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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Siren Song was interesting; after reading it, I had to go read the Odysseus story to brush up on my mythology.
The first stanza -- "this is the one song everyone/would like to learn" talks about the songs the Sirens sing. The Sirens were known for the "songs of death," if you could call them that. As soon as men heard the songs on the Sirens, they would be lured to their own death. Because in the third stanza, "the song nobody knows/because anyone e who had heard it/is dead, and the other can't remember. This is because when the men heard the songs, they would either die, or forget everything.
In the second stanza, it says it's a "song that forces men/to leap overboard in squadrons/even though they see the beached skulls." These three Sirens are irresistible and if you are able to pass these Sirens without dying, you are a hero, like Odysseus.
I think Atwood is trying to say something about relationships. She's saying women are manipulative, but men are also weak. In the end, she says "this song/is a cry for help: help me! / Only you, only you can." She wants to be saved! She wants someone to pass the Sirens, someone who is "unique" (24) to get past all of the struggles and obstacles to be with her. I think she's trying to say that she wants a relationship in which she'll find a man who won't run away at the first sight of danger or a stumbling block, but will stick around long enough and persevere to break the curse of a "boring song" (26).
And Barbie Doll. I liked this one; In the first stanza, she talks about a girl and her toys of barbie dolls. These dolls were perfect -- "presented dolls that did pee-pee/and miniature GE stoves and irons/ and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy" but once the girl hit puberty, she wasn't anything like the barbie doll anymore.
She was smart and healthy. And she also "possessed strong arms and back" and abundant "manual dexterity." But I don't understand what those are referring to/supposed to be. But it wasn't good enough for the audience/society. [ I think that's who is "advising her" (12) or "everyone" (11) ]
Society? kept telling her to "play coy" and exercise and lose weight. Everything she was doing, wasn't good enough. And she committed suicide by "cut(ting) off her nose and her legs." It's ironic because in the last stanza, people are saying "doesn't she look pretty?" but if someone, anyone, had told her that while she was still alive, maybe she wouldn't have committed suicide.
Both of these poems talked about expectations of both men and women. There are so many pressures of society and it's depressing!
SIREN SONG:
The song that every girl, everyone lusting for attention "would like to learn" is the "song that forces men[or women] to leap overboard in squadrons".
"Even though they see the skulls" they still seek those squadrons' lustful attraction.
"Nobody knows" the song of gaining the lusts of everyone because people like Britney spears "can't remember" and are crazy, or are "dead" -- Dead metaphysically, and spiritually because once one belongs to the lusts of everyone, one ceases to live for the only person that really matters: the self.
The songstress doesn't "enjoy it"; being a physical object. Neither does she enjoy singing the ironically "fatal and valuable" song with the others just like herself: STRUMPETS.
To the reader she will tell the secret. To her reader she discloses the secret that it's a "cry for help: Help [her]!".
I'm a little confused here....
Perhaps the songstress can only help herself. "Now you know. Don't listen" to what the Paris Hilton's, Marilyn Monroe's, and Britney Spears have to say...
At least that's what I'm getting from the poem. I like it, and it's not exclusively female.
Both poems are about individuals being tempted, lured in and defeated by the voices of others. I thought that it was interesting how the Siren Song was from the view of a Siren instead of the mariners. You get to see her point of view and realize that, despite their harmful actions and bad intentions, she is not complacent.
She says, "I don't enjoy it here/looking picturesque and mythical/with these two feathery maniacs/I don't enjoy singing/this trio, fatal and valuable."
The second half of the poem, she is opening up with her feelings of loneliness.. but I can't tell if she's being honest. The last stanza makes me wonder if she was simply luring in her pray with her sob story. (??)
Barbie Doll reminded me of "Pathedy of Manners." I thought the last line was the most ironic: "To every woman a happy ending." This woman was only picture-perfect to society when she was lying in her casket, lifeless and painted with make up. This woman had nothing BUT a happy ending, because that was the only time she was perfect in society's eyes. You don't have any say in what you want to look like when you're in your casket; she was whatever they wanted to make of her! Throughout her life, she had all these positive qualities (which begin each stanza) but she was still discouraged and never felt content with what she had. The final lines of each stanza show the negative thoughts that had the power to completely overrule any positive ones:
You have a great big nose and fat legs
Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs
So she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up
And once her life is taken from her:
To every woman a happy ending
Barbie Doll:
Advised to "play coy" and shy, "exhorted" and forced "to come on hearty" which is almost an antonym of coy - irony -, to "exercise", to "diet", and to "smile" all the while so as to "wheedle" or flatter her society. Society forced her to become something she was obviously not and did not want to be.
