In her poem
“Barbie Doll,” Marge Piercy uses symbolism of traditional female toys to
portray the struggles of a young girl growing up in a world where people only
judge her for the way she looks. Peoplebelieve
the only way to be happy is to be perfect on the outside because this is what
they are presented with from birth. Marge
Piercy’s poem is called Barbie Doll to symbolize what the expected female role
is, in comparison to a doll. Throughout her poem, Marge Piercy constantly uses
symbolism of traditional female toys to depict what the world thinks the
perfect women should aspire to be.
In the beginning
of the poem, Marge
Piercy Presents the girl child with what
the world believes the perfect and happy women should be with the use of
symbolism. "The
girlchild was born as usual, and presented dolls that did pee-pee"(Piercy
lines 1-2). These dolls symbolizes what a women should aspire to be and this is
presented to girls from birth. It reveals to the girlchild what the world wants
out of her, which is only looks The
girlchild is also presented with cliche female items."And miniature GE
stoves and irons/ and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy."(lines
3-4). GE stoves and irons symbolize the stereotypical image of the ideal
housewife. Wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy symbolize what the world
thinks women and girls should be thinking about, which is their appearance.
Marge Piercy uses symbolism of traditional female toys is to illustrate what
the world thinks the perfect women should desire to be and it is reflected when
this “girlchild” is presented with it from birth.
When the girlchild
hit puberty, Marge Piercy uses symbolism of traditional female toys to demonstrate
how we will change ourselves to live up to the world’s expectations. When the
girlchild is growing up, people’s expectations become more real to her. “She was healthy, tested intelligent, /
possessed strong arms and back, / she went to and from apologizing,/ and
everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs”(lines 7-11). This
symbolizes how people push pass the good and only see the flaws in others. The
girlchild is constantly trying to please others and it is reflected when she
makes a drastic move.“So she cut off her nose and her legs and
offered them up.”(lines 17-18). This symbolizes how people will do anything to
live up to the world’s anticipations. Marge Piercy’s use of symbolism helps us
to perceive the significance of how the world thinks the perfect women should
aspire to be.
By the end of the
poem the girl is still only judged by the way she looks and it is presented in
the use of symbolism. The girlchild is at her funeral, “In the casket displayed
on satin she lay/ with the undertakers cosmetic painted on,/ a turned-up putty
nose./ Dressed in a pink and white nightie,”(lines 19-22) A turned-up putty
nose symbolizes how the girl is still expected to be perfect even though the
nose is unrealistic. A pink and white nightie symbolize femininity and purity and
this implies that even after she is dead, people still believe she has to be a
certain way.“Doesn’t she look pretty? Everyone said. /Consummation
at last.” (lines 23-24). It was not until death that everyone accepted the girl,
But they still had to change her to live up to expectations. Our world believes
that a woman has to be a certain way if she wants to be happy, and Marge
Piercy’s uses of symbolism of traditional toys portray this by the end of her poem.
Marge Piercy’s use
of symbolism helps to reveal that women have an enormous pressure to be a
certain way in the world. From a girl’s birth to their death, many of them are only thinking about their looks. Marge Piercy wrote this poem 1969, and
still today we read it in our English classes because we realize nothing has
changed and the world still believes the women has to be a certain way if she
wants to be accepted. Piercy’s use of symbolism of traditional female toys helps
us to understand the true meaning behind her audacious poem Barbie Doll.
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