Comparing Rosemary Catacalos And Marge Piercy's Barbie Doll

Compare/contrast: the criticism of society's values

Rosemary Catacalos “David Talamantes on the last day of second grade” and Marge Piercy’s “Barbie doll” are two poems that paint an illustration from criticism of society’s values and the outcome they could have on people. Threw the views of society from the outside looking in upon these people in the poems they share the common criticism of others. The tone seems to be different in each poem but they have a Common Thread of what others view of them.

In “David talamantez on the last day of second grade.” the reader is introduced to a irrepressible boy from a poor side of town who uses his creativity to escape from the harsh realities of his rough life and he tries to turn all the criticism he received from others to improve himself. David was a young boy of a single mother who lived in the Alazan courts, he was often without Parental Guidance therefore he did not like all the rules he had to

David yes! (Line 57-59) David may not have been at a high academic standing but through the criticism at the end of the day he knew he tried his best and that is all that mattered to him. Unlike in “Barbie Doll” the reader is introduced to a young girl who is trying to meet the expectations of the society around her but is continuously criticized ultimately leading to her untimely death at such a young age. She seems to be a girl who grew up like anyone else (Line 1-3). Everything for her started to change once puberty hit, and she became self aware of what others thought of her and it demolished her self-esteem, shown for example in these lines;

“Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate