2. Essay due on Feb. 24: Both "Siren Song" and "Barbie Doll" deal with the relationship between the individual human being and a society that imposes a dehumanizing conformity. Compare the poets' use of irony in developing this theme. This will be a 4-5 page, 100 point essay.
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‘Barbie Doll’ is about a girl who tried to live up to societies idea of ‘perfection’ but couldn’t and the pressure just got to be so much that she killed herself. Just the title of the poem is irony (I think verbal). Because a barbie doll is physically perfect (though impossible) it is used as the basis for societies ideal. Although the girl was healthy, intelligent, and pretty, it wasn’t enough and all she could see of herself was what society saw and deemed as ugly- her ‘great big nose and fat legs’.
She tried to become what was viewed as beautiful and perfect. She ‘play[ed] coy, / exhorted to come on hearty, / exercise, diet, smile and wheedle’. But in doing so, it wore her down and destroyed who she really was. The truly beautiful person she had once been was destroyed by society telling her she wasn’t good enough. She eventually couldn’t take it any more, and she killed herself. The most ironic thing of all is that in doing so, as she lays in the casket everyone says how pretty she is- ‘Consummation at last. / To every woman a happy ending’. You know societies ideals are messed up when one can only be called beautiful after they have died. That’s not what a happy ending is.
In ‘Siren Song’ the sirens seem to represent society and their song is the lure of being happy and considered beautiful. It is ‘the song that is irresistible’, no body wants to be the odd one out and everyone wants to be happy. The idea of being perfect and happy and whatever else promised by the song causes people to become blind to what truly would make them happy and they ‘leap overboard in squadrons / even though they see the beached skulls’. Even though they know that there is no one who has been made truly happy by listening and following the song (trying to meet the ideas set up by society), they throw themselves overboard any ways to try to follow it. By doing so is the promise of earning societies approval. What is ironic about all of it is that it is ‘the song nobody knows’ because it either destroyed who they were or they have forgotten who they had once been. The sirens, the only ones who know the song, even know that the song is filled with nothing but emptiness and sadness.
Well, because I am the second poster, I suppose it is my right (Or maybe more of a privilege) to choose one of the more obvious points of discussion from both “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy, and “Siren Song” by Margaret Atwood.
First comes the blatantly obvious, that both of these poems are addressing a lifestyle, specifically the “ideal” female lifestyle. Written in the late 30’s both of these poems came at a time when Women’s rights had reached a peak and were slowly beginning to taper down again. With the end of WWII the idea of a “Nuclear Family” (a standard, ideal family) came into play, and anything outside of that norm was socially unacceptable. Though both of these poems came shortly before that time, I have no doubt that this idea of a perfect life was already beginning to come about and that the poems were influenced by the shifting cultures surrounding Piercy and Atwood. In “Barbie Doll,” Piercy touches on the idea that life isn’t really happy, it may look that way, and even start to feel that way sometimes, but happiness isn’t really achieved until death. Piercy writes, “To every woman a happy ending,” (Line 25) but the tone Piercy uses makes this phrase sound more like, “To every woman an unhappy life.” In the end we will all be at peace, and we will be happy, but during life we are expected to “exercise, diet, smile and wheedle,” (Line 14) until our “good nature” wares out “like a fan belt” (Lines 15-16). In “Siren Song” Atwood writes that this song is “the song that is irresistible,” it is “the song that forces men to leap overboard,” it is the “song that no body knows,” and that it is both a “cry for help” and a “boring song” all at once (Lines 2-3, 4-5, 7, 22, and 26 respectively). What is this song then? It is the very same thing that Piercy speaks of in “Barbie Doll,” an ideal lifestyle. It is a charming, beautiful idea that our lives could be perfect, but at the same time it is unknown to all, because no one’s life is really perfect. The Siren speaking in this poem recognizes this and states, “I don’t enjoy it here squatting on this island looking picturesque and mythical” (Lines 13-15). She realizes that this life only appears perfect, in reality it is not, in reality it is a “cry for help” (Line 22) because the Siren just wants to escape. My favorite though is the last stanza, “Alas it is a boring song but it works every time” (Line 25-27). A perfect life is boring; there is no controversy, no issues or anything to spice up your life. It is just there, perfect as always and boring as always, never changing, monotonous ‘til the end.
So far this is my understanding of what the poems are talking about. Any thoughts?
