hat might Paul Laurence Dunbar mean in the following lines from his poem "We Wear the Mask"?

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.

a. The African American community is pleased with its current situation in life and does not wish to change anything.
b. Although they seem unhappy, the African American community is content with life in the United States.
c. Although they smile outwardly, African Americans pray for an end to their community’s struggle.
d. The African American community prays for others to go through the same struggles that its members have faced.
e. The African American community wants the US government to compensate them for their suffering as slaves.

I think the answer is c

I agree. C.

You are correct. Option c is the correct interpretation of the lines from Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem "We Wear the Mask." It suggests that although African Americans smile outwardly, they are privately praying for an end to the struggles faced by their community.

To determine the meaning of these lines from Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem "We Wear the Mask," let's analyze the context and the poetic devices used.

In the poem, Dunbar explores the theme of racial identity and the social masks that individuals wear to hide their true emotions. The lines in question are:

"We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise."

The phrase, "we smile," suggests that despite the hardships and struggles faced by the African American community, they maintain a cheerful outward appearance. The following line expresses a deeper reality: "our cries to thee from tortured souls arise." This reveals that behind the smiles, members of the community are suffering and are in need of divine intervention.

Given this analysis, choice c, "Although they smile outwardly, African Americans pray for an end to their community's struggle," aligns with the meaning of the lines. The African American community is depicted as putting on a facade of happiness, but internally, they yearn for relief from their burdens and hope for an end to their collective suffering.

It's worth noting that poetry is often open to interpretation, and different readers may find varying depths of meaning in a poem. However, by examining the context and poetic devices employed, we can conclude that choice c is the most apt interpretation.