Question

select the correct answer from each drop - down menu
read this excerpt from \we wear the mask\ by paul laurence dunbar and answer the question that follows.
we wear the mask that grins and lies,
it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes, —
this debt we pay to human guile,
with torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
and mouth with myriad subtleties.
why should the world be over - wise,
in counting all our tears and sighs?
nay, let them only see us, while
we wear the mask.
we smile, but, o great christ, our cries
to thee from tortured souls arise.
we sing, but oh the clay is vile
beneath our feet, and long the mile,
but let the world dream otherwise,
we wear the mask!
drop - down menu options: he is voicing feelings shared by all humans regardless of race; he is speaking about a common experience that the african american community shares; every individual experiences some kind of alienation, though their experiences may differ; human survival depends on deception, hypocrisy, and lying
question - related text: ghout the poem? complete the sentences to answer the
and frustration toward american society. he repeats the
second stanza, the statement is followed by a period, which shows resignation. however, at the end of the poem, dunt
the first use of the phrase is matter - of - fact. in the

Explanation:

Paul Laurence Dunbar's We Wear the Mask is a work rooted in the specific experiences of the African American community, expressing the forced performance of happiness to hide the pain, alienation, and frustration of systemic oppression. The repetition of the phrase emphasizes this shared, community-specific struggle.

Answer:

he is speaking about a common experience that the African American community shares