Intro:

Today, in my individual oral, I will explore the global issue of how the constant need to fit
into beauty standards that are constantly changing is unachievable. In Szymborska's poem "A
moment in troy," we see the effects beauty standards have on young girls, and we see how
from such a young age, women are taught that beauty is something we should all strive for. In
my individual oral, I will be discussing three authorial decisions Szymborska made that
highlight and emphasized the theme and main global issue. They are juxtaposition, imagery,
and her free verse style of writing.

First point:
Szymborska creates a juxtaposition throughout her poem in contrasting the beauty and the
innocence of the established "little girls" and the violent disaster of the battle of Troy. The
juxtaposition can be seen in how the title mentions the Trojan war and the repeated reference
to the "little girls." These two opposing ideas are what emphasize the extremes of the
poem. She allows the reader to make their own judgments on the characterization of
innocence, which leaves the reader in the place of power that Szymborska herself criticized in
a Moment in Troy. This juxtaposition emphasizes our global issue of how quickly our society
turns these innocent little girls into self-destructing women due to simply not being able to
achieve "beauty."

Second point:
Szymborska's use of imagery throughout the poem fleshes out Troy's world and that of the
little girls and draws the reader into the reality that she is trying to establish. The reader is
almost lost in the beautiful language Szymborska uses. In that moment of disorientation, the
reader becomes a part of this world, being blindsided by this beauty which is this vivid
imagery, and missing how destructive this truly is. My chosen global issue faces the same
problem: that we as a society can not truly see how dreadful it is to just simply be a woman.
One of the most powerful metaphors in this poem is "not turning any heads/ as they walk
across the eyelids of the world," This metaphor lends itself to the idea that the girls are
unnoticed by the world or the people whose desire they crave. This is a metaphor for the little
girls walking through darkness or unseen by the people of the world. The closed eyelids
represent not seeing certain perspectives or not having the ability to see in both physical and
emotional means. As these girls walk across the closed eyelids of the world, they are being
ignored, and they are not seen. Our society has this sort of pretty privilege, which is that you
are more likely to succeed in not only work-life but social life too if you were one of the
lucky ones that fit closely into what we consider to be beautiful.

Forth point:
Furthermore, Szymborska's free verse style of writing enhances her message. The absence of
a structure allows Szymborska more literary freedom with the words she chooses. She is
better able to capture the emotions of the girls than if she had to follow a set format. Instead
of the rhythm of the verses themselves, the word choices are able to represent the emotions
present in each line. In some cases, it almost seems like the words are rushing to get out. In
others, the words are long and complicated right after each other. Each verse, whether
complicated or rushed, evokes an emotional response in the reader that forges a connection to
the message of the poem. This imperfection in the structure of the poem itself exactly
describes the feeling we women face; of not being perfect.
Conclusion:
In the world today, even among the search for gender equality, we are still faced with this
ongoing problem of us seeing being beautiful as what makes us be seen and heard. The poem
juxtaposes young girls with a deadly war that, when looked at, are vastly different from one
another. But when contrasted to each other in this poem, we see how they really are
interlinked. The young girls are held to the same standard as men who are led into war. Men
may be sent away from home to fight a foreign battle; however meanwhile, young girls a
quarter of their age are fighting their own battle of trying to fit into the "perfect mold" our
society has constructed. The authorial choices Szymborska makes in "A moment in Troy"
further emphasize the global issue and how destructive it can be for one to have to try and
achieve the unachievable.

ADD HOW I CONNECTS TO HER OTHER POEMS