Free Piercy Essays and Papers

An Analysis of To Have without Holding by Marge Piercy The poem "To Have without Holding," by Marge Piercy, is about the speaker trying to reconcile the conflict between her preconceived notion of a personal relationship with present reality. Her partner, whom she must feel worth the pain and effort, apparently has a more liberal and open approach, which causes her to feel insecure. The poem expresses, using metaphor, simile, and symbolism, the speaker's discomfort at a point in time in this

A Critique of "Gone to Soldiers" by Marge Piercy The novel Gone to Soldiers by Marge Piercy intricately weaves the lives of many different people into a connected series of individual plots that give the reader an exciting view of life during World War II. Piercy connects the lives of women and men, Jews and gentiles by using family ties and steamy love affairs. The people have dramatically different profiles, some are rich some are poor, some are Americans, some are French, some are with power

poem Marge Piercy’s speaker evokes a concrete vision of a woman who has lost her personal identity to her job. Her bold and descriptive use of metaphors allow the reader to envision a woman who is living her life vicariously through her career. Ms. Piercy successfully uses paradox, personification, and the pun to bring the character alive. With the use of metaphors, both implied and explicit, the reader can deeply empathize with the central character of this poem. From the first line of the poem the

Barbie Doll’ written by Marge Piercy (1973) This girlchild was born as usual And presented dolls that did pee-pee And miniature GE stoves and irons And wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy. Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said: You have a great big nose and fat legs. She was healthy, tested intelligent, Possessed strong arms and back, Abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity. She went to and fro apologizing. Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs. She was advised to

of Time, Piercy uses language to create the idea of a climb toward knowledge and the discovery of an unknown truth that will save the present. With the help of Luciente, Connie will rise up from the dystopia, New York, to the utopia, Mattapoisett. Piercy continually alludes traveling north or ascending.  “Mariana had been uprooted from a village near Namiquipa, Los Calcinados, and migrated with her family to Texas to work in the fields…When Connie was seven, they moved to Chicago…” (Piercy, 37).  Ironically

of Lincoln was Anne’s future husband, Simon Bradstreet. Both men were well educated, prominent people who would carry their knowledge and influence to the New World (Piercy 18). In 1628 Anne and Simon were married. Two years later Thomas Dudley and the Bradstreets began their three month journey to New England on the Arbella (Piercy 18). The purpose of their journey was to arrive in a new world where they could practice and teach their puritan doctrine. The new colony was perfect for their simplified

Parallel Voices in Braided Lives The parallel voice is a device which is present in Marge Piercy's novel, Braided Lives. This technique enforces the effect of Jill's past life on her future life and views. A gauge of the protagonist's growth is given by parallel voices, a technique which enables the reader to see how the protagonist has developed from teenager to adult. The parallel voices of the young and adult narrator give insight to the changes that have occurred in her life. According to one

mold of what women are supposed to look like. In other words the perfect woman should look like a Barbie Doll. In Marge Piercy’s, “Barbie Doll,” we find a girl child growing up through the adolescence stage characterized by appearances and barbarity. Piercy uses lots of imagery to describe the struggles the girl experiences during her teenage years and the effects that can happen. In the first stanza we see the beginning of an ideal image being stained in the girls mind. She was “...presented dolls

or significance because it is worthless, vain, futile, and pointless.  Piercy uses figurative language, imagery, symbolism, description, and details to develop this theme throughout the poem.  Piercy begins developing the theme in the first stanza by describing "The [type of] people [she loves] the best" (1).  Piercy states that they "jump into work head first/without dallying in the shallows..." (2-3).  With this imagery Piercy reveals that she admires individuals who are not afraid of work; rather

environmentalist, etc., Piercy seems to especially focus on feminist issues. The two main characters, Connie and Luciente, are both women, and are both products of their respective societies. It is through these two characters that Piercy reveals not only extrinsic societal features, but also those that are only apparent in the bearing they have on individual social character. As both characters are women (by Piercy's choice), it is not odd that Piercy focuses on female issues. Piercy uses the two women