I found both poems to focus on a theme of conformity in society, both subjects show those that are isolated from society for different reasons. On the one hand there is the siren isolated for her 'fatal' beauty, and the would be barbie doll, isolated for her 'fat nose on thick legs'. Ironically each figure had what the other one wanted and believed necessary to be happy, yet neither were happy.
"Siren Song" uses situational irony to show the hollowness of outward beauty. The subject of a siren is in itself very ironic--sirens are beautiful captivating creatures no man can resist, yet their idealized beauty is tragic, it hurts those who see them. Instead of providing the anticipating aesthetic pleasure the sirens song "forces men to leap overboard in squadrons even though they see the beached skulls". Everyone loves the sirens song and would like to learn it but they also fear it because "anyone who has heard it is dead". There is also situational irony from the speaker in the poem who is a siren, the idealized beauty whom everyone would like to be, yet remains unhappy. The speaker is alone on an island, because although she is loved, all those who would love her are dead--What use is her beauty with no one living to admire it? She is alone with the other sirens, "two feathery maniacs". The diction the speaker uses when describing the sirens is ironic since after describing all the praise they receive from everyone else she uses derogatory terms for them. She doesn't see herself as beautiful but only to be wearing a "bird suit". She is alone, ugly, and miserable, she "(doesn't) enjoy sitting on this island looking picturesque and mythical". And when she does cry for help, her pursuers are all killed so that there is no escape. The siren would gladly give up her "bird suit" for a normal body. Far from being happy her beauty makes her miserable, which forces readers to question why her song "is the song everyone would like to learn"
The other side of the spectrum is examined in Barbie Doll, a poem that shows how society viciously chews up and spits out girls because of how they look. This society would rather have "Barbie Dolls" than real humans. The girl in the poem, is "healthy, tested intelligent, possessed strong arms and back, abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity", these are all very human qualities, but they are overlooked. Everyone only "saw a fat nose on thick legs". She was treated like a machine and like a machine, "her good nature wore out like a fan belt". The condemnation for not reaching this idealistic beauty was too much and so the girl "cut off her nose and her legs". Ironically now she is beautiful, "consummation at last", but her beauty does her no good since she is dead. Now she is finally admired since she cut off her nose and legs, which is lunacy since the people are praising her act of self mutilation and suicide. This is considered a "happy ending" since shes pretty, which is to them all that matters. But clearly beauty to the speaker beauty isn't all that matters. The speaker walks readers through the story of the girl, creates sympathy for her by praising her human qualities. The speaker condemns society by stating such outrageous things as "exhorted to exercise, diet, and smile and wheedle". Naturally there is nothing wrong with dieting and exercising or smiling, but wheedling is unpleasant being exhorted sounds like something that should be done to a criminal.
Also the strong irony of the title, "Barbie Doll", about a girl who clearly is not a barbie, comments about what society expects from girls. Society expects them to be dolls, no matter what the costs is. Better dead than ugly.
Coupled together these poems both show someone who has it all, and someone who wants it all. The siren has the beauty the girl wants, and the girl has the human qualities the siren desires. Both want to be 'normal' and excepted into society, but neither can be since they are either too pretty or not pretty enough. This shows that beauty on any level can never make anyone happy, since readers would expect either of the subjects to be happy, but both are ironically miserable. Its like a really tall person wearing flats, and a really short person wearing high heels, both just want to be 'normal' and not to stand out from society. Whats sad is that the extreme lengths people take to 'fit in' almost never create the desired euphoric joy anticipated.
The poem “Barbie Doll” reveals a girl who is pressured by society to be perfect. They are very synthetic ideals of perfection, almost processed standards. These are similar to the ideas in Brave New World, where everyone is made out of test tubes. And now people in society somewhat expect that she too, should look as though she were bred perfectly from a laboratory. Eventually she cannot withstand the pressures and she decides to “cut off her nose and her legs,” the parts of her that were not perfect enough. There is quite a lot of situational irony that used because she ironically cuts off her fat nose and thighs, which were never there in the first place, (at least grandness of their size). As well as, by doing so, she kills herself, and is finally has a “happy ending” which really is not even happy at all; it is almost quite pathetic because nobody ever reaches this true perfection one is striving to obtain.
Another phrase that I think revealed quite a lot of verbal irony in the phrase, she “tested intelligent,” as though she is being measured to some standard created by society, which again is these societal pressures place upon people, that they should be intelligent and beautiful. Piercy could have easily just used intelligent, but because she places the word, “tested” it completely changes the meaning of that intelligence, it too is measuring it up to an artificial mentality.
