Daddy By Sylvia Plath Essay

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A Devastating Period In Sylvia Plath’s poem, Daddy, she compares the way she was treated to the times of the holocaust. The Holocaust was the largest genocide to ever occur, killing approximately 11 million people, a devastating event that occurred in the 1900’s. Plath’s poem refers to how badly she was treated by her father throughout her childhood years. She explains how he died when she was ten years old and how he has affected her life. She also gives many examples and uses many metaphors to support her points on the ways she was mistreated. Sylvia Plath uses connotation throughout the poem comparing it to the holocaust to show how her father treated her badly. In the beginning of her poem she shows hatred towards her dad, she continues to criticize him and compare him to a German; she is terrified of him. Plath explains, “I thought every German was you” (Plath 29), she also says, “I think I may well be a Jew” (35). Jews were executed during the holocaust, they were treated horribly and worked to death. Plath also states, “In the German tongue, in the …show more content…

In the beginning she shows hatred towards him because of how bad she was treated and even compares it to the time of the holocaust. Then she feels saddened because of his death and begins to miss him and in the end she is done with having feelings towards him because it was just too much for her to handle. She did not have her dad for a long time because he died when she was ten years old, and the time that he was with her he did not treat her very well, he practically ruined her childhood life. After his death of course she mourns because she has lost her dad, and she has no one to protect her and care for her. She compares her father to a German many times throughout the poem using connotation and says, “I have always been scared of you” (Plath 41). After everything he has put her through, she has the right to not want anything to do with

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