ipl-logo

Paradoxical Expectations In Marge Piercy's Barbie Doll

672 Words3 Pages

Marge Piercy's poem Barbie Doll tells of a young girl and her experience through adolescence. It illuminates the destruction wreaked when unrealistic expectations and gender limitations become socially acceptable. This poem ends with the tragic suicide of the girl and how only in death did she embody the ideals set by society. Piercy exposes the paradoxical expectations set by American culture through the use of explicit diction, simile, and irony. Within the first four lines the girl is guided towards the expectations set in her future. Referred to as a ”girlchild”, her gender becomes her identity (Sepe), forsaking her chance for an individual path. In lines two and three the girl is “Presented dolls that did pee-pee and miniature GE stoves and irons”. The doll represents the girl becoming a mother and the stove and iron are objects typically associated with housekeeping (Sepe) thus acclimating the girl to the idea of housework and motherhood being the central dogma in a woman's life. Piercy specifically writes “ presented” so as to bring attention to formality of the process, making it sound like a tradition rather than a choice. A key theme of the poem is the importance of looks correlating to the treatment received by …show more content…

The term “magic” is used ironically as “she is also referring to the pain that comes with puberty”(milne) when her classmate says “you have a great big nose and fat legs”. Her classmate represents society (Sigit) and this is further proven when it is stated that “everyone saw a fate nose on thick legs”. Overtime the opinion and conception of one developed into the opinion of many overwhelming the girl driving her to her tragic end. Moreover the girl “ was advised to play coy, exhorted to come on hearty” further overwhelming the girl due to the contradictory nature of the statement. this Contradiction is paralleled when the girl is advised to “ exercise, diet, smile and

Show More
Related

Symbols In The Story 'Barbie' By Gary Soto

1013 Words | 5 Pages

A girl walks into the toy store and pulls into the doll section. She stares at the imitation doll and the Barbie doll standing next to it. She contemplates between picking the black hair doll and the perfect blonde doll. In a quick second, she grabbed the doll. The Barbie doll.

Read More

Figurative Style In Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak

977 Words | 4 Pages

After reading the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, I recommend that other high school students read it based on its figurative style and satire. Through the book Speak there is a myriad of figurative language that runs parallel to Melinda Sordino's life and the intractable conflicts she's facing. Based on this students should read the book because Anderson's figurative style is rich with imaginative metaphors and symbols with predictable meanings. One example of this is Malindas Barbie doll sculpture made from bare turkey bones and the head of a decapitated Barbie, “I pop the head of a Barbie doll and set it inside the turkey's body… I place a piece of tape over the Barbies mouth” (Anderson 63-64). One may interpret that she's doing this to express the gruesome loss of her identity and she chose the barbie because like herself the Barbie is fake and plastic on the outside appearing perfect to the world.

Read More

Barbie Dystopianis Duhamel Analysis

805 Words | 4 Pages

In this essay, I will explore the themes of various poems from “Kinky”, by Denise Duhamel. The poems “The Limited Edition Platinum Barbie” and “One Afternoon When Barbie Wanted to Join the Military”, reflect upon the oppressive beauty standards and gender expectations in our culture and hyperbolize them to a dystopian point. Duhamel uses Barbie as a metaphor throughout these poems, and addresses our culture’s misogyny, while making Barbie a first person character and giving her a voice. The poem “The Limited Edition Platinum Barbie” critiques our culture’s narrow standard of beauty. Our society is consumed by the fantasy and perfection of the idealized body.

Read More

Compare And Contrast Barbie Doll And The Leop

260 Words | 2 Pages

While Marge Piercy (“Barbie Doll”) and James Dickey (“The Leap”) have created poems that are about women who were trounced by society’s pressure, each poem depicts different elements to reflect the narrator’s voice and convey their message. Piercy highlights her character’s struggle with the preconceived vehemence on women’s role in our society from a young age. “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.” (Piercy) On the other hand, Dickey uses nostalgia to describe the character in his poem “fastest runner in seventh grade” (Dickey) and how he remembers the main character.

Read More

Sandra Cisneros Barbie-Q: A Literary Analysis

1793 Words | 8 Pages

The story tells the reader about how two girls, each owns a Barbie doll with their one outfit piece and they made a dress out of worn socks for the dolls. One Sunday, they both went to the flea market on Maxwell Street, where the dolls of the other characters in Barbie were sold with lower price as a big toy warehouse was destroyed by fire. They did not mind to buy the dolls at the flea market even though the dolls were flawed, soaked with water and smelled like ashes. Barbie is widely pictured as a successful girl, who is perfect in every way; with her beautiful face, a slim body, nice house, secured job and a handsome boyfriend which is the fancy of every girl. The story tells the reader of the expectancy for women to have this immaculate figure, ignoring the fact that each person has different body fat percentage and body mass index which may affect their sizes and weights.

