Breaking Barbie

In the poem "Barbie Doll," in the first line they call her girlchild. The word girlchild is used as negative connotation in that it not only meant she was a female child but that she was a big female for being a young child. They use some literal denotations when they talk about the toys. Those toys are just that, toys for a child. "Then in the magic of puberty," is used in line 5. This is a connotation because it is not literal. Puberty is not a magic act. She just means it is a special time in a child life were their are changes. The second stanza is all really literal, just telling about her mental and physical attributes and how she trys to apologize. Stanza 3 she is "advised to play coy, exhorted to come on hearty, exercise, diet, smile, and wheedle." All denotations, playing coy is to be reserved and not attract attention. Exhorted to come on hearty is a denotation to come on to people in a warm way. Her good nature wore out. Just a literal line saying the goodness in her is tired and worn out. But they say "her good nature wore out like a fan belt" Like a fan belt is a connotation saying that her good nature didn't fray or snap like a belt but it just wore out emotionally and she stopped trying. "So she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up." This is a denotation because she literaly did cut them off with a knife or something sharp. Reasoning for this is because their is an undertaker who painted cosmetics on. painting being a connotation because he didn't paint them on with a paint brush or roller. He just put her makeup on her quite thick. He also turned-up a putty nose meaning he had to put a putty nose on her. That is how we know she cut her nose of literally. "Dressed in a pink and white nightie. Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said." Their is no connotations in that. "Consummation at last." Denotation meaning literal fulfillment. The last line is the hardest one to determine what it means. "To very woman a happy ending" This is a connotation meaning although their is this bad look at women when they are young, where some get picked on for being ugly, fat, nonathletic, or anything else your peers can find in you to make fun of you for, their is always a light at the end of the tunnel, or a happy ending whether it be getting away from those people, growing out of your ugly stage, surgery, or even death, their is always a happy ending. This is not always true ex specially because death is sometimes the option some take. That in most cases is not something happy.