"Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy
The girl in the poem was definitely not a Barbie Doll. She was a normal girl that was not a perfect Barbie doll that the people around her wanted her to be. She was marked by her big nose and fat legs. She was told that all she was needed to do as a woman was to "exercise, diet, smile, wheedle" (Piercy, 836) much like a Barbie would be characterized to do. The irony of the poem comes in the final three lines. The girl is previously characterized for her big nose and fat legs until she changed them. On her death bed, the people who had previously discounted her beauty because of her fat legs and big nose now found her pretty as she was missing both and a better nose was painted on. Also, the comparison to a fan belt was proper as a fan belt is an essential piece of a car needed to keep the car running properly. The girl was the fan belt and as soon as the fan belt wears out, the car begins to have decreased performance. It was important and relevant as she was wore out from striving to be perfect and eventually gave out on the fight for acceptance. Through this, her demise is brought on only for the people to finally find her acceptable without her big nose and fat legs.
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