Just an Ordinary Goddess Marilyn Monroe
Hollywood created the image of Marilyn Monroe as a stereotypical sex bomb and dumb blonde, which captivated the eyes and hearts of many men. Sharon Olds breaks down Monroe's "goddess" label and identifies Marilyn Monroe with qualities that everyday people actually have. These qualities are shown through Olds's use of certain words throughout the poem, which are trying to identify Marilyn Monroe as a normal person. This description of Monroe is in a way that no one could ever imagine. It goes against the Hollywood glamour stereotype with the way Olds describes the situation, "The ambulance men touched her cold body, lifted it, heavy as iron, onto the stretcher and carried her, as if it were she, down the steps" (Olds 418). The choice of words is very significant to the rest of the poem because it penetrates past the stereotype of beauty and charm normally associated with Marilyn Monroe, which leaves you vulnerable to a new look Sharon Olds wants to intr
this point Olds connects the first part of her poem with the second part, by making her strongest point. The author does this by relating with the men who could not believe Monroe was dead by saying, "the men carried her, as if it were she, down the steps" (Olds 418). This statement shows that she can connect with the men, by saying that the woman on the stretcher cannot be Marilyn Monroe because that woman is not beautiful, rather is very cold and heavy. But if the real Marilyn Monroe were to die, she would be glamorous and beautiful like she normally was. The everyday qualities that people have were surely not seen by the men that looked at Marilyn Monroe because whenever they saw her, they fantasized or had dreams about her. Now she was dead. These men were never the same. They went out afterwards, as they always did, for a drink or two, but they could not meet each other's eyes (Olds 418). This reveals the men all thought of her as a "goddess" because of their individual respo
Some common words found in the essay are:
Marilyn Monroe, Sharon Olds, Moreover Olds's, marilyn monroe, Goddess Hollywood, olds 418, sharon olds, description monroe's body, steps olds 418, carried steps olds, meet other's eyes, meet other's, description monroe's, heavy iron, monroe human, other's eyes, monroe dead, body bag,
Approximate Word count = 667
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
