Marge Piercy

Marge Piercy, a Feminist American author wrote different poems about women. “Barbie Doll’ and “A Work of Artifice” are some of many examples. These two poems are similar in main idea, view point, and tone. In the first poem “Barbie Doll,” the author talks about how in society woman are expected to look perfect. It shows the story of a girl that was smart, and beautiful in her own way, but because society was criticizing her she decided to have surgery. The main idea of this poem is that society…

child was born as usual” (Piercy 1) and gives the impression that life is meant to be born normal, not ugly. Marge Piercy portrays Barbie as a “girl child” figure. Barbie sees herself as a threat because she compares herself with others. In the following lines state, “and presented dolls that pee-pee/ and miniature GE stoves and irons” (2-3). Females are given the tools of housework that includes cooking and ironing. “and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.” (Piercy 4) Society makes Barbie…

Society places unrealistic expectations on girls of how they should look. The poem “Barbie Doll” written by Marge Piercy is about a girl who is pressured to look beautiful by her classmates in school. However, her classmates’ expectations were unrealistic. When the girl couldn’t take the pressure anymore of trying to look pretty, she kills herself. I determined the theme of this poem by its title and figurative language. First, I figured out the poem’s theme by its title and figurative language…

In “Barbie Doll,” Marge Piercy destroys the preconceived notion that a woman has to be “perfect” to be beautiful. Piercy uses the title, diction, and repetition to show that a woman is not perfect nor should she be expected to be. Piercy uses the title “Barbie Doll” as a way to bring the image of a stereotypically “perfect” woman to the forefront of her audience’s mind. The use of the title juxtaposed against the “girlchild[‘s]” (1) own body in “you have a great big nose and fat legs” (6)…

Everyone is self conscious about how they look. However, each person possesses different levels of insecurity. Throughout the poem “Barbie Doll” by Margie Piercy, a girl’s self consciousness overcomes her and forces her to take drastic measures. In the beginning, ”this girlchild was born as usual”(1) and she doesn’t have a care in the world; she lives her life in a drama-free zone. Everything is perfectly fine until the young women goes through puberty and is inevitably made fun of. She excelled…

Marge Piercy’s, “Barbie Doll,” uses a variety of literary elements including language, tone, and irony, to discuss the treatment, or rather mistreatment of women in our world. The girl in the poem ends up killing herself after being harassed for her lack of feminine charm, the poem written in 1973 makes the reader question the way women are viewed and the heavy repercussions these expectations may carry. Piercy’s view of the way the world treats young girls is illustrated through the language…

see these stereotypes in “Day Star” by Rita Dove, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, and “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy. Day Star by Rita Dove is about a mother who felt trapped in her life as a stay at home mother, who just wants to daydream in the sun. “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid is about a mother trying to give her young daughter advise on how not to be a “slut” and how to keep a man. “Barbie Girl” by Marge Peircy was about a smart young lady who did not look how society wanted her to look so she cut…

America today, society places a multitude of absurd pressures upon women telling them how they must act, dress, and look. In the poem, one sees the negative effects these mounting pressures have on one young lady. In the poem, “Barbie Doll,” by Marge Piercy, the theme of the unreasonableness of the expectations placed on women is explored through the poems usage of symbolism, imagery and irony. The first symbol is found in title “Barbie Doll.” The symbol of the doll comes to life as the…

what it expects from them. “Barbie Doll”is a poem by Marge Piercy talks about how seeking acceptance in society cost a girl her life. While our societies grow larger, the expectation of…

than charm, not only does he want the most beautiful woman at the party, but he goes to extreme lengths to keep her from running away from him. A poem by Marge Piercy talks about the sexism that women face, “One must begin very early to dwarf their growth: the bound feet, the crippled brain, the hair in curlers, the hands you love to touch” (Piercy). The ugly stepsisters are just that in Perrault’s story, they are ugly, and their personalities…