Sympathy Characters

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Sympathy Character List

The "caged bird"

Symbolic of anyone deprived of their freedom, the caged bird is the object of the narrator's sympathy. The bird beats its wing against the bars of its cage because of its desperation to escape and attain freedom. It also sings--not out of joy or glee, according to Dubar, but as a prayer to God to grant the bird its freedom.

The narrator (Dubar)

The poem is written in first-person, so the narrator is presumed to be Dubar himself. As the title indicates, the poem is an expression of Dubar's sympathy and empathy for those deprived of their freedom.

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Study Guide for Sympathy

Sympathy study guide contains a biography of Paul Laurence Dunbar, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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Essays for Sympathy

Sympathy essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar.