Marge Piercy
Young versus old. Death versus eternal
life. The positive effects of society’s
pressure versus the negative. Marge
Piercy’s "Barbie Doll" and Dick
Schneider’s "Youth’s Progress" are a
study in the themes mentioned
above. There are many obvious similarities in
the chronological structure and
irony of the two works. However, the reader
will find that there are more
thought-provoking contrasts than initially meet
the eye. Not surprisingly, the
poems follow the natural course of
chronological time: beginning to end, young
to old. Both poems unfold with
birth, continue through the "growing up"
years, but do not surpass adulthood.
The separation of stanzas in both works
indicates a new stage of life, though
Piercy leaves the reader to guess the
actual age of the "girlchild" in
"Barbie Doll." The reader will note
that a major theme of both poems is the
long-term effect of outside pressure on
the subjects from birth. Piercy
employs the stylistic device of irony throughout
the entirety of her poem. It
required the "magic" of puberty for a child to
point out the negative aspects
of a physical body. A healthy, intelligent and
strong woman is compelled by
society to bustle "to and fro apologizing,"
apologizing for failing to mirror
the image of the Barbie-like woman the world
seems to want. Though she
attempts to defy these expectations by cutting off her"great big nose" and "fat
legs," in her death the woman is displayed in
her casket, cosmetics painted
on and a beautiful turned-up putty nose. Finally,
she fits the mold cut for
her by society. "Our way of life has hardly changed
since a wheel first
whetted a knife." While "Youth’s Progress"
chronicles the growth of the
subject with specific years and ages, "Barbie
Doll" simply accounts for
the passing of time in a story-teller’s fashion of
memories. "Barbie Doll"
ends with the tragedy of a woman who, because she
didn’t live up to the
unrealistic standard created for her, resorts to
suicide. "Youth’s Progress"
concludes with the exhortation of public
approval and the sense of eternal
life in exchange for submitting to the
unofficial rules of social acceptance,
eager to fit the mold. To some, the
immortalized life of Schneider is
preferable to the tragic death of Piercy’s
girlchild Young versus old. Death
versus eternal life. The positive effects of
society’s pressure versus the
negative. The course a life will take is
ultimately decided by the
individual, the sum of his choices and reactions to
the cards dealt to him by
Life. The choice is yours.
Bibliography
Bowland, Eavan. "It’s a
Woman’s World," 1982.