Create Oneself

Stereotyping is a regrettable attitude in how one person judges another. People often label individuals and groups by their appearance, ethnicity, social status, or any of the other myriad of differences that distinguishes one person from another. In the two poems, Theme for English B and Barbie Doll, the reader is urged to see the biases of society placed upon the main characters of the writings. Although both characters are affected by the prejudices weighed upon them, the manner in which the two characters approach the issues are vastly different. Whereas Hughes, author of Theme for English B, identifies the discrimination he feels in his environment, he embraces who he is. The “girlchild” (Piercy, 1) in Barbie Doll tries her best to conform to the standards by the people scrutinizing her; ultimately losing her own life as well as her natural identity. This distinction on how each of the two characters copes with societal adversity in his or her life is the underlining difference between the two poems.

Readers witness the characters of the two poems become targets of stereotyping when Hughes writes that he is “the only colored student in [his] class” (Hughes, 10) and explaining that his white instructor “…perhaps [does not] want to be a part of [him]” (Hughes, 34), while Pierce states that “a classmate [teases the girlchild], you have a great big nose and fat legs.” (Piercy, 5-6) While the characters are both being judged by outside groups on the nature of their inborn physical characteristics, they each handle this challenge in a separate manner. The impact of the racial intolerance Hughes faces is positive for him as readers see him evaluating the rationality of ethnic discrimination. Hughes finds that ultimately, regardless of an individual’s skin color, a human being from any background can enjoy the same things. Conversely, the character of Barbie Doll, girlchild is self-destructively affected by public opinion. She tries her best to follow the fleeting standards of those around her without regard to her own self-worth. In the end, the girlchild succumbs completely to the outside forces and reaches a fruitless consummation; where although the public opinion at last endorsed her, the girlchild lost all the innate and extraordinary qualities that made her one of a kind.

Hughes of Theme of English B was a young African-American man living in a period of American history when racial prejudice was a commonplace phenomenon. To be black and attending college was a rare and exceptional occurrence. The readers see this reality when Hughes writes, “I am the only colored student in my class” (10). The author identifies that there is a social bias of his racial group when he explains,

So will my page be colored that I write?
Being me, it will not be white.
But it will be
a part of you, instructor.
You are white – (27-31)

In spite of this prejudice, Hughes recognizes that he takes pleasure in the same activities as his white counterparts. In the poem he describes,

...Me – who?
Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.
I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.
I like a pipe for a Christmas present,
or records – Bessie, bop, or Bach.
I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like
the same things other folks like who are other races. (20-26)

Finally, the author clarifies that, “[a]s I learn from you, / I guess you learn from me –” (37-38). The audience sees that Langston Hughes is comfortable in his predicament, possesses self-respect of his identity, and is not ashamed of who he is.

Marge Piercy composed her poem, Barbie Doll, in the early 1970s, congruent to the period of the United States’ feminist movements. During that time, women around the nation rose up to seek fairness and equality for females in a patriarchal society. Women of that era sought to do away with shallow attitudes focused toward them concerning superficial attractiveness, sexual freedom, and capability. Piercy brings to light the philosophies of that time in her poem. She makes the tone in Barbie Doll sarcastic. The author describes a young, vigorous woman who “…was healthy, tested intelligent, / possessed strong arms and back, / abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity” (7-9). Still, this same woman “…went to and fro apologizing. / Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs. / … / So she [finally] cut off her nose and her legs / and offered them up” (10-11, 17-18). Readers feel the irony in the unusual impact the community played in unaccommodatingly influencing the pitiable protagonist. The girlchild lacked essential qualities which the feminist movement women in the 1970s, as well as the author Langston Hughes, exhibited: self-confidence, self-respect and self-worth. Because of this critical flaw, Piercy’s girlchild lived in pursuit of pleasing others for the purpose of gaining their approval. Unfortunately, only misery and finally defeat, was the conclusion for the character in the story.

These two poems, written by hugely dissimilar authors, reveal similar conflicts and struggles of the central characters. Both characters face public scrutiny of their physical identities. Both must manage and cope with the realities of the environments in which they live. However, the approach each character takes to solve his or her struggles differ significantly. After analyzing the two approaches, readers realize that taken as a whole, satisfaction with one self’s own value in society is much more important than seeking the admiration of the crowd. Genuine fulfillment originates from within, and if a person does not have this to begin with, he or she will never find it elsewhere. A quote by Thomas Szasz corroborates this belief; he explains, “Some people say they haven’t yet found themselves. But the self is not something one finds; it is something one creates.”