One poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar that particularly stuck out to me was “sympathy.” It is about a bird’s dreadful cage-bound experience. “I know why the caged bird beats his wing  Till its blood is red on the cruel bars” This demonstrates how terrible the bird must be inside its own cage because it is constantly beating its wings against the bars and screaming a song of sorrow. The poem deftly depicts the suffering of African Americans who had been enslaved and held back by white people in the United States during 18th and 19th centuries through an extended metaphor of a miserable and frustrated caged bird. The speaker expressly illustrates the struggle of a caged bird while also discussing the implications of unfreedom, on African American racial inequity.
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Good discussion Nawal of this famous poem. I few other student wrote on this poem and I had hoped you all would respond to each of your readings, expanding on its theme and literary techniques.
Part of the problem, I think, is that you are not posting in the proper place, so you don’t see the other students’ work.
Please be sure, however, to post properly (for next week).
Here are directions:
GO TO “COMMENTS” ON THE TOP OF MY POST. SCROLL DOWN (past other student posts) TO THE TEXT BOX BELOW AND WRITE YOUR RESPONSE. BE SURE TO ALSO “PUBLISH.”
Hi Nawal,
First I would like to say this was an excellent discussion. And secondly I would like to add to your post on this poem. The poem “ Sympathy” is also a reflection of Dunbar’s own struggle as an African American poet during the late 19th century. The poem speaks about brutal slavery, racial segregation, and social discrimination practiced in American society against the African-American community by using the metaphor of a bird, Dunbar highlights the importance of freedom. Some of the major themes in “ sympathy ” are struggle, prejudice, and social discrimination. In this piece of poetry, the bird character struggles to get free but fails. Paul tries to gain freedom but fails.Paul tries to show the suffering that seems not to end for the black American people. The blacks are lacking natural rights and are like prisoners. They still try their best despite the hardships and never lose hope.