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Margie Piercy's Barbie Doll

947 Words4 Pages

Introduction: The Definition of Barbie Doll is " A doll representing a conventionally attractive women ." Poet Margie Piercy published the poem " Barbie Doll." The poem starts with a "girlchild" who is brought into the world and presented with expectations of things girls must live up to.
Stanza 1 : 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.
Line 1: "This girlchild was born as usual." In the first line it brings up the fact that she was born as "usual" this is to show its nothing out of the ordinary, everybody else comes into the world the same. …show more content…

Its seems in the poem that girls do not have the choice of toys they get to play with. The toys that the girlchild get start with wee or mini. There just smaller than what the adult women uses.
Lines 5-6 : "Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said: You have a great big nose and fat legs." The poet uses sarcasm when she says the magic of puberty. Puberty happens to be a difficult time for girls they start to become insecure. The girlchild is being made fun of because she looks different than the typical …show more content…

Doesn't she look pretty? Everyone said. Consummation at last. To every woman a happy ending.
Lines 19-20: "In the casket displayed on satin she lay with the undertakers cosmetics painted on." After the girl has mutilated her body to please the others she now lies dead in her casket. It's not an actual death it represent the death of her girlchild. She has killed the person she really is.
Lines 21-22: "turned up putty nose, dressed in a pink and white nightie." The girl now has her new nose the others wanted to see. And she wearing a pink and white nightie to show off her new skinny legs. This gives a visual that makes her more attractive then she was.
Line 23-25: "Doesn’t she look pretty? Everyone said consummation at last. To every women a happy ending. The poem really shows that after the girl has changed her life for the satisfaction of others. The only complement they could muster up is doesn't she look pretty?" The girl had been ridiculed for most of her life only to have that as a compliment. Overall this girl endeared a life of ridicule only to change and still the " Others" are not

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