I had to write an essay in English class about a common theme in these two poems and then I took it and turned it around to be about Traditional Catholics in our modern world today. Would some of you mind reading it and telling me what you think? I had to incorporate two examples from a couple of poems that we read, so I know they take away from what I'm trying to say but it was required. Thanks!
There are many similarities between “Richard Cory” and “We Wear the Mask” but one of the most distinct is the theme of hiding a person’s true self and feelings. Everyone, at some point in their life, has to mask their true feeling; sometimes it is a good thing other times bad. Dunbar tells us “We wear the mask that grins and lies” (line 1), a mask such as this can be worn for many reasons such as: to smile and hide sadness or to show courage instead of fear. These masks do not have to be worn for ourselves but also for the benefit of the people around us. In “Richard Cory” we are told, “And he was always quietly arrayed, /And he was always human when he talked;” (lines 5-6), Richard Cory put on a mask when he went out in public so that people would not think something was wrong. There are many examples of this masking of true feelings throughout history. In the fourth century, during the cruel persecutions of the Emperor Diocletian, millions of Catholic martyrs everyday had to put on a mask of courage and proudly proclaim they were Catholic, even though they knew it would mean torture and death. Their mask of courage was a good thing, for it permitted them to receive the crown of martyrdom and enter into the glory of Heaven while at the same time giving courage to those around them. Even today, Traditional Catholics all over the world have to wear a mask of courage as we are silently martyred for our Faith and traditions. It is a fearful undertaking to go out into the world, for we know society is watching us and waiting for us to make a mistake so they can make it national news and use it to inform the whole world that Catholicism is a heresy. Our religious leaders are scoffed at and made to seem like a joke, through religious indifferentism we are placed on the same level as heretical Protestants, and yet through it all we’ve remained strong. Though few in numbers, Traditional Catholics do still exist in the world and we have the courage to mask our fears and be the lights in a dark world; our battle has already been won, by Christ over two-thousand years ago, and it is this knowledge that keeps us trudging onwards. The world may scoff all they want to, but we are preparing ourselves and diligently waiting for an even better place that was promised to us alone by Our Lord, and that is Heaven. So writers may write about fictional characters masking their true feelings, but wearing masks is a part of everyday life in the world of a Traditional Catholic.