"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.