The ways in which Piercy utilizes irony, helps develop the theme of the extremity of societal pressures that force women to retain synthetic beauty, such as a “Barbie Doll” and that they should “tested” for their intelligence, which are all ridiculous ideals that will never be reached.
“Siren Song” also deals with societal pressures and beliefs of perfection. The song of the siren seems to be the ideals of perfection and that this perfection “is irresistible” and “forces men to leap overboard.” However, the irony is that this is a “song that no body knows,” because no actually owns this extreme idealized perfection, no one knows what it is because there is really no such thing. Instead, this song is a “cry for help” because if someone is singing this song, or trying to reach this perfection, they are shouting out for aid and obviously are not happy with what they have and want something far greater than they could ever achieve. On the other side of the spectrum, “anyone who has heard it is dead” because they were trying to grasp something out of their reach and by doing so failed miserably and lead to their ultimate destruction. However, ironically, in society everyone still wants to reach perfection, it is a song “everyone would like to learn”, because the idea of owning that perfection seems so wonderful and intoxicating, that they don’t see the falseness behind it.
In Barbie Doll, the main irony (for me) came with the relation of the title and the last stanza (lines 19-25). Throughout her entire life, the subject of the poem was subjected to the criticisms of others, her good qualities overlooked in favor for her physical flaws. She became defined by a “fat nose” and “thick legs.” Only when she was in her casket, made over by other hands beside her own, with “cosmetics painted on, a turned up putty nose, and dressed in a pink and white nightie” did anyone appreciate her. Only then does she become a Barbie Doll. The irony is that she could only ever live up to what everyone wanted to her to be when there was nothing left to her but her outward appearance. She’s nothing but a shell of pretty make up, pretty nose, pretty nightie—exactly like a Barbie doll, right down to the fact that there is nothing left inside.
No one could appreciate her for who she was in life; they only appreciated her for who she was made to be in death.
Hopefully I’ll get a second post up later tonight about Siren's Song, but I just wanted to make sure to get SOMETHING up. Sorry if this was incoherent. Does anyone else have this nasty stomach flu that’s going around?
"Barbie Doll" is about a girl who is smart and happy but everyone only pays attention to her appearance. All they see is a fat nose and big legs. The girl becomes more intelligent and tries to be herself but eventually the pressuse everyone is putting on her wears her out. "Her good nature wore out", she succombs to the pressures around her and "...cut off her nose and her legs". She became physically beautiful for those around her but she was very unhappy, so she killed herself. At her funeral everyone comments on her physical appearance and how beautiful she was but they don't say anything else about her. Even in death her appearance was all that mattered to them.
Such a happy poem...
I agree with a lot of what everyone else has said about ‘Siren Song’ and ‘Barbie Doll’ so I will not launch into a huge description of them. Both the poems aim at the same issue, just from separate sides. ‘Barbie Doll’ is written from the perspective of a girl who was beautiful on the inside, but only noticed for her imperfections on the outside. She worked her whole life to “exercise, diet, smile and wheedle” but in the end she gave up, losing what made her beautiful in the first place. Just as an aside—when the speaker says “So she cut off her nose and her legs / and offered them up” I think that it’s saying that she got plastic surgery, not that she killed herself. I think that it’s saying that she was worn out from the diet and exercise that didn’t work so she tried to ‘fix’ herself using more drastic measures.
In ‘Siren Song’ the perspective is from a beautiful girl (or bird) that has the looks and beauty that the girl in ‘Barbie Doll’ works for her whole life. All the siren wants is to be taken off of the pedestal that the sailors, or society, has put her on. Both the girls in these poems are unhappy with their lives, both wanting what the other one has. ‘Siren Song’ has a tragic, solemn voice to it, she knows that she is trapped in a place she cannot escape.
These poems make me think of the lives of supermodels vs. the girls who want to be as pretty as a supermodel. A young girl works her whole life to be something she wants, but can never be. She is still unhappy in the end because the happiness she wanted was superficial. The supermodel stands as the icon for the girls who want to be impossibly pretty. They know what they stand for and the things they encourage young girls to do and become. They may not like what they do, but they keep doing it- leading young girls to their death- both sides ending unhappily.
