Response To Marge Piercy's Barbie Doll

Explication Paper

The essential element that captured my attention in " Barbie Doll " written by Marge Piercy (Arp and Johnson, 118-119) was how deceptive the title is . Before reading the poem, I thought that the poem was going to portray something flawless and beautiful. The poem itself does mention and include an actual Barbie, but it does not describe Barbie as something perfect and flawless as most people in society do. Instead, it highlights the harsh beauty standards Barbie dolls portray. This specific poem does a phenomenal job in expressing the sad truth about what a comment can do to a young woman's self-esteem.

The poem is arranged in four stanzas. Based on my interpretation, the stanzas are each represented by memories from

chronological order of a person's life. Reason being is that in the beginning of the three stanzas, the persona says "This girlchild was born as /She was healthy./She was advised. Additionally, the stanzas express different self-esteem levels in this individual's life. Such as happiness, disappointment, and emptiness.
The first stanza explains that the girl mentioned in the poem has always been surrounded by Barbie dolls throughout her childhood. However, I feel like the lines "girlchild was born as usual and presented dolls that did pee-pee/and wee lipstick the color of cherry candy" are an overstatement. What the persona means is that in that moment, this young girl's self-esteem could not be any higher. She was never worried about how big or small her features were or what others thought of her. She never looked through the mirror and disliked what she saw, she hardly ever had her hair intact, or spent hours deciding what clothes would look best on her. When a woman is a young little girl, one does not worry about looks or materialistic things, In spite of that, verbal irony is presented in this stanza's second to last line "Then in the magic of puberty ". There is nothing magical about puberty and what an individual goes through during that time. Puberty makes individuals worry only about the appearance and what others may think of oneself. It is heartbreaking to realize how puberty can impact someone in a negative way.
The second stanza expresses the characteristics traits that the young woman had in her adolescence before allowing "You have a great big nose and fat legs" define how she was going to view herself from that point on in her life.

The comment which instantly made all of her good and pure characteristics appear so insignificant. Leaving her feeling empty and hideous. I believe that the comment was only one of the factors that changed who she used to be, An allegory is presented in this particular stanza. The speaker of the poem intentionally includes only one comment in the poem for a reason. This comment not only punched her self-esteem in the gut but it also signified the beginning of her self-worth crushing into million pieces. I confidently believe that there were a multitude of discouraging comments aimed at her after the one that was mentioned.

Stanza 3 focuses more on the how quickly her reality shifted to a different direction. She no longer showed her true self. Instead, she thrived to be what others wanted her to be. She exercised and started a diet to achieve the perfect legs. She fixed her fat nose by undergoing into plastic surgery. This stanza has an important simile in line 15-16, "Her good nature wore out like a fan belt." Meaning that even after losing weight and having plastic surgery she felt empty inside. Her soul was no longer filled with confidence, dreams , or happiness. She was not who she used to

be.
In stanza 4, the speaker describes how the dead body is presented in the casket and the thoughts of those who attended the funeral. Indeed, she was no longer alive, she could not laugh , smile, or show emotion anymore. She was so full of life is what some of the individuals present would have said. However, stanza three clearly express how she truly felt inside. She was worn out with all of the things that were going on in her life, the only thing she seemed to feel was emptiness. In spite of that, those present only worried about her appearance. Stated with clarity in line 23-24, "Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said./Consummation at last." They said the only thing she thrived to hear when she was alive, at her funeral. She craved those words more than she craved being herself. But I guess that is the irony of it all, she succeed at last.
When I first read this poem, it reminded me of how much this poem relates to many females in the world. It is hard to comprehend the consequences of what a simple comment might do to someone's self-esteem and how it impacts their life. Although I did enjoy explicating this poem, I feel like the persona could of said so much more than what was said. Perhaps that is why the speaker left so many things unsaid, The persona wanted the reader to come to its own interpretation of this tragic poem. (884)