ipl-logo

Marge Piercy's Poem, Barbie Doll

556 Words3 Pages

In Marge Piercy’s poem, Barbie Doll, she reminds young adults that the must have childhood toy was a Barbie Doll. Barbie, at one point, became so popular that every little girl was dying to have one. One main points of the short poem was asking the reader to examine what comes to mind when you think of a Barbie doll? Most will say a toy from a previous childhood. The overall view of this poem is about a girl who was born not like everyone else and she never gets a chance to make her own decisions in life. She always tried to satisfy everyone around her and to just have them accept her the way she is. She realized that she didn’t need to change anymore and just gave up her life to please people. In a society to be accepted you have to change …show more content…

When I was 7 years old my mother got me a Barbie doll toy. It was one of the most gorgeous dolls that I ever gotten at the age of 7. I played with that thing 24/7-- every day of the week. My mother, for the first time, said I could take it to school with me. So I did. All my friends saw how new the doll was and started making fun of me. They said things so mean that I went home and cried in my room till I fell asleep. I use to please all my friends to get them to accept me the way I was. I really didn’t hit puberty as a young girl until I turned 9 or 10. Someone said I was fat all around my body which kind of made me upset even more. According to the poem “Barbie Doll”, a classmate said you have a great big nose and fat legs. Which was really mean to say to her at a young age. (Barbie Doll). There are bullies out there in school that will be riotous mean to the kids that are very special in life. I would never kill myself like in the poem. She did all this stuff to please her friends and family like get plastic surgery and wear makeup. In the poem it says in the casket displayed on satin she lay with the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on, a turned-up putty nose, dressed in a pink and white nightie. Doesn’t she look pretty? Everyone said. Consummation at last. To every woman a happy ending. (Piercy) What it lead to was nothing and she realized that in the end she didn’t need it anymore and she just gave up. Just

Show More
Related

  • Shame In Barbie-Q By Cisneros

    1539 Words  | 7 Pages

    The narrator in “Barbie-Q” resisted the negative association with the shame expected of her and did not allow that shame to stop her from enjoying her toys. The narrator posed this to readers when she says, “So what if we didn’t get our new Bendable Legs Barbie and Midge and Ken…in nice clean boxes and had to buy them on Maxwell Street, all water-soaked and sooty” (“Barbie-Q” 16). She used her innocence as a way to avoid the shame associated with her dolls and just focused on the excitement of receiving a new one. By her lack of real shame over her dolls and her own situation, she really fought the idea that one must feel ashamed and negatively towards themselves because of the shame they are presumed to feel because of their financial

    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

  • The Consequences Of How Grandmother Spider Brought Fire

    1563 Words  | 7 Pages

    She no longer wanted to be a beautiful young woman. She could no longer find peace as a human being. The

    Read More

  • Symbols In The Story 'Barbie' By Gary Soto

    1013 Words  | 5 Pages

    One theme that is vividly illustrated in the story is that people should all be treated the same even if they don't look like others. Thought out the story this is should and is always present either in the beginning, middle, or end. A place where it is presently shown is, “‘Look, Mom, a Barbie,’Veronica said happily” (Soto 36).When Vernonia received the doll all she could think about is how the doll looks like a real Barbie. Even if the other imitation doll looked like a Barbie, she liked this one more and forgot that the other doll even excited. This relates to the theme because she likes the doll with blonde hair that is a Barbie and not the one with dark hair.

    Read More

  • Appearance In Marge Piercy's Barbie Doll

    652 Words  | 3 Pages

    One will change his or her appearance because society does not like them. The poem “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy shows one the effects of society. “Barbie Doll” portrays many types of elements, but the most important are theme, tone, and irony. The theme of a poem is the subject of a piece of writing. The theme for the poem “Barbie Doll” is appearance.

    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

  • 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

  • Meaning Of Barbie Q By Sandra Cisneros

    606 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the short story ''Barbie Q,'' Sandra Cisneros portrays that Barbie dolls can impact girl's lives as they grow up, and influence the way they act and perceive themselves. These girls grow up in a poor family environment considering that they acquired the rest of the dolls in a toys sale after a store burned down. In ‘‘Barbie Q,’’what is the thematic significance of the damaged dolls after the fire? The girl’s enthusiasm to get the new dolls -when they said that they prefer to receive new doll’s clothes- suggests that the meaning of these Barbie dolls is more than just a new toy.

    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

  • 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 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

  • 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

  • Barbie's Positive Influence On Pop Culture

    506 Words  | 3 Pages

    Barbie is a doll that was introduced in 1959, she took the world by storm with her fashion and changing careers. She greatly influenced pop culture and the thoughts and beliefs of people. Barbie has been involved in many controversies over the years due to her body image and the high body expectations that she sets for young girls. She has had a significant impact on social values by conveying characteristics of female independence. Barbie has had positive and negative influences on fashion, interests and beliefs of a certain year, which continually changed throughout the decades.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On The Barbie Doll

    1108 Words  | 5 Pages

    But where did it all start and how did you get to this position? You’re five years old when you receive your first Barbie doll. Your innocent mind looks at the plastic figure as just a symbol of inspiration or a relatable toy used on the playground

    Read More

More about Marge Piercy's Poem, Barbie Doll

Open Document