From the beginning of the girl's life in "Barbie Doll", she is groomed to be exactly how society tells her to be. She worked with, "...miniature GE stoves and irons / and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy," (3-4). These three items represent two ideas that society had for women. Women were supposed to find a good man, which could be accomplished through beauty sometimes, hence the lipstick. After, they had children and then had to do the housework, which would involve stoves and irons. These items are symbols for society's expectations of the girl.
The idea of beauty as a standard of women's place in society continues with the girl going through "the magic of puberty" and she ended getting "a great big nose and fat legs" (5-6). She is not considered to be beautiful, even though she has all these good characteristics about her.
One of the most interesting metaphors of the poem is "her good nature wore out / like a fan belt," (15-16). My interpretation of this is like the belt of a vacuum, another household object; she was worn down by society's expectations for her. The irony is that because she tried to fit society's views of a perfect woman, she destroyed all the good that she had in herself.
"Siren Song" looks at a different predicament for women. The speaker is one of the three sirens of ancient Greek mythology. The most prevalent irony in this poem is that the speaker says she hates being a siren. She doesn't want to lure sailors to their deaths. But she is stuck, "squatting on the island" because no man can ever rescue her since her song will kill him.
One aspect of the poem that stood out to me was in the last three stanzas, the speaker directly speaks to some unknown person. She asks them to help her. This person is "unique" somehow. The possible identity of the person, I thought, might be Odysseus because he got past the sirens in the Odyssey. Then again, I could be totally wrong.
Both of these poems, “Sirens Song” and “Barbie Doll,” deal with the concept of the grass being greener on the other side. I think it is pretty clear in Barbie Doll that an ugly girl wants to be pretty on the outside. She doesn’t have the nose or the legs of a Barbie so she feels depressed (and I though is sounded like she committed suicide when she “cut off her nose and her legs,” does anyone else agree?). I like how the situational irony of her situation—ugly in life but pretty in death—adds to fact that the means by which you find the greener grass isn’t always the most ideal or obvious way.
Sirens Song is different in that the speaker, one of the sirens, openly exclaims that her position is a bad one and she seems to want to go to the greener grass which is off her island. She straight up says “I don’t enjoy it here/squatting on this island/looking picturesque and mythical.” Thus showing that her beauty is a handicap she wants to get rid of.
Well Barbie Doll was an interesting story. The girl was by virtue a hardworking girl not blessed with the best looks. Apparently she had "Fat legs and a big nose". Even while she did great things and had intelligence, it was her physical appreance that was the talking point. So she decided to work during her life to look pretty by getting rid of that big nose and those fat legs. In turn she shed her excellence for physical appreance. As she died, the topic was still about her looks.
Piercy ends the poem as "To every woman a happy ending". To me, and I do think most will agree, this was not much of a happy ending. Pressures from Society caused her to be a person who only cared about exterior looks. Even when she died society only cared about her appreance instead of her merit. She has no become a plastic, glossy barbie doll with no real material.
Sire Song is also about the pressures from society on women. The siren attracts men, but whoever is exposed to it dies instantly. It is the manipulative nature of seduction and beauty in society.
The concept of a Barbie doll is ironic itself in our society. We all know that a real person that is in proportion to a Barbie cannot exist, because she would tip over and possess an impossible body shape. However, she is given out to little girls for them to idolize and wish to grow up looking like her. The woman in the poem “Barbie Doll” doesn’t fit the characteristics she should possess to look beautiful. She is, “healthy, test intelligent,/possessed strong arms and back…” (line 7-8) and has so many positive qualities, but is held back by, “a fat nose on thick legs” (line 11).
When she could not take society’s pressures to exercise, diet, smile, and wheedle, she kills herself and in the act of killing herself, she reach’s society’s ideals. It is dramatic irony that in death she accomplished something that she could not during life. Society could finally embrace her when she deformed and killed herself. The people who say, “doesn’t she look pretty?” (line 23) believe that her nose made from putty look prettier than her human nose. The last line of the poem injects it with the final dose of irony to seal the poem, “to every woman a happy ending” (line 25). The woman in the poem obviously did not have a happy life, but she is said to have achieved happiness in death, because she looked pretty in her casket. Hence, in this case, a woman had to die in order to achieve her happy ending.
Siren Song represents the desires that can destroy us, yet we pursue them anyway, because of vain reasons. The siren is seen as beautiful by others, “looking picturesque and mythical” (line15), yet she sees those with her exact image as, “these two feathery maniacs”. We admire and follow those who possess characteristics that we desire, even though those characteristics mask ugly truths that can harm us. People go forth to their own tragic end, because of vein reasons that cannot be logically explained. The siren is stuck on an island calling for help, but her pleas can never be answered as those who listen to them will die. The first poem is about a woman who dies, because she couldn’t be beautiful, yet the second poem is about a beauty that causes death to others.
