Sylvia Plath Research Paper
Rebecca Wayne
Ms. Arnold
English 3°
May 1st, 2012 Sylvia Plath Research Paper
What made Sylvia Plath think it was okay to hurt her mother and kids by committing suicide? Her whole life was a struggle, with all depression she went through. Sylvia getting denied, being depressed, the death of her father, and her miscarriage had pushed her to do what she had done. Sylvia had a rough childhood without her father, who passed away when she was eight years old. When she was refused admission to the Harvard writing Seminar and then rejected from a summer writing course there, had pushed her even more into depression. Also, Sylvia’s husband had, had an affair; and she couldn’t take the depression it put her in anymore. She had many suicide attempts, …show more content…
Three poems by Sylvia Plath that best describes her depression and loss of family are: “Mirror”, “Daddy”, and “Whiteness I Remember.” Sylvia Plath’s poem, “Daddy” shows how the death of her father was an important aspect of her depression and suicide. The poem discusses the death of her father, Otto, and what he can’t do anymore because of his death. In 1940, when Sylvia was eight, her father, “Otto Plath died from complications of gangrene in his leg resulting from an untreated case of diabetes mellitus.” (Life and Death 1). When Plath was told of her father’s death, she proclaimed that she would never speak to God again. Though she didn’t know him that well, his death was a starting point of her depression. Later that year, she had written a poem which was printed in the children’s section of the Boston Herald. “It was a short poem, ‘about what I see and hear on hot summer nights,’ but it was her first publication, at the age of eight.” (Plath 1932- 63 1). The next year, after the United States' entrance into World War II had darkened the …show more content…
This poem discusses how the horse was the “first” time she’s ever rode a horse, or anything like it. She explained how she had no control over what the horse did, just like the way you’re always hanging between life and death, because it could happen whenever. (Whiteness I Remember 13). When Plath discovered that she had no control over the horse, the only thing that mattered to her was that the world was holding on, and not letting go. She talks about what she remembers the most was the “whiteness”, meaning that what one remembers in life is moments that most affect us, whether it has affected us negatively or positively. “Whiteness I Remember” affected Plath’s life creatively because it inspired her to write this poem from all the depression and happiness that has happened. This poem affected her life emotionally because it made her think about all the times in her life when her life was good, and when life made her happy, which made her happy. Sylvia Plath learned over a lifetime that getting any type of inheritance or what she looked like didn’t make any difference in life, it’s all who you are on the inside. She also learned just to hold onto life, even though she committed
Ms. Arnold
English 3°
May 1st, 2012 Sylvia Plath Research Paper
What made Sylvia Plath think it was okay to hurt her mother and kids by committing suicide? Her whole life was a struggle, with all depression she went through. Sylvia getting denied, being depressed, the death of her father, and her miscarriage had pushed her to do what she had done. Sylvia had a rough childhood without her father, who passed away when she was eight years old. When she was refused admission to the Harvard writing Seminar and then rejected from a summer writing course there, had pushed her even more into depression. Also, Sylvia’s husband had, had an affair; and she couldn’t take the depression it put her in anymore. She had many suicide attempts, …show more content…
Three poems by Sylvia Plath that best describes her depression and loss of family are: “Mirror”, “Daddy”, and “Whiteness I Remember.” Sylvia Plath’s poem, “Daddy” shows how the death of her father was an important aspect of her depression and suicide. The poem discusses the death of her father, Otto, and what he can’t do anymore because of his death. In 1940, when Sylvia was eight, her father, “Otto Plath died from complications of gangrene in his leg resulting from an untreated case of diabetes mellitus.” (Life and Death 1). When Plath was told of her father’s death, she proclaimed that she would never speak to God again. Though she didn’t know him that well, his death was a starting point of her depression. Later that year, she had written a poem which was printed in the children’s section of the Boston Herald. “It was a short poem, ‘about what I see and hear on hot summer nights,’ but it was her first publication, at the age of eight.” (Plath 1932- 63 1). The next year, after the United States' entrance into World War II had darkened the …show more content…
This poem discusses how the horse was the “first” time she’s ever rode a horse, or anything like it. She explained how she had no control over what the horse did, just like the way you’re always hanging between life and death, because it could happen whenever. (Whiteness I Remember 13). When Plath discovered that she had no control over the horse, the only thing that mattered to her was that the world was holding on, and not letting go. She talks about what she remembers the most was the “whiteness”, meaning that what one remembers in life is moments that most affect us, whether it has affected us negatively or positively. “Whiteness I Remember” affected Plath’s life creatively because it inspired her to write this poem from all the depression and happiness that has happened. This poem affected her life emotionally because it made her think about all the times in her life when her life was good, and when life made her happy, which made her happy. Sylvia Plath learned over a lifetime that getting any type of inheritance or what she looked like didn’t make any difference in life, it’s all who you are on the inside. She also learned just to hold onto life, even though she committed