Literary Analysis of The Poem Barbie Doll and The Theme of Perfect Image

In the poem, “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy, the girl is viewed, at first, as a “usual” little girl with dolls and bright lipstick. Next, the girl is called names until she resorts to the mindset that she is not perfect, but needs to be. This is an issue that lots of girls, especially at a young age, face, but the poem is describing it as though all girls are like this and take comments that boys make too far. The poem make women seem like they can’t take criticism at all, which is very obviously not true. The poem turns much grimmer toward the end. With the line, “Doesn’t she look pretty?”, the poem proves objectification by showing that people care more about how the girl looks than the fact that she’s gone due to the fact that she hated herself. This poem is done in a positive fashion because it is written in a sort of satirical way. The poem is positive because it is a warning for women that worry about minor flaws and for people that point out the flaws.

The poem’s last line is “To every woman a happy ending” , which shows that women would rather be known as pretty and dead than alive and ugly, which should really stick out to everyone that reads the poem, especially women. “She Being Brand” by E.E. Cummings, uses a car to symbolize women. The fact that men call cars “she” or “her” rather than it shows that they truly believe they have dominance over women and that they, in a way, own women. The way that the narrator refers to the car make him sound like he is truly taking care of the car and giving it what it needs, which is good for the car. Women, however, are not cars and should not be treated as such because they need more than physical attention and medical help. Women need to be heard and appreciated, even if it is not often. It is not fair to women to compare women to a car because all a car does is bring the driver where he or she wishes to go, aka. It pleases the owner. All that an owner does for a car is make sure the car has what it needs to run properly and looks good. Cars do not require anything further because it is a machine, looking good and working properly does not cut it for women and that is what is being confused in society today. Women have come to believe that their only duty in the world is to work properly, such as do what is asked and expected of them like have children and prepare dinner, and to look good. This poem is not written in a positive way because it is supporting the fact that many men have and still do refer to objects and machines as “she”, which creates the mindset that women are not much more than these machines and objects and should be treated as such.

Works Cited

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