The poem “Barbie Doll” deals with society’s obsession with a highly unrealistic, yet idealized form of beauty. “Barbie Doll” tells the story of a young girl who, during “…the magic of puberty”, was told that she had “…a great big nose and fat legs” (5-6). Although “she was healthy, tested intelligent/ [and] possessed strong arms and back,” such praise-worthy characteristics were of no importance to both herself and society (7-8). All she and everyone else “…saw was a fat nose on thick legs” (11). The dissatisfaction and angst arising from the discrepancy between her body and that of the idealized “Barbie doll” body became overwhelming. Thus, she cut them off. Through the use of ingenious irony, Piercy critiques society’s highly idealized view of human beauty and worth and the pressures that it exerts on women to conform to such unrealistic stereotypes. The first example of irony seen within this poem is that of “the magic of puberty”. Puberty, while producing seemingly magical effects on one’s body, is not what can be said a “magical” time of life. One rarely enjoys the emotional fluctuations, mood swings, and hormonal imbalances typical of puberty. Especially in the case of this girl, puberty is rather horrifying. It’s a time where her self-perceptions are grossly warped and when she discovers the ugly truth of beauty. Another case of irony exists between the title of the poem, “Barbie Doll”, and the descriptions of this particular girl. She is healthy, intelligent, strong, and possesses healthy appetites. In other words, she’s not a Barbie doll, an idealized version of what society perceives as the idealized woman. She’s not the perfect woman, as perceived by society, yet in reality she is. She’s healthy and strong, embodying attributes that are truly worthwhile. The last and most obvious example of irony that I noticed occurs within the last two stanzas. Utterly embittered with her life, the young girl commits suicide. She lies in her satin coffin, painted with cosmetics and wearing a new putty nose. “Doesn’t she look pretty? everyone said” (23). She’s achieved consummation at last and “to every woman a happy ending”. Within these last three lines, Piercy employs both situation and verbal irony. It highly ironic that society views this girl as beautiful only on her death bed, when she is caked with makeup and sporting a new putty nose. They failed to realize her beauty in life. In death, they linger on her seemingly physical beauty. This is a tragic ending, hardly happy. Yet, due to society’s emphasis on such idealized beauty, many woman nevertheless seek this ending.
I also noticed that this poem also deals heavily with the blatant stereotypes pushed on women. Besides being encouraged to adopt a “Barbie doll” form of beauty, Piercy also critiques society’s views of women as demure homemakers. When the young girl was born, she was presented with “dolls that did pee-pee…miniature GE stoves and irons” (2-3). Even early on, she was groomed for a life of “womanly” tasks. This theme of the conformity of women is further explored in “Siren Song”.
While I managed to understand “Barbie Doll”, I’m having a bit of trouble with “Siren Song”. I feel that it is very ambiguous and can be interpreted differently. I believe the sirens represent women who are trapped in this idealized version of beauty. They are adorned with make-up, jewels, and pretty clothes, in effect dressed in bird suits. Such women are trapped in the roles designated by society, whose sole purpose is to “[look] picturesque and mythical” (15). Such women are “…feathery maniacs;” they should rebel against such an enforced and absurd form of beauty, but they don’t (16). Although the siren song is rather boring, “…it works every time” (27). Women can’t help but be trapped within this idealized cast. Thus, the siren song is society’s idealization of beauty that is forced upon women.
However, I also agree with what Fiona wrote in her blog post. The siren’s song can also represent the seductive quality of perfection. Though it drives men to death, they are nevertheless drawn to it. The promise of an idealized life in conformity is striking, “…it works every time” (27).
When I read each poem, I noticed a great deal more of situational irony than I did verbal or dramatic irony. I don't know quite why, and I wonder if it is perhaps because of how I chose to examine each poem, how I happened to see each conflict presented. That certainly isn't to say that I saw no verbal or dramatic irony in either work; I did, but I felt it was considerably outweighed by the authors' use of situational irony. The best example I could find such of irony arose when I compared the two poems, when I reflected upon the story of each and the protagonist of each. It seemed to me that the siren of "Siren's Song" longed for the sense of belonging in society that the 'girlchild' of "Barbie Doll" possessed but could not appreciate. She seemed desperate to rid of herself of her 'bird suit', to leave behind her island and her beauty and her fellow sirens, all for the sense of normalcy and individuality that the girlchild sought to distance herself from, that she threw away by playing coy and coming on hearty and becoming what others wanted to see of her rather than staying true to who she was. (I also thought this aspect of the poem was especially ironic, as, in her quest to become something special, the girlchild merely succeeded to become just like everyone else, losing the individuality she already had but could not recognize.) She had exactly what the siren wanted but could never have, just as the siren herself had what the girlchild wanted but could never have.
