Response To Marge Piercy's Barbie Doll

870 Words2 Pages

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 …show more content…

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

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