Piercy Discourages Shallow, Stereotypical Use of Characterization

A key element in any work of literature, characterization, proves to be an essential element which allows Marge Piercy to deliver her message in the poem, "Barbie Doll." Piercy uses characterization tremendously throughout the poem to emphasize and truly depict to us how "unattractive" the main character was based on how others described her. Piercy delves deep into every detail of her physical appearance while remaining shallow with her personality and true character. Using this technique, Piercy is able to highlight the cruelty that the girl is forced to face because she isn't exactly described as "beautiful." Finally, when the main character kills herself in an attempt to get rid of her fat legs and ugly nose, everybody characterizes her as pretty. Through the use of characterization in the poem, "Barbie Doll," Marge Piercy is able to convey her theme of the cruelty that people such as the girl child are forced to face just because of the stereotypes others make.

Piercy starts off the poem, "Barbie Doll," by using characterization to describe the main character's lack of physical beauty as she goes through puberty, a phase which usually has a positive effect on one's appearance. Unfortunately for the "girl child," others describe her with some unattractive features. The problem really starts when a classmate tells her, "You have a great big nose and fat legs" (Piercy 6). Piercy doesn’t directly tell the reader that the “girl child” is ugly; she only tells us what the peers think of her.

As the poem, progresses, Piercy continues to add to the unattractive bodily features of the "girl child" while not explaining much about her personality. She "possessed strong arms and back” (Piercy 8), features that truthfully are not suitable for a pretty girl. Features that are certainly not appropriate for Barbie, as the title ironically suggests. "Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs" (Piercy 11). Marge Piercy’s choice to characterize the “girl child” only by her physical characteristics sends the message about how people maliciously stereotype.

By the end of the poem, when our character is dead, with her nose chopped off and legs half gone, Piercy sends out a rather disturbing message. "'Doesn't she look pretty,' everyone said" (Piercy 23). This statement truly proves to us that the girl child’s mission is actually accomplished. The fact that somebody thinks that she looks pretty is absolutely absurd because a dead body is most definitely not pretty.  This is especially true in the case of the girl child because it is a dead body with a chopped off nose and legs sliced up. Are people really that coldhearted?  "Consummation at last” (Piercy 24). The disturbing message that Piercy sends us here is that now people actually think the girl looks “pretty.” The girl child did what it took to be called pretty. "To every woman, a happy ending" (Piercy 25) declares that her goal was finally achieved.

Marge Piercy, the author of “Barbie Doll,” utilizes characterization within the poem to show how numerous individuals make stereotypes about the girl child. Piercy uses these instances to show that people around the world think and operate in a similar fashion to the people in “Barbie Doll.” In conclusion, she is telling us that making stereotypes is a common trait of human nature. She tries to persuade us not to do so by showing the grief that it causes the recipient. Because so many citizens in “Barbie Doll” made generalizations toward the main character, much grief was inflicted upon her, which eventually led her to make irrational decisions. Marge Piercy’s lesson to us as people is to lessen anguish in others by avoiding characterizing people based on shallow observations, as it will make the world a much happier place.