The Barbie doll as a popular icon in American culture has a long history. However, she is also a controversial toy who is often criticized for her unrealistic body image and the female stereotypes imposed on her. Marge Piercy's poem presents the theme of women's loss of self-esteem and coercion by external forces through Barbie dolls. This article aims to carry out a textual analysis of the topics covered and to imagine the author's point of view from a critical perspective. Irony and satirical tone are also used to reinforce the prevailing trend of distorted social and cultural values throughout the poem. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay It begins with an unfamiliar word "girlchild", the author emphasizes the biological gender of the child, which seems to degrade a person's gender identity. The girl was born with nothing special and was given a typical toy, thus leaving her with a conventional role and a predictable perspective as a female character. For example, the doll was brought with “miniature stoves” and “iron”, symbolizing its domestic role: a family working in the kitchen. Furthermore, the word “miniature” and “little lipsticks” indicate the “normal” image in the world of miniature adult forces. With a potentially patriarchal value, the adult forces women to stay at home, in the house or in the confined space. Then the girl reached puberty, the tone here became sharp and ironic with the word “magic”. She was mocked by her classmates as "a big nose" and "fat legs". During puberty the girl has intelligence and judgment, but most of the concepts and ideas come from the adult. So teenagers start to worry more about their appearance. Unfortunately, their notion of beauty has been distorted by conventional values. In the second verse, the girl has grown mentally and physically, while prejudices or distorted views of beauty have changed her thoughts and influenced her values. The young woman felt guilty and apologized for her imperfect appearance. Here we find the poet's criticism that people tend to give priority to the superficial view of women rather than their intrinsic characteristics. This preconception ironically forced the young woman to apologize for "her mistake". Although both stanzas two and three begin with the subject “she,” female characters have been divided into two types in his life. In stanza three, the girl was advised to act like the one in line with social value, and she became the one she is not. Eventually his good nature was “worn out like a fan belt.” The simile here presents the image of a machine with gears, because the girl's good nature does not work or adapt to the machine (social expectation). Time after time it was completely destroyed. However critical the tone, the poet brings the poem to a climax: the girl cut off her legs and offered herself to satisfy social conventions. Her good nature was impoverished, her physical function was impaired, and she became a victim of social oppression. It seems absurd and shocking that the girl mutilated herself. However, this type of tragedy also occurs in today's society, for example, people tend to undergo plastic or cosmetic surgery to improve their appearance. In fact, what the poet tries to address is the question of social values and their impact on the formation of young people's behavior. In the last stanza, the “physically mutilated” girl lay in the coffin with his.
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