“Barbie Doll” is a narrative poem written by Marge Piercy, it was first published in 1973, in To Be of Use. The elements that Marge Piercy uses are theme, imagery and symbolism. Piercy provides four short stanzas to inform readers of how society and culture puts pressure on young girls. In this poem, a young girl’s life flashes before her eyes as she tries to live up to society standards. The tone of this poem is depressing and sad. In this poem Marge Piercy uses a theme, symbols, and a plot to describe the ideal girl.
The theme of this poem is that society is not accepting of people who do not represent the ideal woman. In “Barbie Doll”, the young girl is teased about her nose and legs. The girl was advised to play cool, charming, eat right and exercise. She tried all these things but in the end she still wasn’t successful at pleasing her classmates. In the end, trying to please her classmates resulted in her cutting off her nose and legs, which lead to death. In today’s society as girls grow into young women, they are told to look a certain way. The ideal look usually involves being skinny, make-up, long hair, and a beautiful smile. Within that context, “Barbie Doll” emerges as terse commentary about society’s stereotypical expectations for females, and what happens if the authentic self is bypassed (Deutsch 373).
Piercy uses great imagery to show the girls experiences with great detail. “and presented dolls that did pee-pee/ and miniature GE stoves and irons/ and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.” (Piercy 754). It is easy to imagine the little Barbie accessories that children play with. Piercy’s imagery really shows in lines 17 through 25. Through out these lines Piercy compares the young girl to a Barbie doll. But in the end the girl suffers the ultimate price. Piercy is able to portray her theme through he imagery. “Doesn’t she look pretty? everyone