emilyyd24

In Victoria Chang’s “Barbie Chang’s Tears”, the idea of never being satisfied and dreaming of something that you carve but don’t actually want in real life is illustrated. This poem is told in third person point of view about the character Barbie Chang. The reader is able to see Barbie Chang’s struggles as she is experiencing them. The poem has present tense throughout it, which leads to the idea that Barbie Chang is actively trying to figure out her issues. 

The lack of punctuation and capitalization in this poem adds to the idea that the poem is following Barbie Chang’s train of thought. This type of structure is similar to poet E.E. Cummings, who avoided punctuation and capitalization in his works like “[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]”, which was published in 1952. 

However, this choice of structure made parts of the poem hard to understand at times. At the end of the seventh stanza and into the eighth stanza, the line reads, “there are always storms long arms drinks with pink umbrellas.” During my first read-through, I had no idea what this line meant. I couldn’t decide where the sentence started or stopped. It took me reading the poem multiple times and coming to the conclusion that the poem was about dreaming and fantasizing before I could begin to understand the imagery in that sentence. 

The entire poem is full of poetic techniques like imagery, metaphors, similes, repetition, and words that rhyme or phrases that sound similar. The poem begins with a metaphor stating how the tears of Barbie Chang “are the lights of the city”, which ties into the next line about “men walking around the city” and how she can’t seem or want to grasp onto them. There is repetition of the phrase “if she had” and “she would”. This demonstrates how Barbie Chang is dreaming of something more and how unsatisfied she is. Barbie Chang’s mind appears to be all over the place and the simile “she is confused like a seahorse” confirms that. 

The middle of the poem begins the use of rhyming with “begging, wedding, and bedding”. Later on the phrases “to be used” and “to be with you” are presented. I adore the use of these similar-sounding phrases and how Barbie Chang would rather be used and not with someone. That is the opposite of what someone would usually want or expect from a woman, but it adds to how complex and confusing Barbie Chang really is as a character.

Chang also does a great job of creating an image that is like a dream. This choice helps cement the idea that Barbie Chang is dreaming of a life that is more than she already has and contains men that she doesn’t even want in real life. That sentence almost seems to contradict itself, but the poem pretty much contradicts itself. Barbie Chang spends her time “mourning the men the night” that she has in her dreams, however, it states how “she doesn’t want to be with you” and how as the men move around in the city “Barbie Chang doesn’t”. She fantasizes about life being like her dreams, but in reality, Barbie Chang just likes the idea of that life and doesn’t actually want it.  

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Victoria Chang’s “Mr. Darcy” details the struggles of a woman who can’t seem to separate a man from the things he has. The poem describes how the woman wants the material ideas a man can provide more than she wants the actual man. 

The woman in this poem is by all means a material girl. This poem and “Material Girl” by Madonna are very similar. The line in the song, “If they don’t give me proper credit I just walk away,” fits perfectly with the woman’s mindset of not staying with a man who can’t offer her anything. Also, the repetition of the line, “I am a material girl,” is just like how the woman in the poem is constantly thinking about how she really doesn’t want a man that can’t provide her with what she wants. 

This poem reads like one continuous thought that the woman is having. There’s no punctuation at all, and each stanza looks identical with four equal lines in every section. This formatting choice causes parts of the poem to be hard to understand because it’s unclear where some sentences start and stop. There’s also a lot of questions that the woman is asking herself. This is because the poem follows her train of thought, and she is actively trying to figure out this situation for herself. 

The main struggle of this poem is how the woman is finding it impossible to separate a man from his belongings. She states, “how do we separate the things from a man,” and that line completely summaries the poem. She says it so casually that it appears to be a normal thought for her. In every scenario she thinks of, she can’t rationalize a woman just wanting a man and not what he has. She uses the example of Cinderella and questions whether she even loved “the prince or just the prints on curtains in the ballroom”.

The use of “prince” and “prints” is one of the many times that Chang uses words that are similar or rhyme. This causes these words to be hard to separate from each other, which fits perfectly with the theme of separation in this poem. Other examples include the words “reins” and “rains”, “fair” and “square”, and “revealing” with the word “dealing”. 

