In the 1970’s, women were starting to take a stand. They had, just a few years earlier, gained many new freedoms, and they were not ready to stop there. The feminist movement was in full swing, and they liked it. Powerful women from all spectrums of life helped influence and inspire women all over the country to keep fighting for their wants and needs. Marge Piercy was one of the most inspirational and motivating of them all. Her poem, “Barbie Doll,” tells the story of a young girl who was short-lived. She was beaten down by society's expectations of what she should be. The poem was a major eye-opener for many, especially considering the time period it was written in. It helped to put the inappropriate and materialistic standards that women continued to be held up to on full display. It broadcasts the effects of these insane standards with an uncensored, real and raw approach. Piercy uses things like symbolism, …show more content…
In the very last line of the poem Piercy describes the story as having a “happy ending” (Line 25). This shows irony in the way that the author writes it as a happy ending because she got what she wanted, for everyone to think she was pretty, when it is actually very sarcastic and pessimistic. The ironic part is that though she got what she wanted, it cost her own life to get it. Piercy portrays the ending as that of a happy one, though it is obviously a depressing one. It is also a show of irony when the people think that she is finally pretty when she is fixed by the undertaker to meet their standards; she no longer had a “big nose and fat legs,” she is covered with a night gown to cover where her legs should be, and made a new nose to wear to her funeral. The mental picture of her lying in a casket is described as a “powerfully, horrifically, stereotypically presented image” (Perrin 83). “Doesn’t she look pretty? everyone said” (Line 23). The people only recognize her beauty after she is
“Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy and “ David Talamentez on the Last Day of Second Grade” by Rosemary Catacalos are two poems that show a unique view into society and the roles society expects people to fill. Sometimes those expectations can lead people to take drastic measures or even cause defiance in some people. The irony of this is that it seems the more we push people to be what society wants the more it drives them to be what they don’t want.
In the beginning of “Barbie Doll”, pleasurable and unpleasurable imagery is given so that the reader can see the extremes girls go through to be considered perfect.
The treatment of females from the 18th century through the 21st century have only gotten worse due to society’s ignorant judgment of the gender. Of which, is the change from the previous housewife like actions to the modern day body figure. This repulsive transaction is perceived throughout literature. From the 19th century’s short story, “The Story of an Hour” written by Kate Chopin in 1894 and the 20th century’s poem, “Barbie Doll” composed by Marge Piercy in 1971.
In the essay 'Our Barbies, Ourselves,' Emily Prager explores the history of the Barbie doll and talks about the Barbie doll itself. Prager seems convinced that the Barbie doll was an object created by a man and that Barbie reeks of sexuality, sexual innuendo and serves as the anti-feminist embodiment of every man's fantasy. In her own expressive and persuasive modes to fashion an essay designed to persuade the reader that the Barbie doll is a twisted and corrupt tool designed by men to combat the feminist revolution. Though her attempts at persuasion are commendable, I was not swayed in my opinions on Barbie. If anything, I just found fault with this writer's point of view, and I found her accusations to be outrageous and her 'facts' to be completely wrong.
Every woman grows up knowing that they one day want to be beautiful. In Marge Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” she gives an in depth look at what negative effects the concept of beauty can have on an individual. From infancy to a full grown adult woman, beauty has been a way of thinking and lifestyle. As a little girl you are given petite shaped, blonde, blue eyed dolls. While boys are given brawny soldiers and mechanical toys.
“If Barbie was designed by a man, suddenly a lot of things made sense to me,” says Emily Prager in her essay “Our Barbies, Ourselves” (Prager 354). Prager’s purpose for writing this essay is to explain the history of Barbie and how the doll itself has influenced and continue to influence our society today. Prager is appealing to the average girl, to those who can relate to the way she felt growing up with Barbie seen as the ideal woman. Emily Prager uses a constant shift between a formal and informal tone to effectively communicate her ideas that we view women today based upon the unrealistic expectations set forth by Barbie. By adopting this strategy she avoids making readers feel attacked and therefore
The poem Barbie Doll was both written and published in 1971. During this time, which was shortly after Barbie dolls became popular, a plethora of attention was being directed towards the appearance of women, both old and young. Society now had a perception of what it believes should be considered beautiful or attractive in a woman. This could have easily caused many women, no matter the age, to feel self- conscious, much like the young girl in the poem. The Chimney Sweeper was written in an entirely different time period. It was published in 1789, one-hundred and eighty-two years before Barbie Doll. At this time, a situation like the one described in this poem was not at all uncommon. This was due to the fact that child labor laws had not yet been established in many parts of the world. Many young children were forced to partake in jobs with atrocious working conditions and menial pay. The difference in the time periods of these two poems are crucial, as it severely alters the upbringing of the characters, their social projection, their self-image, and the types of problems that they
Throughout his writing he uses many poetic devices to infuse his poems with feeling and meaning that entice the reader. A few he uses frequently are imagery, theme, and diction.
