For this assignment I have chosen to analyze the theme of Marge Piercy’s poem “Barbie Doll” found on page 533 in the Norton textbook. In the poem, the speaker describes a young child, a girl, who was born and raised “as usual” with “dolls that did pee-pee and miniature GE stoves and irons and wee lipsticks the color of cotton candy”. The speaker then goes on to describe the girls downfall in adolescence possessing “a great big nose and fat legs” that over shadowed her better qualities and ostracized her. The girl then grows bitter to the world, with the speaker expressing that “her good nature wore out like a fan belt” until the girl “cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up” mutilating herself and ending her own life. The speaker
For example in lines five and six in the poem the speaker says, “Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said: You have a great big nose and fat legs.”, with “magic” typically meaning something otherworldly and fantastic, the reader can assume that the speaker is inferring the opposite of puberty, that it is a cruel and daunting time for the girl as she grows awkwardly and is belittled by her peers. Through this sarcasm and mockery Piercy is telling the reader for the first time that although this “girlchild” was raised “normally” like all little girls, played with the same toys and had the same experiences, that she is now cast apart from her peers solely because of her appearance. Causing a first rift of social acceptance in this young girl’s life. This sarcastic undertone resurfaces once more in the last two lines of “Barbie Doll” when the speaker expresses of the girl’s death “Consummation at last”. With “consummation” meaning a finalization, the speaker is expressing that in the girl’s death, laying in her coffin with a fake nose and her fat legs covered, that she is finally “beautiful” and accepted by society. The speaker then ends the poem by sarcastically stating “To every woman a happy ending”, to which the reader can interpret the speaker to mean that even if it means taking a woman to her death, society’s depiction of her and lastly the title of the poem embodying the girl’s own affliction. The message though, that I personally took away from analyzing this poem is to be happy with the body and features you are granted and to forget what society may think of you because while you can work out and wear makeup and change your features you only have one body to live in. One of my favorite quotes is “What other people think of you is not your business. If you start to make that business your business, you will be offended for the rest of your life” by Deepak Chopra. Unfortunately for the girl in Marge Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” this mind set was made impossible by society’s standards for her as it is for many young women in todays “thigh gap” obsessed
When the narrator first compares her Barbies, she thinks that she needs perfect and new Barbies to fit in with everybody else. The narrator does understand that her family does not have money, but she simply works around it. Although, she wants more Barbies it was unlikely for them to get them. The narrator says, “Because we don’t have money for a stupid-looking boy doll when we’d both rather ask for a new Barbie outfit next christmas. (14-15)” The narrator has to make do with what she has. She can not have a boy Barbie because it is not in her parents budget. This affects her and it makes her lose confidence in herself because she does not have what everybody else has. After the narrator receives her partially messed up Barbies, she says, “And if the prettiest doll, Barbie’s MOD’ern cousin Francie with real eyelashes, eyelash brush included, has a left that that’s melted a little-so? If you dress her in her new ‘Prom Pinks’ outfit, satin splendor with matching coat, gold belt, clutch, and hair bow included, so long as you don’t lift her dress, right?-who’s to know. (16)” Even though the Barbie has a melted left foot, the narrator moves past this. She will just cover it up with a dress. The narrator wanted new and perfect Barbie’s in the beginning, but she realized that these Barbie’s are not everything and she can make them her own. She is not defined by her Barbies. Sandra Cisneros used symbolism and characterization to describe how the narrator had a hard time coming into her own identity and finding
“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.
To begin, the poem presents gender and their associated stereotype with items usually linked to one gender. As the poem opens Redel addresses her sons “scarlet nails” that are decked with “rings’ and “jewels.” As nail polish and jewelry are typically feminine items, one can sense the challenge in Redel’s tone as she describes her son wearing them. Additionally, Redel presents the items “a truck with a remote that revs” and “Hot wheels” to introduce items that generally young boys own. These toys are described since society would prefer her son to play with such toys rather than to “love the glitter.” Thus, gender stereotypes are presented in mundane items that typically the opposite sex does not experiment with. This interaction is looked down upon by others, but Redel is
In The Barbie Doll, the author writes about a girl' s life. The author starts off by describing her childhood. She was given dolls and toys like any other girl and she also wore hints of lipstick. This girl was healthy and rather intelligent. Even though she had possessed many good traits she was still looked at by others as "the girl with a big nose and fat legs". She exercised, dieted and smiled as much as possible to please those around her. She became tired of pleasing everyone else and decided to commit suicide. During her funeral those who she had tried to please in the past were the ones to comment about how beautiful she looked. Finally she had received the praise she was longing for.