As a result her "good nature wore out like a fan belt." That's some conductive imagery for you.
Although she wasn't naturally gifted in having a socially pleasing appearance, she did have a humane personality; a "good nature". Society's demands were unjustly placed upon that "fan-belt" and "So she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up" as sacrifice to SOCIETY'S GOD.
The fourth is the most ironic of the stanzas, and it is beautiful - in that sick, horrible kind of way.
She got make-up on, satin cloth, a aesthetically pleasing nose (made of clay mind you), dressed in society's favorite female colors: pink and white, and "Doesn't she look pretty?". A perfect ending; a consummation of society's values, society's morals, and society's standards.
Let the last line burn within you:
"To every woman a happy ending." To every human a happy ending who proclaims beauty to be beautiful.
Ironic.
HI--
These are both very interesting poems. Just as the prompt suggests, they both deal with society's influence on the individual -- but more importantly, how this influence strips them of all uniqueness, igniting a constant struggle and need to conform.
Sharon, I like what you said about the pieces: “Both poems are about individuals being tempted, lured in, and defeated by the voices of others.”
This is literally true with the Siren’s song of temptation, one that no male sailor can resist. In Barbie Doll, these hurtful, intentional words cause so much emotional pain and conflict they ultimately lead to the woman’s death.
I think the obvious irony in Barbie Doll is that the woman is made “beautiful” after experiencing a tragic death. Throughout her life she is mocked and ridiculed, and in the end, after “cutting off her nose and her legs” she is viewed as “pretty.” The Barbie is used to portray perfection; they are all manufactured, proportional, ideal. I think the doll is used to symbolize society and the “cookie-cutter” ideals that accompany it. No doll is really unique. They are simply a mold, a copy of something that already exists -- something this girl was not. She was different in the eyes of her classmates; she was a unique individual. This girl was “tested intelligent,” strong --apparently she had everything going for her-- yet she was driven mad by the “physical standards” set by society.
It’s also ironic in the end how “the undertaker” treated her as a doll, “sculpting a putty nose” and dressing her in a “pink and white necktie.” It is only after this tragic event that everyone says: “doesn’t she look pretty?” I don’t think she really cut off her legs and nose. I think this is used by the poet to continue the doll metaphor.
SIREN SONG:
For some reason, I really liked this one. I think it was the fact that it was from a Siren’s viewpoint. When reading mythology we view them to be almost villainous creatures, awful temptresses who lure sea-farers to their death. But here we hear her cry for help.
Perhaps the ironic piece is that she desperately wants a relationship, someone to understand and be with her, but all her words do is lead men to death. She is looking for someone who UNDERSTANDS her, not someone who solely falls for her physical voice, beauty. This is sort of like Barbie Doll, which also deals with the notion that one must conform to society's "standards" in order to be accepted.
I don't know if I’m understanding the irony in any of these right???
The ironic thing about the woman described in “Barbie Doll” is that she “was healthy, tested intelligent” and yet the only things that seemed to matter to her were her looked. She valued beauty and equated it to happiness and worth. In today’s society, that is exactly how women are viewed. It seems much more important to the general public if a woman is attractive and slender as opposed to articulate and intelligent. They are judged on their “big nose and fat legs” and other such superficial things. The fact of the matter is society has created a monster because of this. In reality, women would not scrutinize their looks to the same extents as they do currently if it were not for the harsh criticism and high expectations that society has. Women must constantly compare themselves to the women who are in the public eye and try and compete. Much like so many women in real life, the woman in “Barbie Girl” even goes to the lengths of getting plastic surgery to change her features in order to give her life value, she believes. She was treated in a heartless manner and because you just continued to stand and take it, “her good nature wore out like a fan belt".
In the same respect, the speaker in “Siren Song” is warn out in her own way. The irony in the poem is situational because it shows how external beauty alone is very meaningless and empty. Sirens are meant to be very beautiful and mystifying creatures and it is said that no man and resist their lure. However, it is this beauty that is tragic, for by luring all men it they will all only end up being hurt but still the siren "forces men to leap overboard in squadrons even though they see the beached skulls". This is also ironic because though the siren is considered beautiful but all, and has what the speaker in “Barbie Girl” dreamt of, she longs for the opposite, for what the speaker in “Barbie Girl” had. External beauty alone never made anyone happy, but whether they were beautiful or not so both of the speakers refused to be satisfied with themselves.
