punishment. Dunbar refers to this singing the last stanza of "Sympathy" and compares it with why the cage bird sings. Dunbar writes that the caged bird sings "not a carol of joy or glee, but a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core, but a plea upward Heaven he flings."(18-20). Therefore, singing is a plea for help and freedom for the blacks and the caged bird. Slaves sang not out for joy, but to drown out their sorrow. Singing kept the slaves burning desires for freedom strong, and helped keep the ties among slaves strong. Dunbar's "Sympathy" evokes compassion in the reading by comparing the image of a caged bird to
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Approximate Word count = 877
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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