In both poems, I found that irony was a central theme. In Barbie Doll, Piercy describes a girl who grew up normal and happy until she went through puberty and "a classmate said: You have a great big nose and fat legs." And though the girl was healthy, smart, and strong, the way she looked acted as a handicap. So, with the self conscience mindset, she continued her life trying to make herself as beautiful as possible and to "cut off her nose and her legs." With this divergence, she disregarded her intellectual potential and eventually died an unfulfilling life, thus the title, "Barbie Doll." She continued to strive for a clichéd body, but ended her life on this journey.
In "Siren Song," the speaker describes the mythical song that the siren sung to seduce passing sailors. Similar to "Barbie Doll," "Siren Song" describes the seductive nature that humans want to possess. However, in their strive to attain beauty, they end up dying an unfruitful life.
I think we write a little too much. (Like in comparison with other classes.)
SIREN SONG
Initially I thought this poem was just about reactions to help. I took it literally. But then I remembered its in the allusions chapter! And it must include an allusion to something. But first I thought maybe the speaker was talking about how men like always try to help calls of help. And women perhaps are the one giving out the calls. Or maybe the speaker is being assaulted (just maybe?), because she is a "picturesque and mythical" bird next to "these two feather maniacs" and "maniacs" isn't nice.
However I looked into the word "siren" and found:
1) any of a group of female and partly human creatures in Greek mythology that lured mariners to destruction by their singing
2) a woman who sings with enchanting sweetness
3) lalala other stuff about sirens like with cars and sounds and stuff
So the speaker is alluding to the Sirens of Greek mythology who tempt men and then wreck them. Anyone who survives is a hero and wins. The speaker hasn't met any heroes but does have an interest in someone ("only you, only you can, / you are unique").
BARBIE DOLL
Why is the image of the fan belt appropriate? There's got to be more than the whole machines thing.
Why does she apologize? Does she think everyone is constantly thinking about her nose and legs?
This poem is pretty much like the subject of perfectly capable women destroying themselves to better fit society's idealistic model of a woman (ridiculously beautiful). It reminds me a lot of Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk. Part of the irony in this poem is that she is described as being strong and intelligent and healthy but eventually she caved to external beauty demands (from mental sources).
Lisa, I couldn't agree more. As a class, our marginal propensity to pontificate is high enough to have a multiplier effect, which, according to John Maynard Keynes, leads others to be just as long winded. You see, our class dynamic seems to fit very well into Keynes' Aggregate Expenditures model. An increase in the difficulty of the prompt, given a low marginal propensity to think (the complement of the marginal propensity to pontificate) will increase the already mind- numbingly long prompts by more than the initial increase in difficulty. Also, I believe there is a crowding out effect with the blog interactions. As more people pontificate, less people actually care about what is said, decreasing the effect or possibly eliminating completely the intellectual "stimulus" present in the blog post. Does this mean we must decrease the difficulty of the blogs to reduce blog "inflation"? Not at all. I argue we, as a class, work to lower our marginal propensity to pontificate, which will by default increase our marginal propensity to think.
(So much for not pontificating)
Long live Keynes.
Alexander, I think you're incredibly funny.
You write about our class's tendency to use filler in our responses quite thoroughly. And with the most appropriate terms. Yet you don't write about the poems.
But I agree! Sometimes I feel like we should be a little more simple but then that cuts off our use of examples and impression of our grasp of understanding so that's why we don't.
In "Barbie Doll" the imagery depicts a well-to-do girl. However, she is viewed by society as unattractive which causes her downfall. Instead of focusing on her positive attributes, she strives for a trivial goal of society's beauty. (Ironically, in the end, she was given credit for her looks though little too late)
"Siren Song" is about men being seduced by a song. Although they know the outcome is death, they follow the music anyways. The common ground between "Barbie Doll" and "Siren Song" is the urge to strive toward a self-destructive path. The only way to solve either problem is to ignore it. In the case of "Barbie Doll" the girl should not focus on her physical aspect as much. For "Siren Song" the men should cover their ears to avoid hearing the music.