Throughout the poem Chang jumps from one topic to another, while always returning back to the original theme of separation. She does this when discussing how she “went window shopping”, even though she didn’t want to buy a window. The next sentence jumps into a question about how do woman know “it’s time to get a new man” because she sees men like objects and feels the need to get the best, newest possible option. 

Toward the end of the poem Chang repeats the phrase “in the end”, which is the opening of this poem. The repetition of this introduces the tone shifting to be slightly more serious. This change initiates the conclusion to this poem. She describes falling in love with a man only because he has money. She follows that up by saying that if he runs away, she doesn’t think she’ll chase him. She questions if that’s wrong and wonders what would happen if another man “with a lot more bags” comes along. 

The woman described in this poem should be perceived as a red flag, but I find her to be relatable. Her feelings are valid and real, even though most people would consider them wrong. I love this poem because there’s a little bit of humor and even anger at times. The line, “I already have four pandas from the fair I won fair and square,” contains both of those elements. Overall, I find the central idea and layout of this poem to be so well done.

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Too Easy: “I Once Was a Child”

Victoria Chang’s “I Once Was a Child” was the easiest of the poems for me to understand. The title of this poem is also the first line of the poem. Chang begins with her life as a child and moves throughout her entire uncontrollable life.

It is short yet impactful. Chang uses no punctuation or capitalization. The poem reads like a continuous thought that cannot be control. The poem’s theme is centered around control and how Chang knows she has none in multiple areas of life. 

In the first stanza, it opens up with how she was a child but “not my mother’s not my father’s” because she cannot control where she came from. Chang’s father is brought up again in the third stanza when she reveals “my father lost his words to a stroke”, which is another example of something no one can control. More examples like her boss, land, and natural disasters are used to illustrate the lack of control in her life. 

Chang also uses repetition to tie everything together. Words like “treatment”, “fired”, “land”, and many more are used to connect events in Chang’s life together. This shows that lack of control comes from many areas of life and creates a relatable feeling that made me love this poem. 

Just Right: “Barbie Chang Got Her Hair Done”

“Barbie Chang Got Her Hair Done” by Victoria Chang was just the right amount of challenging. Chang has multiple poems that begin with Barbie Chang. They detail the experiences and feelings of Barbie Chang as she faces many emotional problems. 

Similar to my first poem, there is no punctuation. The stanzas are broken into two sentences, each with more words in the first line and less words in the second. The structure of the poem creates enjambments all throughout. 

This poem is told from a third person point of view, which allows the reader to know Barbie Chang’s thoughts and feelings. The reader learns that Barbie Chang is trying to accept her loneliness, but she actually “wanted the rainbow to rain on her”. The rainbow was mentioned earlier in the poem when the Circle is described as “glowing like a rainbow” with their matching dresses.

There is lots of attention given to the color of the Circle, and they are said to be bright and cheerful, while Barbie Chang is not colorful and appears gloomy. The use of color is my favorite thing about this poem because it adds a necessary detail for understanding the perspective of Barbie Chang. 

Too Hard: “Another Year Come” 

Victoria Chang’s “Another Year Come” was by far the hardest for me to understand. The poem is only four sentences, so the message of the poem was hard to grasp because there’s not a lot to work with. The title gives insight into the general idea of the poem: time or the lack there of. “Another Year Come” introduces how Chang is concerned about how fast time is moving and how another year has already come. 

The poem uses personal pronouns, which connects the reader to Chang and how this is a personal feeling. The first three sentences mention numbers including: “time”, “doubling”, and “inch”. These are all measurable and show how Chang is measuring how much time she has left. 

One of my favorites lines that really made me like this poem was, “I started dieting so the gap between life and death could remain an inch” because it creates an image of being so close to something that you would do anything to stay far away.

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In the “Ode to the End-of-Year 6th Grade Picnic” by Clint Smith, a scene of a young boy attending a picnic to celebrate the end of his sixth-grade year is described. There is tons of imagery, allusions, and scientific references throughout. These three techniques help create a clear scene of where the speaker is and exactly what it looks like. 

This poem is the fifth and final ode in Counting Descent. Smith uses the odes to shine a light on specific times and things in his life. This being the last ode in the book shows how he wanted to end the collection of odes on a happier note. In this ode, he focuses on a certain day from his childhood. He points out tiny details to create an image for the reader. Smith mentions Coach Lonnie wearing an apron that says “Always something good cookin’ in my kitchen” and then goes on to describe “The Hot boys,” which were loudly playing “through large Sony speakers.” 

