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
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
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
all that they know exists. Platos story is a close parallel to the film The Matrix and Marge Piercys Woman on the Edge of Time. Platos theory suggests that masses should be silenced in order to discourage desire because desire leads people to be unjust. Thus, equilibrium is needed to create peace and prevent chaos between two powerful worlds. The parallel of Platos theory can be seen in Marge Piercys Woman on the Edge of Time. The novel is about a chosen person, Connie, and her journey to keep
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
issue. Connie has to open her door to her only close relative, Dolly, only to see that she has been beaten by her fiancé who is also her pimp. Connie has had to live her entire life with the thought that sex is violent rather than an act of love. Piercy uses the feminist ideals that men are the cause of the pain for women in a very explicit manner. For example, Geraldo, Dolly's fiancé, sho...
Imagery, Language, and Sound in What's That Smell in the Kitchen? Marge Piercy is an American novelist, essayist, and poet best known for writing with a trademark feminist slant. In "What's That Smell in the Kitchen?" Marge Piercy explores the way women are sometimes held in low esteem by men through the eyes of a tired housewife who has had it with her monotonous day- to-day duties. In this poem, it is not stated that the speaker is a homemaker, but the reader is told about one woman in particular
we are less rigid and very open-minded, but is there a type of equality, which we are still not prepared to accept? The two science fiction novels, He, She, and It by Marge Piercy, and The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey both make strong predictions about the technology, government, and social aspects of the future. Piercy and McCaffrey also express similar feminist views through the characters of Nili and Helva. Although they come from completely different hypothetical universes, these women
the Edge of Time" by Marge Piercy, is a novel that illustrates some problems of today’s society and compares them to a possible future time. The other world that is presented in the book is called Mattapoisett. Mattapoisett is described as an utopian science fiction place because is much different from the place that Connie lived. Even thought Mattapoisett might be the world that Connie’s culture needed it is not a perfect world. Some of the problems that Marge Piercy presents in the book are poverty
Figurative Language in A Work of Artifice by Marge Piercy "A clever trick, crafty device, or stratagem" is how Webster's Encyclopedia of Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language defines Artifice. Marge Piercy definitely used "crafty" techniques in writing "A Work of Artifice." In this poem, Piercy reflects on the growth of a bonsai tree, considering the molded existence of what it is to what it could have naturally been. With deeper analysis of this poem, the correlation between a bonsai
Relationships in Braided Lives In Marge Piercy's Braided Lives, Jill goes through many consecutive, turbulent relationships with men. This pattern begins with her father, continues with her best friend, and then continues through many other relationships in her college years. Each relationship affects Jill and how she views men and herself. She has a very negative outlook on men. In fact, most of the male-female relationships in the novel are not positive experiences for the women involved. Jill's
Personal Response to Marge Piercy's A Work of Artifice My initial response to "A Work of Artifice" by Marge Piercy, was one of profound sadness. In defining myself as the actual reader of this poem, my background becomes significant in my emotional response. "It is this reader who comes to the text shaped by cultural and personal norms and prejudices." (Bressler, p. 72) I come from a family of poets and published writers and have been reading and composing poetry since the age of 4. My first
women across the nation in submission to their husbands, forced to perform these menial tasks without a word of disagreement lest they be chastised by society. This is highlighted and eventually defied in “What’s That Smell in the Kitchen” by Marge Piercy, the most “family-unfriendly” poem one could ever come across. It deals with a major - more resolved than most, luckily - subsection of the raging war of feminism
Marge Piercy’s “The Secretary Chant” begins the poem by describing different parts of her body as office supplies. In line one she states that “My hips are a desk.” In line two and three she says “From my ears hang/ chains of paper clips.”(2) In line four she also continues with “Rubber bands form my hair.”(3) I feel like Piercy’s goal by starting off the poem in this way, was to help emphasize the speakers frustrations toward her job right away. I also feel that by comparing the speakers body
In the poem, “To be of use” Marge Piercy praises hard work and those who work hard. In the poem, it can be seen the persona’s admiration for what seems to be the working class people. In the poem the persona mentions multiple times their “love” (1) and their “want” (12) to be like those who are out every day working hard. Throughout the poems entirety the central theme seems to revolve around the persona’s love for those who are willing to dive into their work and work hard day in and day out.
On March 31,1936, American poet, Social Activist and novelist, Margaret Piercy was welcomed into the world. Born into a working class family in Detroit, Michigan, Piercy grew up with her mother and grandmother who appear frequently in her literary works. In her teenage years Piercy became rebellious and put a strain on the relationship she had with her mother. Luckily, a few years before her mother's death in 1981 she was able to rekindle the flame and make peace before her mother's passing. Working
Marge Piercy and Gwendolyn Brooks are authors of short poems who utilize theme, figurative language and imagery to convey ideas. The poems “Barbie doll” by Marge Piercy and “Sadie and Maud” by Gwendolyn Brooks use literary elements to detail the abstract ideas of self and happiness. Both poems are similar in atmosphere and share general identity concepts, however, they both focus on two separate narratives that can be categorized as a story of societal pressure and one of chosen path. The poems