In the poem “Barbie Doll” the speaker take more drastic measures to make herself acceptable to society. In line12 the speaker takes drastic measures to fix herself, “So she cut off her nose and legs.” This action will lead to her death in the end of the poem which would not have happened if her peers did not mock her about the way her nose and legs looked. People are aware of their own imperfections, but when people mock them and do not accept them because of it, that is when the drastic measures of starvation, excessive exercising, and depression can begin. It can happen without the pressures of society, but if society mocks them, it pushes the person further in to a state of
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.
The poem starts with the line, “This girlchild was born as usual,” which suggests that as soon as a girl is born, society already expects her to learn the role she will soon play in when she hits puberty (1). Thus, showing why we are given dolls as little girls to illustrate how we should act and appear according to society. After we learn all the roles we will soon take part in, “the magic of puberty,” hits and girls immediately begin applying the ideals to their own lives (5). As if this attempt to conform is not enough we have other people telling us we are not to perfect. “You have a great big nose and fat legs,” says a classmate to the girl (6). This type of pressure can slowly but surely destroy even the little confidence women do have in themselves.
...ch can be interpreted as "Once I was first-rate with all the trimmings but now I'm low-class junk." Spam is a cheap processed meat whereas roast duck is assumed to be one of the best meats there is; therefore she has been cheapened or degraded by the lack of gratitude on the part of her spouse, and society. She is expressing the fact that society expects women to play the role of "little wife" with no concern for the individual's own interests. Also, the woman in the poem is comparing her drive to food, and since this poem is image-laden with war and food, we can say that Piercy is writing of a war with food, where women are using food as their primary weapon against men (the way to a man's heart is through his stomach!) It is in this way that Piercy develops her view that women are the lesser gender in the eyes of men and shares her refusal to conform.
The speaker is trying to address all Americans that know deeper into Barbie doll life. By using the word “hippie” she gives a sense of rejection, opposition and liberalism towards things. Hippie Barbie reveals the ugly truth about the society based on the appearances that we live in. Using personification as her strongest tool, she uses Barbie to establish a somewhat comic parallel world with real women. The author introduces her poem with; “Barbie couldn’t grasp the concept of free love.
The girls feel that people need to mask their imperfections and true selves to uphold the image of how they are supposed to be. These dolls were found in a less than desirable place, such as “Lying on the street next to some tool bits ,and platform shoes with the heels all squashed, and a florescent green wicker wastebasket, and aluminum foil, and hubcaps, and a pink shag rug, and windshield wiper blades, and dusty mason jars, and a coffee can full of rusty nails”. They find another Barbie with heals in the depths of junk. They cover up the physical flaws of the burnt barbies with pretty outfits such as the “Prom Pinks” dress. One of the girls state “as long as you don't lift her dress, right? - who’s to know.” This attempt to cover up where the dolls came from and their imperfections seem to parallel their feelings about themselves and where they come from. The girls have an image of how their dolls would be if they were new. This could be the role society plays on the image of how women are supposed to be and look
In the beginning, the “girlchild” being discussed is described as “healthy, tested intelligent,/ possessed strong arms and back,/ abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.” (lines 7-9) Yet throughout the poem, all that is pointed out is her fat nose and thick legs. As the poem progresses, she is told how to improve her flaws, through diet, exercise and acting dumb. By the end the girl commits suicide after exhausting her efforts to conform to society. The final lines show the people attending her funeral discussing how pretty she looks, emphasizing the idea that she finally achieved her “happy ending”. The poem as a whole demonstrates a type of satire called Juvenalian satire, which is a formal version in which the speaker (or writer) attacks the vices and error of society with contempt and indignation. Through Ms. Piercy’s use of description and words choice that implies contempt and sarcasm, the reader is able to identify how society’s standards for women’s looks greatly overshadow other talents and abilities they may have. It is demonstrated that if one is not skinny, and petite with perfect hair and a “turned up...nose” (line 21) then other traits such as intelligence, kindness, and strength are not worth
As many of us know, our world today is not short of sarcasm. Many times sarcasm can be funny but other times it can cause harm. But in Anne Sexton’s poem, she uses sarcasm to throw her audience back to actuality, even a midst a fairytale element. In Anne Sexton’s poem, Cinderella she uses sarcasm and a basis of the true tale to make what many would call a “mockery” of the original Grimm Tale. Sexton does not refer to the Grimm brothers in her poem, for she considers this re-telling her own creation, uniquely by using irony to her advantage. As an audience we can relate to how and why Sexton takes much from the original versions, but we find that her interpretation brings a different approach. Sexton felt the original versions held no light to reality, so she changed the shallow premise of the original Cinderella bringing all the unrealistic morals in the story to the surface. The author's style, tone, and language helps to convey her sarcastic approach and differentiate between gritty reality and the ideal of fairy tale endings.
