"Barbie Doll" by Charles Simic

Charles Simic is making a point about media in his poem “Barbie Doll.” He is describing how people will change themselves in order to be liked by others. I love some of the terms he uses in this poem. But it is kind of upsetting to me because I do not like the fact that the majority of this world has expectations on how people look. They cannot appreciate who a person is if they are heavyset, or they don’t wear makeup or buy expensive clothes that show more skin than they cover. Because of the media, people will do anything to change who they are so they can be “accepted.” People, especially younger girls, will “cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up,”  so they won’t be teased or frowned upon. When girls are at a young age they need to hear that they are smart, funny, and a joy to be around. They do not need to hear that they are fat, and have a huge nose. They feel very self-conscience about themselves from that point on. They change who they are for other people, so those people can be happy. But they do not change for themselves. I think that Simic makes this point very clear, and I think he uses this poem to show that it does not take a “Barbie Doll” to be happy, healthy, and intelligent.

"Digging" by Seamus Heaney

In “Digging” by Seamus Heaney, he is describing how his father knows how to use a spade and can dig really well. He also explains how his grandfather could cut more turf in one day than could any other person. Heaney describes how his father and his grandfather had their own way of digging, and how they were both the best at what they did. I like how he talks about both his father and grandfather because it shows how one trait was passed from generation to generation. Even though they are digging different things, they are still digging, and the father learned how to from the grandfather. Also, Heaney is digging in his own way. Instead of digging the ground for turf, or for potatoes, he is using his pen to dig his words onto his paper. He is great at digging with his pen, like his father was great with digging with his spade, and his grandfather was great with digging with a spade. I really enjoyed this poem because I could relate with learning how to do something and be good at it from my father, and my mother. They both learned the same thing they taught me from their parents and passed it on to me. I see this to be true with every family. When looking at individual families, you can see how kids end up doing, or acting the same way their parents acted. Sometimes it is not even intentionally learned. It is a trait that is just picked up from how they were raised.