Barbie doll was quite depressing...
In the poem Barbie Doll, she was presented with a doll that resembled the "ideal" women/girl in society. The illusion of perfection could only make her feel more insecure about her "flaws." Therefore, when the classmate made the comment about her nose and legs she instantly compared herself to her Barbie doll. The classmate's comment could be referred to as verbal irony because there was a definite discrepancy of expectation and fulfillment.
The second stanza continues on and describes her as healthy, intelligent, and strong. The author must have been suggesting that there is no reason why she should feel bad about herself. This is also ironic because she possesses qualities that we do not all have and can envy.
Eventually, the pressure of society led her to her suicide. It is depressing to think about how the expectations of society conforms people to believe in one thing like appearance, relationships, wealth etc.
The first stanza in Siren song talks about the song that everyone would like to learn: The song that is irresistible, but deadly. The Sirens were known to lure sailors to their own death. This is relatable to Barbie Doll because society lured her to her own death.
I thought in the stanza when the siren cries, “Is a cry for help: Help me! Only you, only you can, you are unique, “ expresses her frustration of her external beauty because she could only lure men through an image. Her wisdom and characteristics are overshadowed by her appearance, which makes her feel useless and alone.
When women(or men) flaunt they make their audience feel unique, the receiver of the extra attention feels like they have been chosen out of a crowd and they are somehow special. The song of course is the sirens ability to draw in multitudes of men and leave them all lusting over their physical features. I got the sense that while the speaker was describing the secret of the song, they were doing so seductively. As the speaker lets the reader in on the big secret I can imagine one of the sirens motioning with a finger telling the reader to "come closer."
The reader is made unique and special in the sense that he/she is the only one that can save the damsel in distress and like a knight in shining armor the reader is briefly led on to believe they can rescue the siren from her torment but fails. "it is a boring song [because] it works every time."
For Barbie Doll, I think the line "Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs" isn't necessarily other people's thoughts, but only what the narrator thinks other people say about her. "The magic of puberty" is verbal irony (I think) because in actuality going through puberty caused changes in the narrator's body that were hardly magical. "Doesn't she look pretty" is situational irony. Usually people look better alive then dead, but in this situation, in the opinion of the shallow society, once she is dead the narrator better fits their specifications for beauty. Additionally, the final line, "To every woman a happy ending", is dramatic irony, because this entire poem is about the tragedy of a vain society. There is nothing happy about a young woman pushed to suicide because of other people's critiques.
All of Siren Song is situational irony, because sirens are supposed to be sultry and seductive, but not intellectual. Their sole goal in life is to destroy the lives of men with their entrancing song. This particular siren wishes to have a man who sees her for me than her body and song. Her song is only a facade, made clear when she begs for someone to "get [her] / out of this bird suit". Being a siren is only a costume; the real woman lies beneath the seduction. The siren's final lines, "it is a boring song / but it works every time", uses verbal irony to show that try as she might to find a man that only wants to talk with her, without fail every man falls victim to her song. She doesn't even want to seduce these men anymore!
Side by side these two poems are also ironic. One protagonist wants nothing more than people to find her attractive, while the other wants to be seen for more than her beauty. One woman wants more beauty, and the other wants less. Both are up against impossible odds, fighting against bigoted society and mythical magic beyond their power; both inevitably end in tragedy.
Barbie Doll
"The magic of puberty" It's funny how Piercy uses the word "magic" to describe the changes she went through. Usually 'magic' would be used to describe something that was wonderful, but her physical changes caused her a lot of misery. Although she's describe to have "strong arms and black, abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity" none of these words are offending. They can be seen as good traits, but that's not what the public see them as.
Siren Song
This poem sort of reminded me of Adam and Eve, how they the temptation of the apple is always there and they give in, leading to bad consequences. I don't know if there is a temptation in this poem, but the men give-in to the pleas of the siren falling for the trap that leads them to doom.
This poem seems to show how woman can fake their way into getting the man they want. I thought that "Only you, only you can, you are unique" was something that she just used to seduce men.