The first stanza describes the Barbie Doll and her accessories. It is also stating how the girl was just a normal person, but at the end of the stanza, it shows how she is being tormented by one of her classmates. “Wee lipsticks” is some form of makeup that helps cover the flaws that one has; which are seen as perfection; such as not looking the way one sees as perfect. However, the iron is what helps ameliorate the clothes. The girl in this poem was technically raised to be perfect, she was surrounded by perfection. She was happy with the way she looked before until the classmate told her “you have a great big nose and fat legs” (6). Through the comments, the girl was forced to believe she was anything but prefect and fell short of the Barbie Doll image. The girls self-esteem begins to
The speaker reflects on the teenage girl’s childhood as she recalls the girl played with “dolls that did pee-pee” (2). This childish description allows the speaker to explain the innocence of the little girl. As a result, the reader immediately feels connected to this cute and innocent young girl. However, the speaker’s diction evolves as the girl grew into a teenager as she proclaims: “She was healthy, tested intelligent, / possessed strong arms and back, / abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity” (7-9). The speaker applies polished language to illustrate the teen. This causes the reader not only to see the girl as an adult, but also to begin to grasp the importance of her situation. The speaker expresses what the bullies told this girl as she explains: “She was advised to play coy, / exhorted to come on hearty” (12-13). The sophisticated diction shifts towards the girl’s oppressors and their cruel demands of her. Because of this, the reader is aware of the extent of the girl’s abuse. The speaker utilizes an intriguing simile as she announces: “Her good nature wore out / like a fan belt” (15-16). The maturity of the speaker’s word choice becomes evident as she uses a simile a young reader would not understand. This keeps the mature reader focused and allows him to fully understand the somberness of this poem. The speaker concludes the poem as she depicts the teenage girl’s appearance at her funeral: “In the casket displayed on satin she lay / with the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on” (19-20). The speaker elects not to describe the dead girl in an unclear and ingenuous manner. Rather, she is very clear and
In "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy self-loathing, self-feedback, and harassing is the fundamental point. Piercy makes it clear to the peruser what the purpose of the sonnet is about. With the sonnet finishing it suicide it makes it considerably clearer for the peruser to understand that what a lady experiences when managing things, for example, harassing can prompt passing. In the start of the sonnet Piercy is clarifying what is not preferred about the young lady "everybody saw a fat nose on thick legs" (Piercy 11) not what was inside, and what the young lady found in herself. As time went on the young lady just seen what others was seeing not what she once had seen inside herself? This is the place the self-loathing begins to become possibly the most important factor from the tormenting, and with this is the place everything gradually except doubtlessly starts to go downhill. Once a man is conveyed to self-loathing it is difficult to get them out. It is a progressing fight that happens to be endless until themselves or someone else can haul them out of it, and numerous lady experience this in the public arena once a day. In Marge Piercy's "The Tale of Hope Chapter 9" she clarifies the diverse prevention's that she went through, and how she needed to defeat every one that came her direction. By understanding this it gives a decent knowledge on why Piercy may have kept in touch with this sonnet in any case. Understanding that there are numerous individuals out there who need to see you fall gives one trust that one will transcend everything to demonstrate them wrong, and this is indicated when Piercy says that "in her innovative space bearings are more fierce and fruitful than numerous individuals would endeavor to hope for" (Chapter 9 249) hence, she could demonstrate that what others need to say in regards to you don't implies