Wednesday, January 1, 2014

What does "tested intelligent" mean exactly in the poem "Barbie Doll"?

The poem "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy tells the story of 
a young girls who is told she has a "big nose" and "fat legs." Despite all evidence to
the contrary, this young girl believed the lie and committed suicide. This is a tragic
story of unrealistic expectations, as demonstrated first by the title. Barbie is the
epitome of unrealistic expectations.


The phrase you ask
about is found in the second stanza of the poem. Here the speaker outlines all the fine
qualities of this young girl.


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She was healthy, tested
intelligent,
possessed strong arms and back,
abundant sexual drive
and manual dexterity.



This
girl is in good health, is bright, is physically fit, and has normal desires and
coordination. The "tested intelligent" obviously refers to her intellectual capacity;
she is capable of learning.


The tragedy of this poem is
that a perfectly "normal" girl was persuaded to believe she was not by a few careless
words spoken by a young classmate.

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