Analysis Of Barbie Doll

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Since the beginning of time, women have not lived up to set expectations. Society has long been obsessed with the idea of the perfect woman. This slightly varies in different cultures, but in America, they have been known to be housewives and mothers who must constantly look pretty. In Marge Piercy’s “Barbie Doll,” she uses bold diction and symbolism to shows society’s views on women. Anne Sexton uses metaphoric imagery, for the same reason, in her poem “Her Kind.” In Marge Piercy’s “Barbie Doll,” females are pressured into their pre-assigned gender roles starting at a young age with their dolls. Once the “girlchild” is born, she is given, “dolls, stoves, irons, and lipstick,” (Piercy 2-4) to prepare her for her future roles and clueing her …show more content…

For example the use of “girlchild,” she is being fairly generalized just stating it is a young girl, but that is her only identity. Much like a housewife, or a mother is often the only identity society wants a female to have. This is also showing that any race, or background female can be affected the same. Marge Piercy also says the dolls were “presented,” emphasizing that they were not just random gifts but almost life instructions. The girl was thought to have not reached her womanly potential by becoming a beautiful flawless woman ready to become a housewife and mother because she was flawed. The girl had “a great big nose and fat legs,” She heard this multiple times and finally decided the only thing she could do was remove them, resulting in her death. Nevertheless, she is finally perfect with her “turned-up putty nose, dressed in a pink and white nighty… Consummation at last. To every woman a happy ending,” This is saying that a woman is better off being dead and presented pretty in her casket than to walk through her life everyday not being society’s perfect image. This woman’s life is now viewed as complete because she has finally became the perfect woman, it did not matter it only happened in

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