Comparsion of Sandra Cisneros´ Barbie-Q and Annie Chopin´s...

In Sandra Cisnero’s short story ‘’Barbie-Q,† a Barbie doll is used to portray the author’s inner struggle to achieve perfection, and how her young age and innocence clouds her identity. Throughout the text it is very clear that the author, a young girl, had come from an underprivileged family and faced the issues many families of lower socioeconomic background typically face. In the short story it is also evident that her gender plays a massive role in damaging her self-esteem and confidence, as both the media and the author’s social background have continuously portrayed women as weak, powerless figures. Similarly, in â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Annie Chopin, the protagonist, once again a female figure represented the life of domesticity a woman is expected to hold by society. Although Chopin’s story was written in the late 1800s and â€Å"Barbie-Q† is a very modern story, both depict the protagonist females as very hel pless, incapable figures that trail after the overpowering men. In the second paragraph of â€Å"Barbie-Q,† the author speaks from a first-person perspective while describing how she typically plays pretend using her dolls. The narrator explains to the reader that, â€Å"Your Barbie is roommates with my Barbie, and my Barbie’s boyfriend comes over and your Barbie steals him, okay? Kiss kiss kiss. Then the two Barbies fight. You dumbbell! He’s mine.† This text openly reveals how the young author, who presumably has not even reached her teen years yet, has been deeply