The search for perfection has many men and women going to extremes to qualify themselves as such. The pressures that society place on people, especially women to look a certain way has lead many women to undergo many dangerous procedures in search of this so called perfect self. Though society places more pressure on women, men are not without pressure many men measure themselves to the worlds greatest athletes or to movie stars because their physique remains impeccable at all times. Marge Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” and Edwin Robinson’s “Richard Cory” gives us a real insight as to what it means to be perfect. The poems give us a beautiful insight of the struggles society places on both men and women to be perfect. How does each sex deal with the struggles that society places on them to be perfect?

The importance of the two poems are one might seem perfect on the outside but what exactly is really going on within? At first glance we most certainly recognizes that the poems are different, one is about the stereotypes and unfair depictions that society places on women and the other is what exactly the perfect man should look like according to society. The two poems bring together the theme of how unfair societal pressures are and how they affect both men and women. Though both text were written in different era’s Piercy’s “Barbie doll” was written in the seventy’s and Robinson’s “ Richard Cory” was written in the late eighteen hundreds, we can see how relevant both text still are in our society today. 

According to an issue of People magazine, when Mary Kate Olson checked herself into rehab for an eating disorder many teens did not see an issue with the way she looked, one teen wrote of her disturbingly gaunt figure “ I admire her, she is who I aspire to be.” What is shocking about this teen’s admission is that she is not alone in her thinking. Society’s pressures on women especially to be girlie and beauty conscious even at a young age is clearly depicted in Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” where she wrote “ she was advised to play coy…. exercise, diet, smile and wheedle” (Piercy 349). Advising a teenage girl to diet because she is seen as fat by her peers is exactly what is wrong with society and the impossible standards that women can never live up to or die trying to live up to. 

In comparison, Robinson’s “ Richard Cory” was also looked upon as a perfect male specimen “ Clean favored, and imperially slim… and he glittered when he walked” (Robinson) Though women bare the brunt of societies unfair pressures to be physically slim, men are not immune from the pressures of society. As we see, the mere perception of what the perfect man should look like in the poem “Richard Cory.”  According to National Eating Disorders.org, an estimated 10 million men will suffer from some sort of eating disorder in their lifetime, usually when we think of eating disorders we sometimes automatically refer this thought to women as was the case with Mary Kate Olsen. What is important to note is that the number for women are only slightly higher and these are the cases in men that might be reported because many go unnoticed and unreported. 

To demonstrate how destructive the pressures that society places on women and men to be perfect we need look no further than what Barbie does to herself in an effort to measure up. Piercy’s imagery plays a key role in what we see unfolding with Barbie “ So she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up” (Piercy 349). Perfection for many equals admiration and prestige. Barbie went as far as to remove limbs and her nostrils in an effort to fix what society told her was wrong with herself.  An estimated 14.6 million people around the world not just in the United States but worldwide had plastic surgery last year according to plasticsurgery.org. Much like Barbie, women across the world are willing to cut into their bodies and undergo dangerous procedures in order to be that perfect person.

In addition to the dangerous procedures that many undergo in search of perfection, the psychological effects on the person can be deadly this we see takes place in Robinson’s “ Richard Cory.” To the outside world Cory had everything, he was handsome, had a great physique, and he had wealth these things are what most people in society aspire to have. As we see however, Cory was deeply depressed this depression manifested itself with him taking his own life “ And Richard Cory one calm summer knight, went home and put a bullet through his head” (Robinson).  How does one explain how a man thought to have everything suddenly commits suicide? The answer is simply, he was depressed and he hid his depression because men are not supposed to be vulnerable and emotional. Men are supposed to be masculine and strong and crying about your feelings is unheard of and that is why Cory chose to end it all.

Likewise we see Barbie ending up in a casket, now that Barbie is perfect people actually take notice “ In the casket displayed on satin she lay….. Doesn’t she look pretty?” the ramification of Barbie undergoing her surgery to try to fit into societies view of perfection is that she ends up in a casket. Please take note that it is only after Barbie gets plastic surgery and dies that she is mentioned as “pretty” she was not considered such when she was being advised to diet and exercise (Piercy 348). 

To further illustrate the point we can further exam the perceptions of beauty and how exactly each person coped with the pressure to be perfect. We see that neither one coped very well. Barbie, rather than accept her self for who she is decides to succumb to the pressures and undergo dangerous surgery to try and satisfy he critics. Piercy makes a point of pointing out that because society was so harsh with Barbie “ her good nature wore out like a fan belt” (Piercy, 349). Barbie felt that she had no choice in the matter and thus she decided to just throw the towel in and rip off her limbs and nostril in an effort to conform. 

Similarly, Cory was a beautiful man by everyone’s standards he had everything and yet he really had nothing. Underneath Cory’s beautiful persona was a scared little boy begging someone for help. Tired and frustrated with societies inaccurate view on his life he removed himself from the hell he was in. 

Both men and women can succumb to the pressures of society to be perfect; though more pressure is placed on women we know and understand that men are not immune to the pressures of society. Perfection is a façade created by some because they themselves could never attain perfection and sometimes we project our deepest desires and wants onto someone else. If Barbie and Richard Cory had only the strength to look within they would see that they were already beautiful on the inside, and though it might sound cliché inside beauty will always win above the outer appearance. 

 