"Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy Analysis

In 1973, Marge Piercy wrote a metrical composition that follows the life sentence of a five-year-old lady friend growth up with modern expectations that she struggles to accommodate to. ?Barbie boo? uses different faces of a fair sex?s life to point the different pressures on women today. The send-off aspect Piercy uses to emphasize the stereotypes connect to women argon calculates, colours, and toys that are tradition all told(prenominal)y associated with daughters; the principal(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) image of the meter, is granted gifts that are rattling maiden desire. The early(a) aspects Piercy utilizes are the ? illusion? of puberty, and she withal uses the popular children?s chick Barbie, as collectn in the backup of her poem, to highlight conjunction?s expectations on women, the main(prenominal) character at the end of the bushel-back stanza is ridiculed by a chum because of her accounts. Stereotypes of how a woman ?should? app ear and be wear resembling open always been around in some fig or form. These ?ideals? are in dummy uped in exact little filles at a teenage age. These ?ideals? moreover can be precise difficult for women that can non or entreat non to correct to this ?norm?, as like the main character in the poem who in the fourth stanza has taken her life because she couldn?t fit in. Piercy relates diverse portions of a woman?s life to effectively connect Barbie hiss expectations of women and her playing area. Piercy strategically uses tralatitious and nontraditional items, and colours associated with women to point aside what participation deems maidenly qualities to contrast the feelings of her composition. In the first stanza the subject is prone gifts conventionally providen to young girls: a doll, a lean stove, an iron, and lipstick. These items are picked by the author to illustrate that, even from a young age; women are being molded into neat homemakers. Wome n have been traditionally expected to have c! hildren, cook for the family, houseclean for the family and nevertheless still look beautiful for their husbands when they come home. In the terzetto stanza, the subject seems to be wearing unwrap like a yellowish brown belt: ?Her penny-pinching nature wore place/ like a rooter belt.? (Lines 15 ? 16). A fan belt is a rail automobile part, cars are traditionally considered genuinely masculine. Piercy uses a masculine item to extinguish her subject self-importance confidence and happiness seemed to cease alike a car with a broken fan belt. Piercy also perhaps indispensablenesss to adduce her subject might be reasoned at former(a) things other than the status quo things that women are thought to be nigh(a) at such as car mechanics. In the first stanza it appears that everything is going well for the young girl. Then, as ironically suppose by Piercy the girl undergoes the ?magic? of puberty. Puberty is an awkward eon for all. During this period of time is whe n boys usually start to take censure of girls, being it in a good context or bad. Piercy closes the first stanza: ?Then in the magic of puberty, a schoolfellow said: / You have a great big jimmy and fat legs.? (Lines 5 -6). Society seems to be so imprisoned up in what people look like on the prohibitedside, they a great deal disregard what the person has to liberty chit emotionally or intellectually. The subject in the poem retributive wants to be recognised for who she is, she feels anonymous. In the poem Piercy does not give the young girl a name, this creates two tumbles for Piercy to use. The first angle is that the young girl is nameless because all people see of her was her large hooter and fat legs. The bite angle is that Piercy wants express that during puberty all girls undergo ridicule. Piercy uses the main character?s anonymity to get in touch her female readers; all women have endured some sort of societal pressures while growing up and during pube rty. The title of the poem ?Barbie chick? derives fr! om the popular doll Barbie which is manufactured by Mattel Toys. The dolls are often associated with femininity and witness however; girls might try and imitate the unrealistic standards they set which can be discouraging. In the second stanza, the author shows her consultation that although the girl is not traditionally pretty, she was still in good health and had other positive attributes: ?She was healthy, well-tried intelligent, / Possessed blind drunk arms and back,? (Lines 7 - 8). When you think of a Barbie doll, you do not think of a doll with sizable arms, having a conceptive back, or being overly clever.

Barbie looks as though she whitethorn be anorexic, she is rigid, she does not step out of line, she just make a faces and does not talk, and she does whatever her puppeteer wants of herIn the third stanza it seems as though the girl is comer out for help to coincide with ball club?s Barbie like expectations of her: ?She was advised to play coy, / exhorted to come on hearty, / exercise, diet, smile and wheedle.? (Lines 12 ? 14). The main character in this stanza is try to rein out as to why people go out not accept her for who she is. The girl was looking for an answer that golf-club wouldn?t give her, she had to conform to the Barbie like ?norm? or be herself and unhappy. In the fourth and closing stanza, the subject is remove and is in her casket at her funeral. The young woman feels as though she could not fit in and takes her own life. Although the girl doesn?t feel she fits in, she is ironically dressed in a pink and white nightie in her casket. Pink is tra ditionally associated with womanhood, and white is of! ten associated with purity. I feel that Piercy chose to have the subject dressed this way to express that even in final stage the girl was still expected to be very feminine and Barbie - esque. Piercy?s Barbie Doll is a well written authority of modern expectations of women. The author strategically uses traditional girl?s gifts and colours to represent the standards pressed on women. Piercy writes her poem as the girl grows through puberty. The author specifically decides to apply the main character nameless to show how the girl felt like she was nothing but a big horn in on big legs. The author also contrasts the popular doll Barbie and the stereotypes of what women ?should? look and act like according to what the doll represents antagonist to her main character. Using these different affects Piercy has written an effective poem bring out society?s unjust pressures on young women. If you want to get a full essay, aver it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

If you want to get a full essay, visit our page: write my paper