Masks

 
Please Hear What I Am Not Saying

By Charles C. Finn

Don't be fooled by me.
Don't be fooled by this mask that I wear.
For I wear a thousand masks and none of them are really me.
Masks that I'm too afraid to take off, fearing that you'll get to know me.
Pretending is an art that is second nature to me.
I'm pretending that I am in command and that I need no one.
That I'm cool and that my surface is so smooth and I cannot be shaken by anything.
I act as if I am in control, but please don't for one moment be fooled by my surface, that's only
my mask.
Beneath this mask lies no smugness, no complacence.
Beneath this mask dwells the real me in confusion, loneliness, and fear.
But I don't dare tell you that.
I don't dare tell you that this is my mask.
I'm frightened by all the possibilities of my weaknesses being exposed.

I think about it all the time. Will I look like a fool?
That's why I work frantically to create this mask to hide behind in my relationship with people.
This nonchalant, sophisticated facade helps me pretend and shields me from the glance that knows
me.
But such a glance is precisely my only salvation.
It's my only salvation if, however, the glance is followed by  acceptance and love.
It's the only thing that can liberate me from myself, from my own self-built prison...from the
barriers that I have so  painstakingly created.
It is only that glance that will assure me of what I cannot assure in myself and, that is, that I
am really worth something.

But I don't tell you this. I don't dare to. I'm afraid to.  I'm afraid that your glance will not be
followed by acceptance and love.
I'm afraid that you'll think less of me...that you'll laugh and that your laugh would kill me.
I'm afraid that deep-down I am nothing. That I'm just no good and soon you're going to find out and
you'll no longer love me...that you'll reject me.
So I play my game. My desperate, pretending game with the facades of assurance from without and
that of a trembling little child from within.
And my life becomes a front.
And I idly chatter to you in suave tones about anything that really means nothing.
And yet I can never tell about the crying inside of me...of my greatest hurts...of my deepest
fears...my concerns.
I can't tell you that because I am afraid.
So please listen carefully not to what I am saying, but to what I am not saying.
To what I'd like to be able to say. And for what my very own survival I need to say.
I dislike this hiding...honestly.
I dislike this phony, superficial game I'm playing.
I really would like to be genuine and spontaneous and me. But you've got to help me.
You've got to hold out your hand.
You've got to hold out your hand even when it appears to you that it's the last thing I want from
you, because I am going to share a secret with you about myself;
the moment I act like I need you the least is the moment I need you the most. The moment I act like
I need you the least is the moment I need you the most.
Don't be fooled by this mask. When you see anger in this mask, don't be fooled for one
second...that's not anger, that's hurt.
The mask of anger is easier to show than the mask of hurt.
And if we make the error of looking at people's masks only to see anger on their face, we may end
up in a confrontation only because we missed the point.

You have the power to wipe away this blank stare of the "breathing dead" beneath this mask. It will
not be easy for you.
Long felt hurts make my masks endure. The nearer you approach me the harder I may strike back.
Irrationally, I fight against the very thing that I cry out for - my identity.
You may wonder who I am. You shouldn't.
Don't be fooled by the face I wear.
I am someone you know very well.
I am every man and woman and child you meet.

After reading the poem, write a 3 - 5 sentence paragraph in which you explain 1) how the poem relates to the pieces of literature we have read this six weeks, 2) the overall message or theme of the poem, and 3) how the poem personally relates to you.  YOU MUST INCLUDE SOME TYPE OF EVIDENCE FROM THE POEM IN YOUR RESPONSE.

Identity: Belonging

"Guidelines" by Lisa Suhair Majaj

If they ask you what you are,
say Arab. If they flinch, don't react,
just remember your great-aunt's eyes.

If they ask you where you come from,
say Toledo. Detroit. Mission Viejo.
Fall Springs. Topeka. If they seem confused,

help them locate these places on a map,
then inquire casually, Where are you from?
Have you been here long? Do you like this country?

If they ask you what you eat,
don't dissemble. If garlic is your secret friend,
admit it. Likewise, crab cakes.

If they say you're not American,
don't pull out your personal,
wallet-sized flag. Instead, recall

the Bill of Rights. Mention the Constitution.
Wear democracy like a favorite garment:
comfortable, intimate.

If they wave newspapers in your face and shout,
stay calm. Remember everything they never learned.
Offer to take them to the library.

If they ask you if you're white, say it depends.
Say no. Say maybe. If appropriate, inquire,
Have you always been white, or is it recent?

If you take to the streets in protest,
link hands with whomever is beside you. 
Keep your eyes on the colonizer's maps, 

geography's twisted strands, the many colors
of struggle. No matter how far you've come, remember:
the starting line is always closer than you think.

If they ask how long you plan to stay, say forever.
Console them if they seem upset. Say, don't worry,
you'll get used to it. Say, we live here. How about you?

Read the above poem written by Lisa Suhair Majaj.  After reading the poem, write a 5 - 7 sentence paragraph in which you explain 1) the tone, 2) the theme, and 3) what the poem could be saying about the American identity.  YOU MUST INCLUDE SOME TYPE OF EVIDENCE FROM THE POEM IN YOUR RESPONSE.

Identity

American Identity



Topic:  The Emerging American Identity

In one paragraph, write your thoughts about the emerging American identity in relation to the American dream.