Formal Essay #2

November 25, 2012

Dear Mr. Smith,

Both Men and Women are objectified on a daily basis through advertising, music and by the harassment of other peers. When a human is put on a pedestal and called the epitome of beauty and others are forced to live up to it, what happens if they cant? Take the children’s toy the Barbie Doll for instance, she and her boyfriend Ken are considered the best looking and all her friends look skinny and appealing. This sort of depiction in toys is exactly what happens in today’s society, if you are not “hot” or “sexy” you are not considered popular and are shunned out. Marge Piercy is a renowned poet and depicts this cruelty in her poem titled “Barbie Doll”.

The title “Barbie Doll” is very controversial; a Barbie doll symbolized being perfect and the epitome of beauty. Most little girls grow up playing with Barbie dolls that come with their fancy car, house, friends, cloths and sometimes even her boyfriend Ken. Society loves the sexy tall, tan, long blonde and blue-eyed girls that resemble the plastic sensation: The Barbie Doll. When these girls grow up and they do not resemble the Barbie doll or the celebrity on the cover of Maxim Magazine, then they are harassed and made fun of because they are not able to succumb to societies norms.

In the first stanza of this poem “Barbie Doll” Piercy explains how a girl was born like every other baby; cute and innocent but as time went on through her childhood, she changed.

“This girlchild was born as usual
and presented dolls that did pee-pee
and miniature GE stoves and irons
and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.
Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:
You have a great big nose and fat legs.”(Piercy)

When a child goes through puberty they change physically and mentally whether they like it or not. This poor girl endures the “magic” but all she receives is a big nose and fat legs. This stanza is a great because it gives a look at how a child begins to receive harsh criticism. This means if after the magic of puberty either boys or girls end up not looking perfect, then they receive rude comments and criticism.

           

 In the second stanza, the author lets the reader know that this girl has the same physical qualities like being strong, healthy and intelligent. People do not realize that a person’s true beauty is inside not on the outside. Intelligence and love are more important then any looks but Piercy depicts how so many people don’t think like this. Piercy says, “Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs”(Piercy). This is an example of such behavior; kids and adults can be so fixated on the external build and lose sigh of the qualities such as honesty and intelligence.  

 

Stanza three starts off by the poet saying, “She was advised to play coy”. This means that this young girl is advised to be shy and try to deflect any sort of comments about her physical appearance. She is told to “exercise, diet, smile and wheedle”. According to societies norms, you will look attractive if you do all of these things. When the poet says that she is supposed to diet and exercise it makes this girl sound like she is a bigger girl and has fat legs. “Her good nature wore out, like a fan belt” implies that all the time that she has been acting coy, smiling and hiding her true self ran its course. She has tried to hide from society so she would not feel the hurt from her peers put-downs. The hurt and sorrow of all of the criticism that she has received has thrown her off track; like a fan belt in a car. So in anger against the world, “she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up”. This is a surreal analogy of the truth about how people are supposed to live up to societies harsh standards just to be considered “hot or beautiful”. This innocent girl feels so self-conscious that she thinks it is necessary to cut off her legs and nose just to look like a Barbie doll! This is a real life analogy of how people get use Botox and get plastic surgery so they will look like the drop dead gorgeous Barbie Doll. What has this world come to?

In the last stanza, Piercy overwhelms you with the message of this poem and todays society.

“In the casket displayed on satin she lay
with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on,
a turned-up putty nose,
dressed in a pink and white nightie.
Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said.
Consummation at last.
To every woman a happy ending.” (Piercy)

This stanza is very heart wrenching because this girl is now metaphorically dead because of what she has done to herself. She makes you imagine this innocent girl in which god put into the wrong body. She depicts it as if the devil has taken over her judgment and killed her. Then Piercy says she has “ the undertakers cosmetics painted on” this is a very powerful statement because the undertaker is referring to the devil and bad judgment. Piercy is saying that this girl killed herself so she would have the opportunity to wear the makeup to make her look acceptable to society. The tuned up nose refers to someone who just had surgery to perfect his or her appearance. The tuned up nose, perfect makeup and white nighty, now she is ready for the world to see her: at her funeral. Dressed in her new nightgown perfect and angelic looking, “doesn’t she look pretty?” lying down in her casket symbolizing the end of her life, now looking perfect, “consummation at last”. Now she looks perfect- perfectly fake. Marge Piercy has let us know that in today’s society being fake is the new perfect woman. 

“To every woman a happy ending.” is the perfect summation to the objectification of both genders in today’s society. Sexy men and women are always going to achieve things solely based on their appearances. Marge Piercy pinpoints how people are so cruel and degrade others if they cannot become something that they are not. What has our society come to?

Sincerely

Shawn V