FREE ESSAY ON SYMPATHY

SYMPATHY

The poem Sympathy, by Paul Laurence Dunbar suggests to the reader a comparison between the
lifestyle of the caged bird, and the African American in the nineteenth century. Paul
Laurence Dunbar's focus of Sympathy is how the African American identifies and relates to
the frustrations and pain that a caged bird experiences. Dunbar begins the poem by
stating, I know what the caged bird feels, alas! which illustrates the comparison of a
caged bird to an African American. 
Dunbar writes a poem with vivid and descriptive language throughout. Dunbar uses this to
emphasize his point that someone tied up in bondage and chains figuratively is not
fortunate enough to enjoy the finer things in life. Sadly, springing grass, a flowing
river, and budding flowers are things that unoppressed people might take for granted (For
a slave or someone struggling to get on their feet post slavery, could not take the time
to enjoy life's pleasures in which Dunbar symbolically uses nature.) Dunbar uses language
that reaches out, striking a personal chord with the reader. Grass, river, or flowers may
be objects we enjoy, but underprivileged people, not necessarily minorities, cannot enjoy
because of social or economic circumstances. Underprivileged people may see white people
doing what they enjoy and work themselves into a frustrated frenzy because try as they
might, the deck is stacked against them.
Ironically, the life of the caged bird is the life of the African American. During the
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the black population was enslaved and tortured
by the white population. African Americans were looked down upon with disgust and
inequity. The whites forced the blacks to become slaves to them because the white
population possessed all of the power and wealth in America at that time; therefore, the
black population had no choice but to be enslaved. African Americans were not given the
chance to flourish and grow. In essence, African Americans were prisoners in their own
home i.e. like the caged bird.
The life of a caged bird is similar. Caged birds too are like prisoners in their own
home. A caged bird is not allowed to use its ability to fly, to explore, and to be free.
Instead, the caged bird is forced to be on his perch and cling when he fain would be on
the bough a-swing. (Lines 10, 11) Dunbar identifies the African American lifestyle with
what the caged bird feels. In the first stanza, Dunbar writes about the beauty of nature.
He writes of when the sun is bright on the upward slopes; And the river flows like a
stream of glass; When the first bird sings and the first bud opes, And the faint perfume
from its chalice steals and then Dunbar writes I know what the caged bird feels. (Lines
2-7) Interpretivly, Dunbar seems to be relating the caged bird's sadness that stems from
not being allowed to enjoy the mysterious beauties of nature. Dunbar attempts to bring
the reader into the first stanza by evoking emotion and refection of the beautiful things
that all humans should be able to experience.
In the second stanza, Dunbar refers to the emotional and physical abuse that imprisonment
and enslavement evokes both in the caged bird and the African American. He begins this
stanza with, I know why the caged bird beats his wing. (Line 8) Meaning, Dunbar
understands why the caged bird fights both physically and emotionally to be set free. The
remaining portions of the second stanza portray the self-inflicted and non self-inflicted
physical wounds of the caged bird to the African American. The self-inflicted wounds come
from the battle for freedom. Dunbar describes why the caged bird beats his wing till its
blood is red on the cruel bars because he must fly back to his perch and cling when he
fain would be on the bough a-swing. (Lines 8-11) The African Americans experienced this
same kind of pain from fighting for their freedom. Lynching, or being put to death by
hanging or burning without legal sanction, were the prominent choices of deadly torture
in the 1800's and early 1900's. Lynching or beating occurred when a slave tried to escape
or disobey his/her white master. It seems that Dunbar is metaphorically referring to this
in his second stanza.
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, begins the third stanza of Sympathy. Singing, for
the most part, is thought to be out of happiness and contentment. On the other hand,
singing can be borne out of misery such as we see in the history of African American
song, singing for the slaves was for this reason. Slaves sang to express their
unhappiness; to release the emotions African Americans were not allowed expressing
without severe punishment. Dunbar refers to this singing in the last stanza of Sympathy
and compares it with why the caged bird sings. Dunbar writes that the caged bird sings 
not a carol of joy or glee, but a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core, but a
plea that upward Heaven he flings. (Lines 18-20) Therefore, singing is a plea for help
and freedom for the blacks and the caged bird. Slaves sang not out of joy, but to drown
out their sorrow. Singing was a life jacket for African Americans during slavery as it is
for the caged bird. The song was a plea for compassion and freedom.
A reader could look at the poem Sympathy as a piece of entertainment seeing as he is
purely talking about past slave time and think it bears no relevance to present day.
Other readers could think it to be directed at blacks that were in a struggle during the
time of Reconstruction and years following. This poem could be directed to anyone in any
given situation. That is, the poetry of beauty. It could be subjective to your frame of
reference. Whether it be a job, school, family, or relationship situations, Dunbar could
be saying you (the reader) are trapped like the caged bird and you (the reader) have no
other option but to expend your energy to get out i.e. of the cage. The longer you (the
reader) stay in a bad situation, the worse the situation gets, the more beat up
emotionally you become. 
I interpret Paul Laurence Dunbar's Sympathy as his way of expressing the suppressed life
of African Americans during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He eloquently
compares an innocent creature's lifestyle to the lifestyle of the African Americans. The
language chosen for this poem evokes compassion, sympathy, and understanding in the
reader. In reality, African Americans were denied the right to life, just like the caged
bird. This in turn allows the reader to empathize with the lives of slaves.
Bibliography
Dunbar, Paul lawrence, Sympathy in Black Voices