I didn't know whether the siren was being sarcastic from line 13 and on. I also didn't get "I don't enjoy singing this trio, fatal and valuable." Who is she singing a trio with?
Very good insight James, how the poems are reciporcal to eachother. However, I think that the difference between the siren and the girl is that the girl genuinely wants to be accepted, while the siren merely feigns this wish to set a trap for the reader. Though the siren song is a plead for help, a wish for a man who cares less for looks and more for inner beauty, it is ultimately seductive in nature and by design. The siren song is designed to make the reader feel special, like it is their duty to be the saviour. "Only you...you are unique." Near the end of the poem I got the feeling that her cry for help was genuine, but when the siren bids the reader to "come closer" I get the feeling that this plea for help really is the "boring" song she sings every time. Just a side note, I have no idea how these bird like creatures with human heads could possibly be attractive, a mermaid like creature would have been a better myth in my opinion.
As for Barbie Doll, I found this poem much more disturbing, and deppressing. Nearly everybody has a set of qualities that are desirable to society, and a set that are undesirable. It is terrible to see the girl in the poem, who has excellent internal attributes, become miserable because her physical attributes are undesirable to most of the people around her. The fact that the author wrote about someone who is internally beautiful and externally different suggests that the author believes society to be more judgemental of physical appearance than personality, which most of us could agree with. This poem reminded me of the horrendous amount of mistreatment people endure on a daily basis, mostly from people they barely know.
This isn't really a post...I'm tired!
This is all I will say:
1) Lizzie, darling, you rock.
2) All women will eventually relate to Barbie Doll because women hardly exist for the joy of existing anymore, but will exist for petty comments that don't matter. What I'm trying to get at is the fact that this poem conveys the modern age woman who only knows how to say "sorry" and only listens to other people opinions.
http://Neelybird.deviantart.com/art/lifedeath-80004425
I feel like the end part of siren song was her song, not an actual cry for help. Everyone else's analysis seemed acurate though.
I don't know if it's so much that women are tired of being the manipulative and dominant tool in a relationship, so much as women knowing their sexuality and the power it has over men. The speaker viewed her power as a play toy which made it even more malicious. But there was a hint of longing in her voice. As if she was tired of being that beautiful face and wanted men to listen to her for more than her songs.
I need help on what this poem has to do with dehumanizing conformity!!
Barbie Doll was laced with irony. I feel everyone eles has pointed it out quite nicely. I liked that this was told from an outside perspective because I felt like I was judging her as well. Not for her physical faults (because the reader has no idea if the nose atop legs is true) but for her thoughts. People don't even bat an eyelash anymore when they hear of a girl with tragically low self-esteem...this is part of the dehumanizing conformity in the prompt. It is hard to hang out with a group of girls and not hear atleast one bash on an unnoticable physical flaw. In dying she conformed to society in two ways: hating herself and looking beautiful.
I think the real irony is in society. There's an uncomfortable gap between what women are and what men want women to be.
I also feel like a man-hater after reading these poems.
Both poems are obviously about women. In Barbie Doll, Piercy writes about women’s desire to conform to society. Even though the woman in this poem is born and grew to be completely healthy and intelligent she was criticized for her flaws. The immense pressure from society finally lead her to suicide (cutting off her nose and legs), and only till the end that she is praised for her fake nose. I really like the irony in the last line of this poem, when the woman is in her casket Piercy writes, “to every woman a happy ending.”
Sharon, I think in Siren Song, when the Siren says “I don’t enjoy it here squatting on this island looking picturesque and mythical” is the lure for men to fell into her trap. It is a stereotype on women using their sexual appeals to attract men. In the end she ironically sneers at the fooled men, “Alas it is a boring song but it works every time.” I personally enjoyed this poem better than Barbie Doll because I felt that I was in the position of the mariners, listening to or “learn[ing]” the “Siren Song”. In stanzas 4-8 I was drawing closer and closer to the Siren’s plead for help that in the last stanza I was dumbfounded.
Barbie Doll--
I found this poem to be very interesting. The first stanza represents a simple girl's childhood full of "presented dolls that did pee-pee," "miniature GE stoves and irons," and my personal favorite, "lipsticks the color of cherry candy." This stanza represents an innocence contrived through the mere happiness of being a carefree child. However, as the poem progresses, we begin to see the girl's life change for the worse when a classmate proclaimed, "You have a great big nose and fat legs." (Typical sad, uncensored little boys...) The part I find most sad is the line that says, "She went to and fro apologizing." She is simply looking for acceptance in any way possible--in this case it's through submission and desperation, but still, "Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs." Sad.