“The Hot Boys” and “Sony speakers” are just a few of the allusions Smith uses in the poem. He mentions people like “Lil Wayne” and “the Isley Brothers” as well. These allusions help the reader understand the time period in which the poem is taking place. 

Smith’s word choice is a very important element in the poem. In the first stanza, he uses the phrase “two-hand touch” in the first sentence, and then in the last sentence of the stanza he says “the teachers two-stepped off into the distance.” Not only does Smith use the repetition of two, but he chose to say “two-stepped” instead of just saying they walked away because it has a more positive tone and gives off the impression that the teachers are almost dancing away. The idea of dancing adds the image of a fun, upbeat environment where music is playing and everyone is celebrating. 

Smith also chose to add scientific references in this poem. He decided to write the phrase “safety of our appendages” when referring to the human body. Smith also said “bourgeoning parabola of their hips” when talking about the girls in his grade and “prepubescent pick-up lines” to describe what the boys were saying to the girls.

This poem is the perfect example of how a detailed description of an event can be so beautiful, even if the event is nothing big or special. Also, Smith was able to tie in something bigger to this little almost insignificant event. The last sentence of the poem reads, “Each crack helping us learn to love the sound of one another’s laughter.” This final statement shows how Smith is able to isolate this small moment with his friends while in an environment that is so chaotic. This poem is incredible in so many ways. Smith created such a detailed story where you feel like you’re there with him. (480)

For the majority of my life reading has not been my thing. Sitting down to crack open a book never interested me and I could never sit still long enough to actually comprehend a book. I was well into my teenage years before I started enjoying any type of literature. Now I love nothing more than picking up a new book and diving straight into it. There have been a few books over the years that have truly stuck with me and left a lasting impression. These four books I read at very different times in my life, but I can contribute my love for reading to all four of them. 

Junie B. Jones: Junie B. has been shaping young girls into strong, powerful women since 1992 when Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus by Barbara Park was published. Since then 27 other books following the sassy, strong-willed kindergartener have been released.

I vividly remember sitting in my bed listening to my mom read me Junie B. Jones every night and thinking how I wanted to be Junie B. with her witty personality. The Junie B. Jones series were the first books that ever kept my attention for an extended period of time. The books also gave me and my mom something to bond over. To this day my mom still brings up reading those books to me throughout elementary school. 

The Outsiders: I hated nothing more than my eighth-grade year of middle school. I blocked out most of that time in my life, but the only good thing I remember about that year was reading The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton in my English class.

Every day I looked forward to sitting down in my first period and reading all about Ponyboy and Johnny, even though Sodapop was my favorite. I loved reading about the boy’s different stories and the tragic end that two of the characters faced. The Outsiders brought light into a dark time of my life and I will never forget the impact that book had on me. 

The Way I Used to Be: During quarantine, I was left with a lot of free time, and I realized I had no hobbies. So like any normal person would do I Googled hobbies for teenagers and reading was one of the things that came up. After I few more Google and TikTok searches, I was influenced into buying The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith.

I had no idea what the book was about, but I was not let down. The story is told from a teenage girl’s point of view as she goes through her four years of high school. There were heartbreaking moments that brought me to tears and funny, lighthearted moments that brought a smile to my face. Since first reading The Way I Used to Be I have read hundreds of other books and nothing has ever been like it. This book will always have a place in my top 10 favorite books of all time. 

The Hunger Games Trilogy: I know this is technically more than one book, but you cannot read one without reading all of them. This past summer me and my mom were bored, so we decided to rewatch the Hunger Games movies. We enjoyed them a little too much and watched all four of them at least seven or eight times.

I decided to order the trilogy and read them because I’m a firm believer in the book always being better than the movie. I stand by that belief when it comes to the Hunger Games trilogy. Suzanne Collins is an amazing writer and it truly shows throughout these three books. I became so invested in the characters and their individual stories. It also became something for me and my older sister to bond over because she decided to read all the books as well. Overall I loved the writing in these books, but the connection I gained with my mother and sister is by far my favorite thing about them.

Books have made me the person I am today. They give me an escape from reality that I desperately need at times. I firmly believe that I will always be an avid reader and know that these books will always be an important part of my life.