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          Although the Barbie doll is a symbol of what we think beauty is, Piercy also shows how the symbol has a negative effect. After the girl hits puberty, one of her classmates said, “You have a great big nose and fat legs.”(6) Because the idea of what beauty is, is so strong in today’s world, it allows girls to tear each other apart just by making fun of the way they look. Later in the poem Piercy writes, “She went to and fro apologizing.”(10) Because everyone had told her that she was not this perfect Barbie doll pretty, she became so self-conscious that she felt bad to be in people’s presence. At first glance the Barbie doll might seem like a harmless child’s toy, but really it has come to have more serious effects than just making girls self-conscious about their bodies.


          Although the Barbie doll portrays a symbol of what we think symbolizes beauty, Piercy also illustrates the negative effect of the symbol. After the girl hits puberty, one of her classmates says, “You have a great big nose and fat legs.”(6) Because the idea of what beauty is, is so strong in today’s world, it allows girls to tear each other apart just by making fun of the way they look. Later in the poem Piercy writes, “She went to and fro apologizing.”(10) Because many people including the girl from school had told her that she was not this perfect Barbie doll pretty, she became so self-conscious that she felt ashamed to be in other people’s presence. This simple comment also influences the girlchild's choices throughout the rest of the poem. At first glance the Barbie doll might seem like a harmless child’s toy, but really it has come to have more serious effects than just making girls self-conscious about their bodies.

Crazy Eyes

          The first thing that struck me in Branagh's approach to act 1 scene 5 was the eyes of Hamlets father ghosts. I don't think this was an accident to portray the ghost with such piercing eyes. This seems to have a sort of paralyzing effect on the character that is playing Hamlet. In the video where Kenneth Branagh is ex-planing how he acted out the scene, he talks about how he tried to do as little as possible and just kinda let it happen, and I think the ghosts eyes really help this happen.
         

          Another thing that stuck out to me was King Hamlets death. When the movie cuts back to King Hamlets ear bleeding while he's talking to Hamlet and then repeatedly cutting back to it, it shows how unnatural his death was. Another thing that was portrayed very well was the betrayal of Claudius to King hamlet. This is shown when King Hamlet looks up in his last moment of existence and see's his brother. They don't say anything to each other and the whole scene is portrayed very well

Hamlet

My first impression of Hamlet is that he is still depressed about his father, and all he wants to do is go to school. Hamlet also seems to be mad at his mother because she married her husbands brother two months after his death. Hamlet is wearing black clothing which indicates that he is still mourning his fathers death. When Claudius sees this he is not happy because he wants Hamlet to get over it and be ready to be the heir to the throne. When Hamlet hears this all he wants to do is go to school and study.

Symbolisim of the Title in Marge Piercy's "Barbie Doll"

Although Marge Piercy does not mention the symbol of a Barbie doll in her poem from the title, she shows that the symbol of a doll is a Barbie doll. In Piercy's "Barbie Doll" she uses symbolism throughout her poem.. As a symbol, the Barbie doll is used mainly in the beginning but the idea is used heavily in the beginning and the end. Marge Piercy's use of the Barbie doll is very effective because it takes a child hood toy that we all know of, and relates, and compares it to many issues girls struggle with in today's world.  

In Piercy's poem the symbol of a Barbie doll is used to show ideal beauty in today’s world. In the beginning of the story Piercy writes, “This girlchild was born as usual / and presented dolls that did pee-pee.”(Piercy 1-2). Even as a toddler most girls including the girlchild are “presented dolls” that will shape the way they think the ideal beauty is . At the end of the poem Piercy writes “In the casket displayed on satin she lay / with the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on.”(19-20) Even in death the thing that people were most concerned about was the way the girlchild looked, using “cosmetics painted on” to make sure she looked presentable. Since the girlchild was presented a doll at such a young age she never looked at herself in a positive way.

Although the Barbie doll is a symbol of what we think beauty is, Piercy also shows how the symbol has a negative effect. After the girl hits puberty, one of her classmates said, “You have a great big nose and fat legs.”(6) Because the idea of what beauty is , is so strong in today’s world, it allows girls to tear each other apart just by making fun of the way they look. Later in the poem Piercy writes, “She went to and fro apologizing.”(10) Because everyone had told her that she was not this perfect Barbie doll pretty, she became so self-conscious that she felt bad to be in people’s presence. At first glance the Barbie doll might seem like a harmless childes toy, but really it has come to have more serious effects than just making girls self-conscious about their bodies.

By the end of the poem, Piercy gets to the point where she shows the consequences of what the symbol of the Barbie doll has. After a while of a life of apologizing and playing coy the girlchild “cut of her arms and legs / and offered them up.”(17-18) People told her that she was ugly so often and she believed it so much that she saw the only way was to cut off her arms and legs. At the very end when the girlchild was in her casket with the cosmetics on and everyone was saying how pretty she looked Piercy writes, “Consummation at last. / To every women a happy ending.”(24-25) What Piercy is saying is no matter what the only thing that women want is to be seen as pretty, even if the sacrifice is death. The girlchild was pushed to a point that she found suicide the only way to deal with her situation.

Since 1959 10 million Barbie dolls have been sold, 300,000 were sold in the first year. The use of the Barbie doll as a symbol in this poem is very effective because it deals with the issues girls have in today’s world using a child’s toy. Piercy shows us how a simple toy has come to represent what we think beauty is.  Since this idea of beauty is so strong, we have become blinded from what true beauty used to be. Because of this, many girls like the girlchild commit suicide every year just because they see it as the only solution to stop the ridicule. When the Barbie doll was first made, the intensions might have been good but throughout it’s time the Barbie has become a symbol of what beauty, which is impossible to live up to.

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