Outline and revised intro

In the poem "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy, Piercy uses symbols such as miniature ovens,
crying babies, red lipstick, and the image of a big nose and fat legs to demonstrate how the belittling of an average girl can lead to serious unfortunate events. The fact that the girl grows up playing with miniature GE stoves and whining babies symbolizes how from the beginning, the girl is categorized into a strict, motherly class. The red lipstick also plays with the idea of how the girl is trying to fit into the cookie cutter "Barbie Doll" image that she is expected to portray. The image of a big nose and fat legs is also important in helping Piercy demonstrate the environment that the girl grew up in, always striving to be something other than herself. It is evident that symbols are used in the poem "Barbie Doll" to help illustrate the image that young girls feel they need to fulfill in order to be socially accepted.

I. In the beginning of the poem "Barbie Doll", Marge Piercy uses toys like mini stoves and crying babies as symbols of the roles girls are expected to take on as they grow up.
    a. "This girlchild was born as usual and presented dolls that did pee-pee"
    b. "...and miniature GE stoves and irons"

II. The red cherry lipstick is a symbol of the sophisticated personality and sensual attitude that the girl  is trying to obtain.
     a. "The girlchild was born as usual and presented... wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy"

III. The visual imagery of a big nose and fat legs symbolizes the ideal body and corrupt image that the Barbie doll has created for young girls.
     a. "Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said: You have a great big nose and fat legs"
     b. "She went to and fro apologizing. Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs"

IV. Through all of the symbols used in this poem, it is made clear how the girl finally gets to a point of helplessness and weakness, resulting in her actions to cut off her legs and nose.
      a. "Her good nature wore out like a fan belt. So she cut off her nose and legs"
      b. "In the casket displayed on satin she lay with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on, a turned-up       putty nose"

Intro Paragraph

    Writers use irony in their works to emphasize key ideas in their writing. Irony most often makes the reader stop and think about what they have just read. In the poem Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy, Piercy uses irony to show how difficult it is to live as a unique individual in such a critical environment like our world today. Marge Piercy uses irony in her poem Barbie Doll to show how judgmental and stereotypical people can cause unfortunate events in other peoples lives.  

Miniver Cheevy. That's a pretty odd name isn't it? It sounds sounds very historical, like a renaissance painter of some sort. Hmm... well thats something to think about.

Anyway, Miniver Cheevy reminds me of a lot of people today! Many people today, mostly teenage girls, have classified themselves as being born in the wrong century aswell. You ever see those girls wearing the super high wasted, ripped jean shorts? Or the overalls? Well aren't those from like the 80's or something? Many of the girls who wear those today claim that the style back then was so much better and that they themselves were "born in the wrong century." Unlike Miniver Cheevy, these girls have taken matter into their own hands. They have changed the way the have dressed, their outlook on life, and so much more in order to live the life they feel they were meant to live. I can almost gurantee that if Miniver Cheevy would have just tweaked some of the details in his life, he would have been A LOT happier.

Why is Robinson showing us a character that "wept that he was ever born"? For me, it is real simple. The first time I read this sentence I was like, "Oh that sucks. Who would ever wish not to be born? You must have to be pretty unhappy to have those kinds of feelings." And then it clicked. Robinson is telling us that if you settle for being unhappy, then odds are you are not to stoked to get up every morning. None of the less, Robinson is telling us to get up off our butts and do something if we are unhappy! Don't just sit there and let life pass you by! You are the author of your own story, and if you don't start filling in the pages, then YOUR life is going to be blank and empty forever!

Isn't it ironic...

Marge Piercy uses a great deal of irony in her poem "Barbie Doll" to convey her message. What do you think when you hear Barbie doll? Blonde? Skinny? Pretty, popular? Well to be honest, so do I! For most young girls, a certain image is engraved into their brains from the time they pick up their first doll. They think in order to be cool and popular like Barbie, they need to be perfect with beautiful features and exact proportions. In the poem "Barbie Doll", Marge Piercy plays with image as well as irony to show how this corrupt image has resulted in unfortunate events amongst the young women in our society.

"Then in the magic of puberty". When was the last time you heard somebody refer to puberty as magic? This is one example where Piercy uses verbal irony. Yes magic usually has a positive connotation, but here magic is far from what actually happens. In fact, in this situation, irony takes over and the girls "big nose and fat legs" are revealed to the reader, later taking a negative toll on her  actions. 

"Doesn't she look pretty?" Are you kidding me! Here, the girl is no where near pretty! She is dead! This is a key example of verbal irony that Piercy uses in her poem. According to the community, the girl is now "pretty" because she transformed herself into the ideal, cookie-cutter shape of a Barbie doll, cutting of both her legs and her nose. 

"To every woman a happy ending." Is this really a happy ending? All your left with now is a dead girl and an even more distorted community. This is pretty ironic, being that absolutely nothing good came out of this ending.

The use of irony by Marge Piercy was extremely useful in conveying her main idea. All of these examples of verbal irony show how the image of a plastic doll has impacted the lives of young girls, causing them to make life threatening decisions in order to be "perfect"...

Hi! My name is Maddy and this is my blog! Here, you can see all my thoughts and feelings about reading, literature, and more so feel free to let me know what you think!

By far, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas was my favorite story from the summer reading. I feel like this story had quality elements that were easy to relate to in our everyday lives. Are you satisfied knowing that your joy is the product of another ones suffering. Well are you? Think about it. You are in 5th grade and you are hanging out with your friends on the playground. Your cool, your awesome, your popular. Then, one of your friends walks over to another girl on the playground and pushes her to the ground. Now what? All your friends start to snicker but you just feel bothered, upset.


 "The place they go towards is a place even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness. I cannot describe it at all. It is possible that it does not exist. But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas." 

So what do you? Do you step out of your comfort zone and help the girl up? Oh, but what if your friends think you are weird for helping the freaky nerd up? Just like the people who walk away from Omelas, you too are heading towards an unknown destiny that may be better or worse from where you came from. Although they are walking away from the unjust actions of the city, is that enough? Even though you didn't physically push the girl down, isn't it just as bad to be the one that just watches?  Just like the people in Omelas, you too are uneasy with the idea of prospering off another persons misery. So, who are you going to be? Are you the one that pushes the girl down, or the one that helps her up.