Barbie Doll By Marge Piercy Essays - Play, Barbie Doll,

Barbie Doll By Marge Piercy The poem, Barbie Doll, written by Marge Piercy tells the story of a young girl growing up through the adolescence stage characterized by appearances and barbarity. The author uses imagery and fluctuating tone to describe the struggles the girl is experiencing during her teenage years, and the affects that can happen. The title of this poem is a good description of how most societies expect others, especially girls to look. Constantly, people are mocked for their appearance and expected to represent a barbie-doll-like figure. Few are blessed with this description. The female gender is positioned into the stereotype that women should be thin and beautiful. With this girl, the effects were detrimental. The first stanza describes the influence that a child is placed into during early childhood. Girls are expected to play with dolls and stoves and irons, the usual toys that relate to the old-fashioned duties of women. A young girl begins to learn what she should be for society and not to deviate from the norm. The tone used in this stanza is quite silent and simplistic at first, then takes a turn towards a more bold statement. The author uses the magic of puberty to describe the age where appearance comes into effect. It's ironic that this particular word is used because puberty is actually a stage of emotional crisis'. A hurtful remark was made towards the child, and she was described as having a big nose and fat legs. The second stanza also begins with the subdued tone mentioning the girls positive aspects, such as being healthy?intelligent?strong. These specific details are usually related to the male. Once again, the gender characteristics play as an underlying factor. These qualities were not good enough for a woman if they were not beautiful. The stanza then takes a turn like the first turning away from the simplicity. The girl went to and fro apologizing, while everyone still saw a fat nose on thick legs. Society places women into the mold where they begin to put on a facade and apologize for their misfortunes. In the third stanza, the girl was advised to play coy?(and) smile. Women are once again pressured to act in a way that is unreal, like a barbie doll. The fan belt mention in this stanza is used as imagery to describe how one's facade can wear out over time, as hers did. She cut off her nose and her legs, in response to this. The character Nora in A Doll's House, is a perfect example of how women are like dolls and do what they are told or what society expects of them. It is only in the last stanza where the girl is dead and has consummation at last. She is finally given a compliment when someone said, doesn't she look pretty? The undertaker was able to use make-up to cover the pain and suffering this child went through, and placed her into the mold of a barbie doll with a putty nose and dressed in a pink and white nightie. These two colors are associated with girls' and Barbies. She finally was able to fit into the girl camouflage. Through the teenage years, beauty seems to be a determinant for popularity and some success, which is important to young girls during middle school and high school. At an early age, remarks made about one's appearances can damage an adolescent's personality and self-esteem. In this particular case, it was deathly for this child, as it is for some. The author was able to accomplish this theme through her tone and imagery, while using colors and items associated with girls. The societies within America usually describe someone as beautiful if they are thin and have the perfect body, such as a barbie doll in this poem. Poetry

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In the book The Battle for History, John Keegan, talks of the many different views on World War II. He takes into account other historical works such as Robert M. Kennedy’s The German Campaign in Poland, Christopher Duffy’s Red Storm on the Reich, The Struggle for Europe by Chester Wilmot and many others. He has already analyzed these other works. He has summarized the authors’ major points and used them to support his own theory, although Keegan’s theory about the written history of the war is quite unclear. The only theory that I could derive, is that â€Å"[it] has not yet been written.† (30) What does he mean by this? The works cited in the back of the book number over one hundred fifty. Numerous references are made to the works of other authors. Keegan does not seem to tell anything from his perspective, but state what he has read. All good and well considering this is history, but are the past events so clearly set in stone? Keegan seems to br ing up questions throughout the book such as: did Roosevelt know of the attack on Pearl Harbor before it happened? â€Å"There have also been explorations of the allegation that Roosevelt had foreknowledge but chose not to act on it, as a means of bringing the United States into the Second World War on the anti-Axis side.† (17) Keegan does not do much to answer these questions, simply brings them into the picture. The book gives no feel of ending or resolution to most of the questions he brings about. Maybe this was his purpose. Topics in the book up from one place to another. In one paragraph Keegan may be discussing the use of the Enigma, a commercial cipher machine; in the next Keegan might begin discussing the use of U-boats. Although there is some logical flow through the book, for the most part the subjects are jumpy, causing the work to be choppy and cluttered babbling. It seems like the author is trying to squeeze as much as he can into as few pages as possible. Keega n does, how... Free Essays on School Rules Free Essays on School Rules In the book The Battle for History, John Keegan, talks of the many different views on World War II. He takes into account other historical works such as Robert M. Kennedy’s The German Campaign in Poland, Christopher Duffy’s Red Storm on the Reich, The Struggle for Europe by Chester Wilmot and many others. He has already analyzed these other works. He has summarized the authors’ major points and used them to support his own theory, although Keegan’s theory about the written history of the war is quite unclear. The only theory that I could derive, is that â€Å"[it] has not yet been written.† (30) What does he mean by this? The works cited in the back of the book number over one hundred fifty. Numerous references are made to the works of other authors. Keegan does not seem to tell anything from his perspective, but state what he has read. All good and well considering this is history, but are the past events so clearly set in stone? Keegan seems to br ing up questions throughout the book such as: did Roosevelt know of the attack on Pearl Harbor before it happened? â€Å"There have also been explorations of the allegation that Roosevelt had foreknowledge but chose not to act on it, as a means of bringing the United States into the Second World War on the anti-Axis side.† (17) Keegan does not do much to answer these questions, simply brings them into the picture. The book gives no feel of ending or resolution to most of the questions he brings about. Maybe this was his purpose. Topics in the book up from one place to another. In one paragraph Keegan may be discussing the use of the Enigma, a commercial cipher machine; in the next Keegan might begin discussing the use of U-boats. Although there is some logical flow through the book, for the most part the subjects are jumpy, causing the work to be choppy and cluttered babbling. It seems like the author is trying to squeeze as much as he can into as few pages as possible. Keega n does, how...