Philosopher, Albert Camus said it best when he said, “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life” (The Stranger). How one decides to live their life is solely each for their own. “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson, “Resumé” by Dorothy Parker, and “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy all focus on what life means to different individuals. Robinson expresses that looks can be illusory. The speaker of “Resumé” tells how painful death can be; and Piercy gives the idea that it is almost impossible for most women to obtain such an image as society holds. The theme throughout “Richard Cory” expresses that looks can be very illusory. Robinson uses
…show more content…
Parker’s speaker makes suicide sound humorous through A, B rhyming patterns. The poem contains understatements to explain why one might want to avoid suicide. For example, when the speaker says “Rivers are damp” she is understating the amount of water that a river actually contains (2). In the last line, Parker’s frivolous tone when saying, “You might as well live” supports the irony given throughout the poem that living is easier than trying to …show more content…
Marge Piercy in “Barbie Doll” conveys how it is impossible for women to maintain such an image as society expects. In the first stanza of “Barbie Doll”, the girlchild is presented with gifts that teach her how to be a woman in the home. If not a mommy or house wife, line three states that the female is supposed to maintain an image through, “…wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.” After hitting puberty the girlchild was ugly, “[She then obtains] a great big nose and fat legs” (6). The female goes throughout life feeling as if she has a poor self-image and “… went to and fro apologizing” (10). A simile is used in “Barbie Doll” to show how tired the female got when trying to maintain the perfect image “Her good nature wore out / like a fan belt” and eventually the girlchild gave up (15-16). She sacrificed herself to the Beauty Gods and “…she cut off her nose and her legs” (17). In the last stanza, Piercy’s speaker describes how the female lays “In the casket…”, and how she now has a “turned-up putty nose” just like a Barbie Doll. Piercy uses satire in line 25 when stating, “To every woman a happy ending”, this explains that she got what she wanted but had to die for
Parker’s speaker makes suicide sound humorous through A, B rhyming patterns. The poem contains understatements to explain why one might want to avoid suicide. For example, when the speaker says “Rivers are damp” she is understating the amount of water that a river actually contains (2). In the last line, Parker’s frivolous tone when saying, “You might as well live” supports the irony given throughout the poem that living is easier than trying to …show more content…
Marge Piercy in “Barbie Doll” conveys how it is impossible for women to maintain such an image as society expects. In the first stanza of “Barbie Doll”, the girlchild is presented with gifts that teach her how to be a woman in the home. If not a mommy or house wife, line three states that the female is supposed to maintain an image through, “…wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.” After hitting puberty the girlchild was ugly, “[She then obtains] a great big nose and fat legs” (6). The female goes throughout life feeling as if she has a poor self-image and “… went to and fro apologizing” (10). A simile is used in “Barbie Doll” to show how tired the female got when trying to maintain the perfect image “Her good nature wore out / like a fan belt” and eventually the girlchild gave up (15-16). She sacrificed herself to the Beauty Gods and “…she cut off her nose and her legs” (17). In the last stanza, Piercy’s speaker describes how the female lays “In the casket…”, and how she now has a “turned-up putty nose” just like a Barbie Doll. Piercy uses satire in line 25 when stating, “To every woman a happy ending”, this explains that she got what she wanted but had to die for