Paul Dunbar Sympathy

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Sympathy, written by Paul Dunbar is a metaphorical poem expressing the negative impact slavery had on blacks. It is important we embrace our country’s history, especially from the time period Dunbar was a part of. We can learn not to repeat the past by understanding the effects an event had on society as a whole. This poem uses the metaphor of a caged bird to symbolize the way slavery impacted Dunbar. The caged bird is Dunbar trapped in slavery and trapped by the way people treat him. This poem describes the outside world living and growing, while the bird is trapped, looking out into the world of freedom. The ideas that are a metaphor for Dunbar’s life is the cage the bird is in, the singing the bird does, and the description he makes of the

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