Barbie Doll Figurative Language
Cordelia Kewatt
Ms. Eichten
AP English Period 3
3 January 2023
“Barbie Doll” lit analysis
Marge Piercy's "Barbie Doll" illustrates the damage done to young women who are ridiculed for their appearances because of the value society places on physical beauty. This is conveyed through the use of both dramatic and situational irony used in the poem. The speaker frequently makes mention of the young girls' problems but shows no emotion or sympathy for them. This tone furthers the idea that when placing importance solely on looks women are unable to live up to the standards -these standards frequently lead to young women engaging in self-destructive behavior.
The dramatic irony conveys the idea that when women are forced to adhere to strict physical
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The third stanza lists some of these expectations the unnamed girl faces in the poem, “exercise, diet, smile, and wheedle”(line 14). She was ‘advised’ to play coy for what she wanted and maintain these standards. When it became too much to bear she “offered” (line 18) up the parts of her that were ridiculed as imperfect. She was seen as her “fat nose” and “thick legs' ' instead of her character and she cut them off in a desperate attempt to get away from those standards. The casual tone of the speaker mentions this turn of events as if it is a common occurrence, the opposite of what one would expect. The poem employs this difference between expectations and reality in the form of situational irony, mainly within the last stanza. The unnamed girl died most likely due to her self-inflicted injuries and the expected outcome would be sadness or guilt for her passing. However, the indifferent speaker accurately relays everyone’s reactions as admiration for her “turned-up putty nose”(line 20). This turn of events creates a jarring realization that this may truly be something commonplace for some. The poem ends with an ironic statement “to every woman a happy ending”(line 25). The last stanza’s situational irony serves to enforce the point the author is trying to make- that no
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Self Acceptance In Janice Mirikitani's Barbie Doll
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Barbie Doll Rhetorical Analysis
1144 Words | 5 Pages(Kramer and Nelson 1997). Using the idea that Barbie depicts a woman who can be whoever she wants to be gives a sense of ethos present in the advertisement. This will then influence the audience (young girls) that they too can be whoever they want to be. By giving the opportunity for emotional attachment and representation of the little girl holding the doll looking up to Barbie as someone much like themselves, it gives a sense of hope and inspiration for the young girl. With the use of pathos, advertisement of Barbie makes it appear as though she is very approachable because of her looks and the way she seems to “fit the standards of society.”
Barbie Girl By Sandra Piercy
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Figurative Language In Marge Piercy's Barbie Doll
383 Words | 2 PagesThe poem "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy has a profound meaning to it. After reading it a couple of times, I found the theme by analyzing multiple things. I figured out the theme because of the author's use of figurative language and the outcome of her plot. The theme that I discovered was; people change people for the better or for, the worse, but it is upon them how they take it in.
Symbolism And Imagery In Barbie Doll By Marge Piercy
802 Words | 4 PagesThe 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.
Figurative Language In Robert Frost's 'Barbie Doll'
212 Words | 1 PagesI found in the poem "Because I could not stop for Death" that line 22, 'Feels shorter than the Day' was using Figurative language. the 'Day' is figuratively referred to a long awaited wedding day of marrying death. Also in the poem "Barbie Doll" line 15-16, 'Her good nature wore out like a fan belt' is also figurative language. A fan belt does not wear out quick, so after being the 'fan' she exhilarated all her joy and happiness until she couldn't do it.
Marge Piercy's The Barbie Doll
707 Words | 3 PagesThe 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.
Meaning Of Barbie Q By Sandra Cisneros
606 Words | 3 PagesBarbie 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
Identity In Marge Piercy's Barbie Doll
730 Words | 3 PagesWith 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.”
Analysis Of Marge Piercy's A Barbie Doll
1480 Words | 6 PagesThe 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.
Compare And Contrast Barbie Doll And The Leop
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Metaphors In A Doll House
1567 Words | 7 PagesIn 1880s, women in America were trapped by their family because of the culture that they were living in. They loved their family and husband, but meanwhile, they had hard time suffering in same patterns that women in United States always had. With their limited rights, women hoped liberation from their family because they were entirely complaisant to their husband. Therefore, women were in conflicting directions by two compelling forces, their responsibility and pressure. In A Doll’s House, Ibsen uses metaphors of a doll’s house and irony conversation between Nora and Torvald to emphasize reality versus appearance in order to convey that the Victorian Era women were discriminated because of gender and forced to make irrational decision by inequity society.
The Negative Impact Of Barbie's Influence On Girls
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