Many people in today’s society face the challenge of self-acceptance. They either are criticized by the way they look or struggle to be who they really are without getting any criticism by society. Janice Mirikitani’s “Suicide Note” and Margie Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” are two poems that have speakers who struggle with the expectations of society. Although the tone of these two poems and the symbolism are disparate, each poems character has difficulty accepting themselves because of what others expect them to be. The ideal of having high expectations on people makes a big impact as they do for Mirikitani’s and Piercy’s speakers. Both speakers have high expectations from others that cause them to prevent from who they really are. For