Then, society takes its turn. She was "advised to play coy," to "exercise," to "diet." He good nature that she had maintained throughout the majority of her childhood disappears as society dismantles her.
I think Michelle makes a good point about the line saying "Doesn't she look pretty?" This is a mere afterthought, a comment made after her death. She's all made up with "cosmetics painted on," with a "turned-up putty nose." If someone, anyone had said that she was pretty at any point, she would not be laying in that coffin.
Like others have mentioned, the last line oozes with irony-- "To every woman a happy ending." What a happy ending for a girl criticized and torn apart by society because she was not a "Barbie Doll."
In "Siren Song", it's a little bit odd (or ironic!) that this is a 'song nobody knows/because anyone who had heard it/is dead, and the others can't remember',but the speaker 'knows' what it is and tells the audience what it is.
Also, there is the contrast of the idea that the song is a seductive and irrestiable song on the basis that it's just beutiful, but the speakers contrast that idea that it's not lust that makes men dive into deadly waters but the goodness in people to want to save someone in trouble that gets them killed.
I think the speaker distains this beauty and the goodness, and sees that it often gets people killed. You can see that in fact the speaker hates being the 'picturesque and mythical', and 'squatting' on the island.
You can see this dislike for beauty in the "Barbie Doll" poem.
The girl that the speaker was describing was healthy, strong, intelligent, and destroyed by the fact that she had a 'big nose and fat legs'. It only took one person, 'a classmate' (not even a friend!), for beauty to take a life, like how the sailors dived into the water because of beautful song.
I took Siren a little differently than everyone else. When I first read it, I thought that the whole poem was part of the siren's song. She was trying to act like a damsel in distress knowing that most men foolishly try to act heroic. When they attempt to save the "weak" woman, they have actually been manipulated into their own death. The poem is referring to how it is incorrect to assume that women are always the weaker link in a relationship and often times it is actually the man that is weak.
James, Sharon, and Lizzie had some really good thoughts on the poems!
Barbie Doll reveals a disturbing truth of what's happening to the women in our society. Like the "girlchild" (I thought it was weird that the poem used that word) in the poem, many women in our society focus on their flaws, which blinds them from seeing their virtues and unique qualities. Society has created a "Barbie Doll”, its own version of what the ideal women is supposed to look like and has dehumanized women by trying to make them fit into a mold that only a doll can fit into. The word "exhorted" is important to the poem because it illustrates how people are pressed on all sides by society, and sadly, many succumb to the pressure and let society mold them. As a result, women’s beauty becomes like that of Barbie Dolls, generic (If Barbie was an actual person, only about 1% of the female population would look like that). Like James mentioned, the last line in Barbie Doll indicates the poem's use of dramatic irony because the speaker is saying the opposite of what the poem means. I think the last line is also a paradox because although it’s false in a sense that the "consummation" is not a happy ending, it is a happy ending to society because it was able to mold the girl into a fake, generic, and lifeless doll.
I was also thinking that lines 17-22 "So she cut of her nose...putty nose," might be metaphorical. Maybe instead of literally killing herself, she died to her individuality. The phrase in line 18 "offered them up," might refer to the girl giving up her uniqueness in order to conform to society. Maybe the casket symbolizes the dehumanizing effects of society, which in turn made her plastic, generic, and lifeless. But I don't know, maybe I'm over-analyzing it. What do you guys think???
I thought Siren Song was very interesting but I had a hard time understanding it. I think this poem shows dramatic irony because it seems like the Siren is trying to lure more victims with its cry for help, but the aim of the poem is the Siren showing men that she is not what she appears to be. It kind of reminds of women, who are desperately not to appear as shallow, but society eventually wins and they give up trying to be beautiful on the inside.
P.S.
Girls, do yourselves a favor and stop focusing on your flaws!!! We need to be more thankful with what we have instead of focusing on what we lack. I think our problem is that we are constantly comparing ourselves to other girls who posses qualities that we lack.
First off, I'd like to talk a little bit about "Siren Song." I think the most interesting aspect of this poem is its dualistic nature. One one level, it seems as if its speaker is a Siren merely just voicing her problems to the reader in a non-siren tone- just something rather conversational. But, upon further analyzation of phrases such as, "Help me!/ Only you, only you can/ you are unique,” it really seems as if the poem is another one of the Siren's songs; this time addressed at the reader. In a sense, the speaker is trying to dupe the reader into believing in this superficial level, and not realizing the tricks under the surface.