Barbie doll's verbal and situational ironies will be the focus of my post. The speaker describes a girl, who has a big nose and fat legs, and because of this, is at the mercy of a society bend on unattainable beauty. The opening stanza reflects the severity of her disposition: "...and miniature GE stoves and irons/ and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy./ Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:/ you have a great big nose and fat legs." The events seem unrelated, which adds to what I think is a sarcastic, dissenting tone. The two verbal Ironies I would like to touch on are the ending line, and the second stanza. In the second stanza, the speaker compliments fer strength and dexterity, things that definitely help one in life, but by doing so reflect the judgment passed on her, because these skills do not impress others, and if that is all she has, she must be ugly and therefore useless(so goes the conventional wisdom). The last stanza is ironic because the "happy ending" is far from happy. yes, she looks fine, the product of a sculptor, but she also is dead. If people only care about how one looks on their deathbed, as opposed to the quality of their life, then she ended on a high note.
Well, that was enlightening.
Albert Johnberry's Ph.D must be related to Keynesian economics.
It's like trying to figure out which state's "Springfield" the Simpsons live in, this.
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(this line means that this post is serious now)
The Siren is the ultimate seductress. She is the keeper of the "song that forces men / to leap overboard in squadrons / even though they see beached skulls."
With her "picturesque and mythical" beauty, she calls sailors to their unconditional deaths. Wouldn't everyone like to know a powerful song like that?
But that's all she is, in all her femininity---a beautiful object that allures men---and she's grown tired of it. She wants out of the "bird suit" that she's been given. "Help me!" she cries.
Society has given her a role that she resents.
The reader is the only one that can save her, that recognizes her plight. "I will tell the secret to you, to you, only to you." "Only you, only you can, you are unique"
Oh, what a pitiful soul---!
She has rejected those feminine attributes that society has imposed upon her. She wants something better, that's all...
Or so it seems. But Hamlet's taught us all about that, hasn't it?
The last stanza doesn't quite fit, in this interpretation. "It is a boring song"? What is she talking about? We have to save her, quickly!
And here the reader, like many a doomed sailor, has lost the game.
There is another meaning behind the Siren's Song---one that should be thoroughly obvious, were it not for the Siren's seduction.
At the end of the first stanza, examine the colon. It indicates that what is to follow is the "song that is irresistible." What follows? The Siren's lament.
"This song is a cry for help"---both songs. The song of the Siren's plight and the song that lures mariners to their doom are one and the same, the cry for help.
She lures with the insecurity of man: the reader is led to believe that they alone are unique, that they alone have been enlightened to the Siren's true thoughts. In the space of six short lines, the word "you" is thrust forth six times. Overwhelming.
But in the end, the unfortunate sailor is just another "beached skull," for the boring song "works every time." Hardly unique.
From the greedy man that wants to know the secret of the Siren's song, to the hero that wants to save this damsel in distress, all men are ensnared in the Siren's trap. To the former, "The song? I just told you." To the second, "Thank you---for falling prey to the Siren's song."
This makes the whole poem a big chunk of verbal irony: the Siren says one thing, but her intent is elsewhere.
Does this mean that the Siren does not literally mean what she said at all? Is she, in fact, completely satisfied with her role as a Siren, "looking picturesque and mythical"?
Perhaps not. Perhaps both meanings hold truth: the Siren indeed may be unsatisfied with her given role, but that expression of dissatisfaction itself is the seductive song with which she works. That's mere speculation, though---it's really up to the reader to decide.
But given that the this poem shares an author with The Handmaid's Tale...
In this way, the poem legitimately considers the rejection of society's imposed role yet acknowledges the power of that role by flipping everything upside-down.
If my interpretation isn't totally off the mark, this poem is absolute genius.
"Barbie Doll": This somewhat macabre poem describes the barbie-doll figures desired by the vast majority of today's young -- and not so young -- women. They grow up perfectly normal, playing with "minature GE stoves and irons and wee lipsticks of the color of cherry candy." When puberty hits and sex matters, classemates notice the "great big nose and fat legs". It's ironic that she, the ugly girl, was "healthy, tested intelligent," and had an "abudant sexual drive", was held along with those of the lower-class of society, who did not have fat legts and big noses, but also lacked intelligence, etc. She cut off her nose and legs (possibly literally, since she had "a turned-up putty nose"?) and did away with her life which she couldn't handle. With her escape from the physical realm she found consolation that she could at last be pretty, albeit dead.
