“Barbie Doll” Questions
- In the poem “Barbie Doll”, the phrase “consummation at last” may mean two things. First, it may mean that in death, the girl no longer have to impress anybody. In death, she can be anybody she wants. The struggle to be accepted in society ends in death. She does not have to look and act according to the dictates of society. On the other hand, the line “consummation at last” may also mean that in death, the physical appearance that she wanted to have is finally given to her. With the help of the undertaker’s cosmetics, she looked very pretty with a “turned-up putty nose” and she was dressed in pink, just like a Barbie doll. It is a consummation because from the remarks of those who saw her in the coffin, they were finally satisfied with how she looks. For them, she achieved the look she had always wanted. The “happy ending” referred to in the poem is that of being able to attain the perfect “Barbie look” which every woman desires in their lifetime. It also refers to the desire of every person to be accepted by society. In death, the woman achieved the perfection that society dictates.
- A Barbie doll is the epitome of perfection for a woman. To be like a Barbie doll means having the perfect physical appearance, perfect hair, nose and body. The Barbie doll is one of the favorite toys, if not the favorite toy, of young girls. Every girl dreams of being like Barbie, who they think is the perfect woman. It is an unrealistic view of beauty, focusing only on the physical aspects and ignoring the inner beauty of a person. Barbie doll is used in the title because it stands for the standard which society has dictated on every woman. For society, every female should aspire to become like a Barbie doll. If a woman does not meet these criteria, she is bullied and pressured into doing drastic things, such as surgeries, just so that she can be the ideal Barbie doll. Although the term “Barbie doll” is never used in the entire poem, it can be observed that all throughout the poem, the woman is compared to the qualities of the doll.
- Yes, one has seen a live performance of the “blues”. The poem reminds one of “the blues” because of the way the musician is singing the song. The theme of the song is about deep pain which is often the theme of “the blues”. Hughes describes the musician as singing in a “deep song voice with a melancholy tone” (17). Another reason why the poem reminds one of “the blues” is the description of the musician as being a black man which is very typical of singers who sing “the blues”. To have “the blues” as an emotional state means that person is sad. A person having “the blues” feels depressed and has a low self-esteem. He feels alone. He may feel that he is not loved because he does not have anyone to share his life with. He may be someone who is facing a big problem. In the poem, “The Weary Blues”, the term “the blues” relates to the emotions of the singer . Aside from the fact that the musician is playing slow blues, he too is feeling “the blues”. The message of his song evokes that of being alone. This is further evidenced in the last stanza where the musician is described as someone who went straight home after his stint at the bar, thinking of the lyrics of the song he sang about having no one special in life.
- Hughes entitled the poem “The Weary Blues” because it is the description of the musician in the poem. It is observed that he is weary, judging from the manner he sings. Hughes describes his body language in the poem as someone doing a “lazy sway” (6). The musician may be tired or bored with what he is doing but he has to do it to earn a living. He is probably “weary” from living alone and having no one to care for him. Hughes may have also meant the word “weary” to illustrate that the musician makes himself weary by playing “the blues” in a club so that when he gets home, he is too tired to think of his life’s miseries. The use of “weary” in the title is very appropriate. To be weary physically means not to have the energy to do anything after an exhausting day. It may denote suffering from bodily aches or experiencing physical weakness. Mental weariness is not wanting to have deep thoughts. An individual who suffers mental weariness no longer wants to analyze what is happening in his life. He does not want to give explanations or reasons for things that he encounters in life. A mentally-weary person does not want to learn new things and is satisfied with what he knows already. There is no more drive to improve oneself. The social and economic conditions that might have contributed to the sense of weariness expressed by the musician is the racial discrimination that was prevalent during those times. The exploitation of black musicians was also evident during the era described.
- The musician in the poem feels alone. There are some clues as to why the musician feels alone. The line “with his ebony hands on each ivory key” in Hughes’ poem may represent the racial discrimination which he is suffering at that time (9). The “ebony hands” represents the musician while the “ivory key” are the white Americans who during those times did not treat the Negroes well. The contrast in the colors represents the disagreement between the two races. In the poem, there is no mention of an audience who is listening to the musician. This may be the reason why the he feels alone. It may be that he used to be a popular singer but he is no longer at the peak of his career. This decline in his popularity may be one reason why he is lonely. There are times when one felt alone especially when one has a misunderstanding with a friend. When one is faced with a major problem, and there is no one who seems to understand the situation, one also feels alone.
Works Cited
Hughes, Langston. "The Weary Blues." 2014. poets.org. Web. 13 April 2014 <http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15612>.
Piercy, Marge. "Barbie Doll." 2014. poemhunter.com. Web. 13 April 2014 <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/barbie-doll/>.
