Happieness on a Perch

A detailed Summary of Happieness on a Perch

During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the African American population still felt the aftermath of slavery through the beliefs and actions of the white societies. During slavery African Americans were dehumanized, looked upon as property, and treated worse than animals. Furthermore, slaves were denied the right to life, forced to work endlessly, and suffered abuse from their masters. However, slavery ended in 1865 and yet Africans are still suffering from the entrapment of society. Paul Laurence Dunbar's "Sympathy", written in 1899 gives the reader a comparison between the life of a caged bird and the African Americans throughout history. Dunbar uses vivid language, repetition, and symbolism 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

Once the bird realizes that he has lost yet another battle for freedom he then must "fly back to his perch and cling"(10). However, the bird would much rather be happily swinging on a high branch in the trees "bough-a-swing". One may recognize that both the perch, and the branch are both places of rest for the bird, yet, a perch is small and enclosed while the branch allows for flight in endless directions. African Americans were rarely allowed off their plantations during slavery. Once slavery was abolished African Americans were still not allowed freedom of choice of schools, stores, jobs, and where they lived. Society acts as a cage that entraps African Americans freedom.

The second stanza begins with "I know why the caged bird beats his wing"(8). The speaker understands why the caged bird fights both physically and emotionally to be set free. The caged bird is willing to inflict pain unto itself in order to break the bars t

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 635
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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