I'd like to touch just briefly on "Barbie Doll." The part of this poem that stood out the most to me was the casket metaphor, "In the casket displayed on satin she lay
with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on." I think that the speaker is criticizing the critical nature of our society when it comes to appearence. The speaker describes that the girl finally fits society's view of attractiveness when she has makeup on and is in her casket. Maybe this, the time when you die, is the only time someone can truly live up to the steep expecations of our world.
I agree with Sharon's comment: "Both poems are about individuals being tempted, lured in and defeated by the voices of others"
What i find most interesting Siren Song, which i haven't quite sorted through yet though is the perspective and viewpoint, more formally the "gaze" that the poet offers. Like, i found the last few verses, "Come closer. This song
is a cry for help: Help me!
Only you, only you can,
you are unique" very interesting because there is clearly a special relationship. I also think that the secret is functions as a bridge potentially.
As for Barbie Doll, i think the theme of a dominant gaze from society that guides individuals to conform is there too. Some of you i know found this depressing and saw it as expectations.
These poems for me are difficult to categorize. Would you guys say that they are realistic?
Piercy's Barbie Doll is a poem that is full of piercing diction and irony. She treats the "girlchild" as if she was not even human, saying she was "born as usual" and that "Her good nature wore out/ like a fan belt." The speaker says "She...tested intelligent," saying not that she was smart, but that she did well on tests. That is an attack on standardized education. Even though she had a lot of great attributes, society only "saw a fat nose on thick legs."
In "Siren Song," Atwood writes a coy, deceiving poem about how easy it is to seduce men. When she writes "This is the one song everyone/ would like to learn: the song/ that is irresistible:" the reader feels like she is trying to learn the song, but in fact the speaker already knows it and is singing it in the poem. The song is a type of flirtation in which the woman tries to appear weak and like the man is the only one who can help her. This is apparent when she repeats you several times across the poem: "I will tell the secret to you,/ to you only to you," and "Help me!/ Only you, only you can, you are unique." She also pretends to not like the power she has over men: "I don't enjoy it here/ squatting on this island/ looking picturesque and mythical." She only says that to entice a man to believe he can save her from the wicked "island." But at the same time she admits that she has grown tired of the song: Alas/ it is a boring song/ but it works every time." The speaker knows how to manipulate men.
I just read Lauren's blog. Good job actually following the prompt and finding the irony and connecting the two poems!
The poem that was most interesting to me was "Siren Song." I'm still unsure of its meaning but I thought it was a very tricky poem. After I looked at its structure, I noticed a colon at line 3 "the song
that is irresistible:" and a period at the end "at last. Alas"
I thought that added a sort of hidden irony to the poem. The whole dialogue in the middle, the substance of the poem, is the siren's song!. The siren attracts the man by earthing his embedded duty of courage and honor, to save and protect the woman, as a way to lure him to his death. She shows that exploiting man's nature proves paramount to the most obvious reason, is simple, and infallible.
Well, since the themes of gender identity and conformity seemed to be flwoing throughout the two poems, I feel as though that is what both were speaking to.
In "Barbie Doll" the girl is raised playing with her toys and lipstick. However, she developed some very masculine characteristics which society as a whole criticized. For a time she dealt with it and continued onward. She stayed as an individual.
After a time though, she broke down. She suffers a metaphysical death in which she gives in to the pressures of the world calling her nose and legs fat. After hearing the negative thoughts for so long, she conformed to society's desire. While reasearching, I found an alternate meaning for consummation. It can also mean to be made or changed into an ideal example of what all should aspire to be. Ultimately, this is what the "barbie doll" did.
"Siren Song" also seemed to let off the same steam but in a different manner. The theme of conformity is played quite well by the song. The siren claims the listener to be unique, yet squadrons of men are jumping ship to come after her. This is the most clear example of irony I found.
Also, the idea of gender roles comes up. The woman is in a trio of "feathery maniacs" and she hates being there on the island. Her call to men is to help her escape from her bird suit. While she may not entirely wish to leave, it can be said to be true that this song is often present in the women of today who seem to try and capture every man's heart.
These poems were both good, but comparing them was a good deal of work...
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