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.