Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy Essay Example for Free

Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy Essay The poem, Barbie Doll, is about a girl who was growing up in a society which regard highly of female beauty. The title illustrates that most females were expected to be like Barbie dolls. These dolls cast pressure on the girl to be like supermodel. In this story, the girl failed to meet the standards of society and viewed as a social outcast.The first paragraph describes a growing girl who was presented with dolls, miniature GE stoves, irons and lipsticks. This will ensure that the girl will know which gender roles she should be and not too deviate from the accepted social custom. The mood of the poem changes when the author describes, the magic of puberty. Here, it refers to a time of emotional crisis that the girl went through as she matures. She is constantly teased for not looking like the typical Barbie dolls. The second paragraph began with mentioning the girls positive aspects, such as She was healthy, tested intelligent, possesses strong arms and back and abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity, These sentences portray the girl image (female) to male characteristics. The tome in the poem changes again when the author stated, the girl went to and fro apologizing, and everyone still say she had a fat nose and thick legs, the society again, scorn at the ugly appearance of the girl. In the third paragraph, line twelve to sixteen, the girl is expected to fake her natural behavior, emotion and characteristics. The fan belt was used to exemplify that one cannot endure the pressure placed by society to meet their standards and will wear out eventually. Consequently, she cut off her nose and legs. Therefore, the last paragraph expressed her death as consummation at last. Dont she look pretty? Everyone said. In this line, the author wants the reader to make good judgment to the senseless situation in which society judge beauty to female. I think that children, especially boys, are not born with hatred or feelings of enmity towards female who have physical figures below social standards. They are all programmed that way by selfish or ignorant male adults. If these male adults can only take a look at themselves and see that all they have done is to destroy. The lives of their opposite sex, driving down their  self-esteem to the deepest pit, then this society will be a better place to live in.

This Life Time Has 42048000 Minutes :: essays research papers

Listen up soldiers, we have a crisis on our hands. A silent army has been built up over hundreds of years and is the most deadly enemy we have ever had to face. This enemy you people have known since the day you were brought into this world. You are face to face with this enemy every day, unknowing that every step you take, every move you make, and every decision you face is contributing somehow to this army’s strength. In case you haven’t noticed yet, ladies and gentlemen, this enemy is ourselves. Slowly and surely we are destroying animals, ourselves and most importantly the only planet we have, Earth. You have probably all heard this speech a thousand times before, and well if this has to be the 1001 before we get off our lazy, self-destructing asses and do something to fix it, so be it! I admit I’m no better than the rest of you at the simple things in everyday life that are destroying this planet, but the whole issue pisses me off. Our whole existence revolves around money, and our personal benefit. We have forgotten how to do things for others, how to help the planet and, in turn, how to benefit the species. The fact is simple people, we’re killing ourselves. Many, however, don’t notice it. They believe what they’re doing is either beneficial, or that they are too small to do anything about it. Well most of them are right, most of us fall under some sort of higher power, which means that the root of the problems are mainly the governments. Don’t think that this is leading into one of those x-filesy, conspiracy theory type lectures, however if you’d like to call it that, I wont be one to judge. I do believe the governments know how to prevent and stop much of the problems in our world today. For example, it’s a widely known fact that we have the technology to use water instead of gas for cars, but the government wont allow production because they get money off gas, and to them it’s more important than a clean environment, more important than contaminating the water, or killing off animals because of the pollution even when the money they ge t from the gas ends up being put back into trying to control these problems anyway. And who was the guy who thought that burning fossil fuels would be a good source of energy anyway?