Read More

Barbie Doll Rhetorical Analysis

1144 Words | 5 Pages

The freedom of being able to change Barbie’s clothes into her various wardrobes sold gives the young children playing with her the sense of individuality. Although Barbie has brought a lot of controversy to the table within the years it has been on the shelf, her portrayal has not changed because after all she is just a doll,

Read More

Meaning Of Barbie Q By Sandra Cisneros

606 Words | 3 Pages

Barbie dolls extend girls an invitation to a ‘‘plastic society’’ that doesn't accept the genuineness each of us possesses. They present a role model impossible to accomplish. The characters didn't have names, they could hold a symbolic representation of society’s judgment. The girls had the first dolls just like they wanted, but they desired to cover all of the imperfections on the dolls damaged in the fire with new clothes such as the ‘‘Prom Pink outfit’’ (Cisneros). Thereupon, no one would notice the

Read More

Short Story Barbie-Q By Sandra Cisneros

770 Words | 4 Pages

It portrays how two girls make best of what they have and look past all of the flaws that each Barbie doll may have. Meaning that they do not care that their Barbie doll does not look like the rest of them, they still view the toy as a doll to play with. It shows how the two girls view beauty and what it means to them. The lesson learned in this short story is that you should not judge a book by its cover; there is always something beautiful about someone or

Read More

Marge Piercy's The Barbie Doll

707 Words | 3 Pages

The poem Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy is a short poem that talks about a little girl who is born just like any other little girl. She plays with dolls and little ovens and messes around with makeup. She is fine and unbothered with her life till she hits puberty. Around that age she has a classmate tell her “you have a big nose and fat legs.” She was a girl who was healthy, strong, and intelligent but, she was apologizing to everyone for what they saw.

Read More

Identity In Marge Piercy's Barbie Doll

730 Words | 3 Pages

With the constant fear of ridicule and discrimination, we still try and define ourselves, though we are always under the society’s scope. Marge Piercy, in her poem “Barbie Doll”, gives us a look at the influence of our surroundings and how something as innocent as a doll can trigger these insecurities. Our strive for acceptance and “perfection” can cause major emotional damage on anyone who identifies as a woman. Young girls look at these depictions of “perfect” bodies, such as a barbie doll for example, and compare themselves. In the poem “Barbie Doll”, Piercy talks about a young girl who she described as “...healthy, tested and intelligent...” (247) but, she was picked on by peers who said she had “a great big nose and fat legs.”

Read More

Symbolism And Imagery In Barbie Doll By Marge Piercy

802 Words | 4 Pages

The poem Barbie doll by Marge Piercy is about a little girl who grows up only to kill herself for not living up to society’s standards. The speaker shows how she had a normal childhood and was happy playing with here baby dolls and toy stove. However, during puberty, her body changed and everyone noticed. She was criticized for her “fat nose and thick legs”. She tried to change by dieting and exercising, but soon tired of doing so.

Read More

Analysis Of Marge Piercy's A Barbie Doll

1480 Words | 6 Pages

The poem “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy suggests that girls are fatally and ultimately entrapped by society's definition of what feminine beauty and behavior is. In our society we believe that women should be perfect. We want women to be as flawless as a Barbie doll and in doing so we create many struggles for women because no one can ever achieve that goal. The poem gives off a sense of irony when “society” compares a young girl to a Barbie doll. Our society has an ideal that was created by the influences of popular media and culture that is impossible for anyone to reach.

Read More

Barbie's Positive Influence On Pop Culture

506 Words | 3 Pages

Although Barbie has conveyed many beliefs through the clothes and jobs she has had, the most controversial belief has been body image. Since first being brought out into the world, Barbie has had an unreasonably shaped body, with a small waist and large breasts. All of Barbie’s body features have impacted the way society expects women to look. But in 2016, Barbie had a dramatic makeover, she was released in different heights and body shapes, making her more suitable to the way women actually look. Barbie’s new look has made a positive impact on young girls and potentially society’s unrealistic expectations of

Read More

Analysis Of The Crying Game

798 Words | 4 Pages

Directed and written by Ireland’s most famous filmmaker Neil Jordan in 1992, The Crying Game is a psychological thriller drama that explores themes of nationality, sexuality, gender, and race against the backcloth of the Irish Troubles. It is a movie about sight, vision, perception, and self-transformation. The film features a volunteer for the Irish Republican Army who kidnaps a black British soldier (Jaye Davidson) with the help of other IRA members in order to have their fellow Irish comrades released. As the story progresses, one of the captors by the name of Fergus (Stephen Rea) befriends the British soldier. Fergus undergoes an inner struggle whether he should execute him or not.

Read More

Theme Of Appearance In A Doll's House

1396 Words | 6 Pages

In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, appearances prove to be deceptive veneers that disguise the reality of situations and characters. Ibsen’s play is set in 19th century Norway, when women’s rights were restricted and social appearance such as financial success and middle class respectability were more important than equality and true identity. Ibsen also uses realism and naturalism, portraying the Helmer’s Marriage through authentic relationships, which are relatable to the audience. In A Doll’s House, Nora represents 19th century women entrapped by society to fulfill wifely and motherly obligations, unable to articulate or express their own feelings and desires.

Read More

More about Paradoxical Expectations In Marge Piercy's Barbie Doll

Related Topics

Open Document