In Marge Piercg poem, "Barbie Doll", portrays how women might feel compelled and brainwashed into looking and being something they're not. By the end of the poem, the girl child of the poem cuts off her "fat nose on thick legs" (Piercg 378) just to please everyone else and have a moment of looking beautiful even though at this point she is lying dead in a casket. Piercg pulls together the absurd way society normalizes expectations of women that are not quiet normal. Women play a huge part in the continuation of our society at large and Marge Piercg engages the reader to think about the ways society can make or break the image of a woman. Society portrays an ideal body and characteristic for women to live up to by encouraging them to "exercise, diet, smile, and wheedle" (Piercg 378) in order to become accepted and acknowledged.
Marge Piercy's poem, "Barbie Doll," takes an interesting view on women and society. The poem describes a female child, who is born and given a Barbie doll. When the girl progresses through puberty, someone denotes that she has a big nose and fat legs. Although she is an astounding and resilient woman in every way, society only sees her physical imperfections. As she matures, she attempts to achieve everything possible to change and be the woman everyone wants her to be.
The Pressure to be Beautiful Marge Piercy’s poem, “Barbie Doll,” portrays a young, healthy girl who was just like everyone else, but when puberty struck, her peers told her of her flaws. Even though she was intelligent and healthy, the pressure from her peers made her so depressed, she thought plastic surgery, and in the end, suicide were her only answers to having the perfect body. The end result reflects what happens to many women and young girls in today’s society that face mainstream media’s perspective of “beauty.” One’s beauty is often not determined by what’s on the inside, but by being tall, slender and blonde. Like in “Barbie Doll,” many women and young teenagers lose themselves to body image, self-esteem and pressures of having the
Today, as a society we are beyond obsessed with our appearance then we would like to admit. Everyone wants something that they do not have, for example, longer hair, straighter teeth, etc. It does not come as a surprise to us that physical attractiveness is overwhelmingly import to our society. At about two years old, infants begin to recognize themselves in mirrors and just a few short years later females begin to dislike what they see. In 1971 there was a huge feminist movement which is where Marge Piercy got the inspiration to write a poem to point out what society has done to the minds of young women today.
Historically, women been trapped in the web of social expectations that have been set out for them. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s 18th century poem “ Saturday: The Small Pox,” as well as Marge Percy’s 20th century poem “Barbie Doll” both demonstrate these same social expectations, even though they were written two centuries apart. As a result of the historical social expectations to be thin and beautiful, many women behave irrationally, lose their individuality, and lose their self worth.
Stone, Tanya Lee. The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us. New York: Penguin Group, 2010. Print.
According to Lisa Belkin, Barbie is good for society because she’s fun to play with and she encourages little girls to use their imagination and dream big. Many young girls who play with Barbie dolls have realized that she is just a doll. Some of these little girls don’t have the desire to look like Barbie; they just think Barbie is just a doll that they play with and leave them everywhere. At a young age girls are given their first Barbie doll and thought what “perfect” should be. Barbie portrays the perfect image and life. Not only is Barbie tall, skinny, and beautiful, she has all the luxurious accessories to match her perfect life. To go along with her perfect life she is accompanied with the perfect boyfriend, family and dream house.At a young age girls are also being influenced by this doll, what they should look like, and what kind of life they sgould lead. Young girls strive to achieve this look which is life threatening to obtain. Regardless to the changes they made to Barbie, she is still far from real. Little girls that are mature enough don’t strive to look like Barbie because she’s just a plastic doll.(Debate.org, 9). According to “The Intentions behind the creation of Barbie”, Barbie dolls ...