The Impact of Societal Standards

Societies have always consisted of standards in which the general population are expected to conform to. Some are more important to meet than others, and some are placed upon individuals based on their specific demographic criteria, such as gender. “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy and “The Unknown Citizen” by W. H. Auden both display this desire for members of society to conform to the standards issued by the majority. Both of these poems share a similarity in their structure, along with the presence of other people and their role on the main characters’ life. The piece by Piercy goes on to show the more detrimental effects of standards, whereas Auden’s is more subtle. Elements of imagery are vividly present in both works; however, the “Barbie Doll” imagery displays visions of housewives and homemakers, and the way girls should look and behave, images in “The Unknown Citizen” are of objects, possessions that a man should own in order to be a typical person.

Both of these works share similarities within their structure. The titles themselves are allusions to parts of American society; Barbie dolls and the tomb of the unknown soldiers. Neither tale gives the main character a name, they are always simply referred to with a pronoun, as if these people possessed no true persona at all, but instead, were mere physical forces. Aside from neither of the poems giving names, they are also both written in a third person point of view; it is easy to read these poems and feel that these stories are being told from the point of view of people who are simply judging these people as objects less than human.

Being written in third person, it is simple, it seems, to comprehend what others thought of these people, and thus understand their rol...

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...mentaries on American standards although “Barbie Doll” critiques the standards placed on women, and “The Unknown Citizen” describes those put on men. Nevertheless, both characters are implied to be living in a personal hell. The woman didn't have what she needed, and she was obviously mournful of it; the man, on the other hand, had everything, so it was presumed that he was happy in life. Views of beauty are much more strictly placed on women, to the point that some maybe rather take their own lives than try to be someone they cannot. The standards of men, which consist of having the right objects and paying all their bills are not as strict, but to accomplish these, one may have to live a dull and dreary life. As different as these poems are, they both could encourage a reader to break their bonds, and give up their desire to conform to others’ goals and standards.