Older and younger generations Essay

Describe and explain the different responses of the characters to the Inspector’s visit; and explore Priestley’s reasons for showing a difference between the older and younger generations  The characters respond to the Inspector’s news in very different ways. You get the impression that Arthur Birling doesn’t care about the situation that has occurred with Eva Smith.  Ã¢â‚¬ËœAnd I don’t see where I come into this.’ This suggests that he thinks that he cannot do wrong but we find out that he is the one that sacked Eva Smith for wanting a pay rise. This started the sequence of events that led to her eventual death. Arthur Birling is moved to anger. He implies that he is a friend of the Chief Constable Colonel Roberts and that the Inspector cannot talk to him in such a way. He considers the talk as ‘uncalled for and officious’. Arthur tries to belittle the Inspector and is very hostile towards him. He reacts like this because he doesn’t want to ruin his reputation and blames the Inspector for the interruption of the celebration of Sheila and Gerald’s engagement. Arthur’s social position makes him react as he does. He thinks that he is superior and only looks after himself. Birling is presented to us as a character that thinks he is right and won’t be tolerant Birling’s daughter Sheila on the other hand is co-operative with the Inspector. She notes that no one told him anything that he did not already know. She is moved to tears of shock and guilt: the Inspector is successful in making her see the consequences of her actions. When she realises that she is the person that got Eva Smith sacked she thinks that she is responsible for her death. Sheila is more supportive to the enquiry. This shows that she is understanding and shows that she cares about the whole Eva Smith situation, unlike her father Mr Birling. Here we can start to see the different attitude that the younger and older characters play. Arthur Birling keeps insisting that Sheila should not be brought into this matter. Mrs Birling says to Sheila ‘I think you ought to go to bed’. She is trying to control Sheila and treats her like a child. Mrs Birling thinks that she is superior ‘Girls of that class -‘it is as though she is looking down on the girls. Regardless of the fact that Gerald, Mr Birling and Mrs Birling try to protect Sheila; she is the one that can actually face the truth. When the Inspector says that Eva Smith was also known as Daisy Renton, Gerald tries to hide his reaction because he played a part in Daisy Renton’s life. He is distressed by his realisation in Eva Smith’s/Daisy Renton’s life and death. Sheila tells him to tell the Inspector, implying that the Inspector knows the truth already. Gerald asks Sheila to leave the room because he doesn’t want to expose any more unpleasantness. Gerald tries to justify that he is a hero when he says:  Ã¢â‚¬ËœI became at once the most important person in her life†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã‚  whereas he is also anxious that he has a shameful link to Eva Smith’s death. Mrs Birling remains entirely untouched by the Inspector’s questioning.  Ã¢â‚¬ËœI did nothing that I’m ashamed of or that won’t bear investigation.’  She feels no shame because she refuses to see how Eva Smith’s death can have followed as a consequence of her actions. Mrs Birling believes that a working class girl deserves all that she gets. She reveals her assumptions about people ‘make sure that he’s compelled to confess in public his responsibility’. She thinks this is the right thing to do but at the end she doesn’t do the right thing.  When the inspector confronts Eric, he reacts similarly to his sister, realising that he has done wrong. Eric is a complicated character. At the start of the play he is really immature. He believes that women are just there to be sexually used. When he gets Eva pregnant he tries to do the decent thing by giving her money. He steals the money from Birling’s office.

Repressive Society in Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut...

The story â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† by Kurt Vonnegut is120 years in the future, which allows us to more easily accept some of the bizarre events that happen in the story such as when the character Harrison Bergeron is dancing with a ballerina and there is no law of gravity and motion, so they can almost touch the studio ceiling which is thirty feet high. The author emphasizes in his work themes such as freedom, mind manipulation, the American dream, and media influence, also the opposition between strength and weakness and knowledge and ignorance. The story illustrates that being equal to one another is not always the best way to live because everyone is different for a reason. Also, this is what makes everyone special in your particular way.†¦show more content†¦The author wants to get our attention to the major differences from the present world to Harrison Bergeron’s world and examine the notable similarities in both as well. The opposition of knowledge and p ower versus suppression and ignorance are used by the author to satirize the society because who has the knowledge also, has the power. The more knowledge the government has and does not share it with the population, the easier is to control people and their minds. For example when Hazel watches her son die on television after performing a beautiful dance that theoretically could have brought about radical change, and instead of gaining even an ounce of understanding, she ends where she begun. When George asked her why she had tears in her eyes, her memory had already failed her, but she takes his advice to simply forget sad things, commenting that she always does. Equality can be interpreted in many ways, as we can see throughout the history such as racial, gender, and socio-economic equality. The Civil Rights emphasize that everybody should be treated equally and another view is the one represented in the story that everybody is equal. It is a completely out of reality to have a perfect society or no competition at all because how we could make advancements if the government was allowed to impose handicaps on the naturally gifted. The great thinkers would not be able to have new ideas because of the mentalShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Kurt Vonnegut Jr. s Harrison Bergeron1500 Words   |  6 Pagesothers, as we make choices in an effort to satisfy others and ourselves. Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† offers a dark insight into an idealistic utopia, and the consequences of a ruthlessly equitable society. Although equality provides a beneficial component to a desirable society, forcing it upon society would ultimately b e at the expense of individuality. Initially, Harrison Bergeron is physically constrained by society, however through his willful arrogance and determination to gain controlRead MoreJames BaldwinS Sonnys Blues713 Words   |  3 PagesSonnys Blues, and in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.s short story Harrison Bergeron, are the title characters of each respective work. They both embody conceptions of youth within each story Sonny as the younger brother of the nameless narrator in Baldwins tale, and Bergeron as the son of the George and Hazel Bergeron. In their own way, each is antisocial and engage in practices that are disapproved of by their societies. Sonny is struggling with a heroin addiction/habit, while Harrison has plans to overthrowRead MoreRelationship Between V for Vendetta and Harrison Bergeron1752 Words   |  8 PagesAccording to the Oxford English Dictionary, Dystopia is defined as the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being  utopian. Dystopian societies feature different kinds of repressive social control methods and various forms of active and passive intimidation. Works about dystopian societies often explore the concept of humans neglecting technology and humans individually and collectively trying to manage or not being able to properly manage with technologyRead MoreA Dystopia Is Not A Contemporary Idea2159 Words   |  9 PagesA dystopia is an unpleasant and repressive society which usually has the intent to make equality an opportunity for all. 1984 and â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† are two examples of dystopia literature. In each, technological advances and psychological stimuli is designed to overwhelm an individuals thought. Based upon these pieces of literature, is it possible for a utopia exist? For clarification purposes, there are some definitions to keep in mind when reading this essay. The dictionary defines a utopia