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The poem “ Barbie Doll” discusses, how society has a hold on individual's lives, especially on women. It is compelling the women to stop being themselves, and become somebody else in order to please the society. We always have to keep society in our consideration, before doing anything because the society in which we are living, always judge us on trivial things. Society tells us how to dress up and act, and have to look a certain way to be accepted. It is so sad to see that this poem, was written in 1973 by Marge Piercy, but even now we realize that nothing has changed and same barrier are still ruling our lives. This is a very meaningful poem, and carries a lesson for all of us. Although it's a toy, Barbie doll represents a woman with perfect body and attractive beauty. This poem, summarize a life from …show more content…
The first stanza, starts with the line: “the girlchild was born as usual”, this sentence gives me the impression that this child was born normal and nothing was wrong with her. First stanza, also describe the girl's toy such as “GE stove, and Irons”, this represents the kind of work a woman is suppose to do. It shows that she should learn, how to cook and iron, in order to be a respectable woman. Lipstick is a product which women use, in order to look pretty and cover the way they look. I feel since her lips were criticized, wearing a lipstick can alter her appearance, and it helps in paying less attention towards her big nose nose. This term “then in the magic of puberty” is used ironically, refers that girl child is growing up and she is going to suffer pain that will come with transformation: her menstrual cycle started and her body began to change. The tone changes at the point, when the girl's body was pointed “You have a great big nose and fat legs”. This is also when her low self-esteem begins; she will never be the
“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 both poem “ Barbie Doll” by Merge Piercy and “ homage to my hips” by Lucille Clifton, they both expressed the different way on how our society wants us, women to look and act in order to be except into the society. Our society condemned any women who are to act differently from our norms. In this society and in every culture aspect they are always stereotype, women always been taking advantage of no matter what century we are on. In “Barbie Doll” the author tend to provide more effective critique of society expectation about our body image than “homage to my hips”.
...es her. The imageries of pink Mustang signifies her social class, while “Road” indicates her location as nowhere within a community. The commodification of her body means it can be touched in ways derogatory to her dignity whether she likes it or not because it is a saleable commodity that doesn’t belong to her. Her silver painted nipples identifies silver coins. Silver coins represent monetary value put on her body. Silver painted nipples also mean the attractive way in which a product is packaged. The poem also depicts the defiance of women against how she has been treated. She identifies man as the one that kisses away himself piece by piece till the last coin is spent. However, she cannot change the reality of her location, and temporal placement.
Judith Ortiz Cofer’s use of diction had effectively implemented the dismissiveness behind an individual’s transition from childhood into adulthood, which had been the central meaning of the poem. Cofer’s uses a rather negative choice of wording in the first line of the poem that being, “My dolls have been put away like dead children”. As the poet decides to use the words “dead children” it brings a sense of gloominess upon the passage. Once the reader continues reading it appears that a connection can be made between the gloominess in the act of putting away the young girl’s dolls like “dead children” to her Quinceanera. Further Along the poem, the pessimism towards the act of maturing is found once again as the poet uses defeatist words such as “poison” when describing the fluids of her body that being blood. It seems that the young girl’s blood symbolizes her menstrual cycle, which effectively marks her entrance into womanhood. When describing the fluids of her body by using the word “poison” it creates a somber image of adulthood as she views her rite of passage as being toxicant. Ultimately, it seems that the poet’s use of diction provides the poem with a solemn tone which ultimately supplies the p...
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.
For starters the title, “Barbie Doll” holds a meaning. It symbolizes the ideal figure of a female body. Society creates this ideal that is embed into every century. It is never ending. It is intended that she must have the twig like arms and legs, the minuscule waist and nose,
Hippie Barbie, written by Denise Duhamel uses the symbols of the contemporary life of the fairy-tale lifestyle into reality. The words and ideas used in this narrative poem give fantasy a different perspective. It is inferred that the speaker is a female Barbie specialist, who reflects her knowledge by using the popular Barbie doll as the main character. Throughout the poem, she gives key points that have female perspective; for instance, kissing Ken, thinking about having mixed-race children, and walking a poodle. She establishes a story-telling tone, which introduces Hippie Barbie as a real woman. The speaker is trying to address to 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 appearances that we live in.
“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
At the beginning of "Barbie Doll", it reads "This girlchild was born as usual". This line shows that their is nothing wrong with this girl. She is your average child that plays with "dolls that pee-pee" and " miniature GE stoves and irons". She does not realize that anything is wrong with her until "a classmate said: You have a great big nose and fat legs". She was normal and happy, then society points out that she is different then the model in Seventeen magazine.
In Barbie Doll, the girl chooses to end her life instead of suffering through it with a negative self- image. She “cut off her nose and her legs / and offered them up” (Piercy 17-18). After she mutilates herself in an attempt to make herself look beautiful, others take notice and comment on how pretty her corpse looks laying in the casket. In The Chimney Sweeper, the young chimney sweep finds enough hope in religion to keep him going. In a dream the boy has an “Angel told Tom, if he’d be a good boy, / he’d have God for his father, and never want joy” (Blake 19-20). This gives the boy the motivation that he needs to continue his life and so as he awoke, he “was happy and warm; / [and] if [he did his] duty [he] need not fear harm” (Blake 23-24). The young boy decides to suffer through his brutal everyday life so that one day he can go to heaven, where he will be happy. These two polar- opposite approaches to dealing with the misfortune of the characters is what shapes both the theme and tone of the
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
This poem opens up the eyes of the reader and teaches us a lesson about life. It is essentially an example of the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. The woman seems so perfect on the outside and for that reason the man wants to be with her, but when he knows that the cover of her book is different from that of most, then he instantly makes up his mind that he won’t even open
This entire poem talk about how beauty fades with time. Thus, like any carpe diem poetry, one is urged to cherish time. In this case, beauty is associated with time and the narrator believes that both should be cherished with the same intensity. There is a tone of urgency to find physical love, as the narrator only addresses physical beauty, which fades. He wants the girl to learn to be "desired" and "admired" while she is still beautiful.
I found that throughout this poem there was much symbolism within it. Identifying that it was written in first person form showed that this poem relates to the author on a personal basis, and that it was probably written to symbolize his life. But when talking about people’s lives, you can conclude that people’s lives are generally and individually very diffe...
Those perfect days as a child when your countless days were filled with playtime. The time to set up those houses and dress the dolls up, and act out the future. “Through their play Barbara imagined their lives as adults. They used the dolls to reflect the adult world around them. They would sit and carry on conversations, making the dolls real people” (Ruth Handler). As a young child, it is all you look forward to in your future: being successful and confident, loved and cherished. Many dolls were used to project this. Specifically, the Barbie. Barbie is a positive role model girl should look up to for confidence and inspiration. She is a talented and educated career woman, self-sufficient in every aspect of her life, and a stunning example to young girls the body that is healthy and fit.