"Siren Song" sent shivers down my spine and made my nose tingle. The sier in obviously the speaker, and she seems sincere that she does not wish to be singing the death song anymore. "I will tell the secret to you, to you only to you. Come closer. This song is a cry for help: Help me!" Obviously the siren is preying upon the kindness of this man's soul rather than his lust for the dangerous and restricted, yet beautiful, death that awaits most others. I apologize for cutting this short, but I, uh, kind of fell asleep, and I'll post some more this weekend, 'cause I have some questions.
Both poems are about subjects which deal with ironic situations concerning their pre-dispose place in life as dictated by society yet neither is truly happy. "Barbie Doll" tries her best to have the perfect appearance but "everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs." The siren of mythology was the bane of sailors because she sung her song luring men to shipwreck upon the rocks. Any man who heard her song was immediately captured. "Siren Song" takes an interesting point of view of that of the siren herself. The eighth group of lines I find some verbal irony as the siren seems to lure one person in particular as if he is something special. Yet then the rest of the poem shows how everyone falls under her spell. "It is a boring song/ but it works every time." "Barbie Doll" is ironic in that she is finally happy once she is dead. Everyone finally says how pretty she looks. The last line is also a bit ironic as it states "to every woman a happy ending." No one, no girl, really wants this stereotypical life with it's stereotypical end. Which is when I noticed that there are a lot of generalizations within the poem that assume that everyone wants this, or that everyone only notices that. Society dictates that every woman is supposed to act like that.
I'm really sorry, but I will post a blog post later today. But here is brief intro to what I believe the poems to be saying:
Barbie Doll is about women's ideals and reality. About accepting themselves for who they are and not what society sees them as. Because if they do what society wants them to be, they are dying but not literally. They kill their true selves, what makes them unique. They conform and die that way.
Siren Song, I'm still a tad confused about, but I think it has to do with how men are easily led by women? Oh, maybe it's about how women all have the same things, same "boring song" but men are always so picky that they try finding the best? I'm not too sure. Kinda loopy from lack of sleep heh.
I have opted—perhaps unwisely—to make a blog post without first reading what my classmates have written. Forgive me for any redundancy that may (and is likely to) take place.
Alright, let’s begin with something obvious: incompleteness. To me, this sums up both poems. Sure they’re specifically about women, but they are each incomplete in different ways. You could argue that both the Siren in “Siren Song” and the girl depicted in “Barbie Doll” were looking for men, couldn’t get them, or couldn’t keep them, and were thusly dissatisfied, but I think that’s a bit of a stretch and not completely accurate in either case.
In the Siren’s case, she can get a man, but, tragically, can’t keep him. In the thick-legged-girl’s case, she could probably keep a man. After all, “She was healthy, tested intelligent, / possessed strong arms and back, / abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity”, but because she “went to and fro apologizing, / Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs,” she could not find a man to accept her when she couldn’t accept herself.
The author doesn’t specify that it is men she apologizes to. I think she seeks approval in general and feels incomplete without it, though she is to blame in part for any disapproval from her classmates. They would not continue to see her as “a great big nose and fat legs” if she did not put on this mask willingly. No one could force her to wear this ugliness. This is what she chose to do by apologizing.
In short, she is doomed to incompleteness. She needs approval to feel complete and won’t accept approval until she is plastic.
In the Siren’s case, I can’t figure out quite what she’s longing for—I hope my classmates can help me out a bit here. It seems like she is looking for freedom, to me. She doesn’t have it and so feels just as incomplete as the poor big-nosed-girl.
I agree with Hayden's analysis that in "both of the poems, “Sirens Song” and “Barbie Doll,” deal with the concept of the grass being greener on the other side." In the case "Barbie Doll" an ugly girl wants to be beautiful on the outside. She lacks the body of a Barbie so she feels depressed. The speaker also presents some irony with these lines "ugly in life but pretty in death." This shows that despite its looks the grass is not always greener on the other side.
"Sirens Song" is almost exactly opposite to "Barbie Doll" in that the speaker, one of the sirens, wants to go to greener grass, which in this case is somewhere without her beauty; “I don’t enjoy it here/squatting on this island/looking picturesque and mythical.” This shows that her beauty, an object desired by the speaker in "Barbie Doll" is now the object that is desired to be changed.
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