Sylvia Plath's Mirror

804 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Themes in mirror by sylvia plath

Sylvia Plath's Mirror

Sylvia Plath's "Mirror" offers a unique perspective on the attitudes

of aging. "Mirror" displays tremendous insight and objectivity into

the natural human behavior of growing older. Plath is able to

emphasize the loneliness, hope, despair, and insecurity that awaits us

through mankind's incessant addiction with reflection. "Mirror"

expresses the problems associated with aging through terse comparisons

between reality and desire.

Plathe's strength of "Mirror" lies in its ability to establish a solid

comparison among appearance and human emotions between the first and

second stanzas. At first "Mirror" introduces reflection as a precise

and accurate force through utilizing the first person perspective of a

mirror: "I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions. Whatever I

see I swallow immediately Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.

I am not cruel, only truthful.." (Plathe lines 1-4) This example can

then be viewed symbolically of appearance especially concerning "love

or dislike". In that people never hate nor adore their features but

merely accept that what they see is what defines them. This faith is

reinforced by the quality and type of reflection because it is

originating from a mirror which is suppose to be exact, honest, and

universal for all. Plathe understanding these principles describes the

reflection process by instilling this object with living

characteristics such as thought, sight, and a lifestyle: "Most of the

time I meditate on the opposite wall. It is pink with speckles. I have

looked at it so long I think it is part of my heartâ?¦Faces and darkness

separate us over and over." (Pl...

... middle of paper ...

... that not only destroys our reflection

but also ones sense of identity, purpose, and confidence.

The critical comparisons found in Sylvia Plath's "mirror" portray a

distinctive attitude towards aging. Through contrasting the two

separate stanzas the messages of desire, reality, individuality, fear,

and insecurity are all demonstrated. Once the essence of Plathe's

attitude is unlocked in "mirror" the emotion behind the writing is

seen as the motivation for a tone that displays intense longing or

weariness towards life. This becomes epitomized throughout Plathe's

presentation as it utilizes age as a catalyst for the deterioration of

the human spirit.

Works Cited:

Plath, Sylvia. ?Mirror.? The Language of Literature: American Literature. Eds. Arthur N.

Applebee et al. Evanston: McDougal Littel, 1997. 252.

Show More
Related

  • 'Conformity In Sylvia Plath's Initiation'

    1205 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the short story “Initiation” author Sylvia Plath suggests that conformity, although the societal norm, is not always as grand as it is made out to be, while also suggesting that even though conformity typically hinders one’s self growth, there are times when the fear of conforming can make one’s sense of self stronger. These two ideas together show that Plath uses this short story to convey the message that even though conformity is not inherently a positive thing, it can drive a person to look in on themselves and develop a unique identity. Plath uses symbolism, and character introspection to assert this idea.

    Read More

  • Review of The Devil Behind The Mirror

    2359 Words  | 5 Pages

    Steven Gregory’s book entitled The Devil Behind The Mirror is an ethnographical study of the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is in the Caribbean, it occupies the Western half of an island, while Haiti makes up the Eastern portion. Gregory attempts to study and analyze the political, social and cultural aspects of this nation by interviewing and observing both the tourists and locals of two towns Boca Chica and Andres. Gregory’s research centers on globalization and the transnational processes which affect the political and socio-economics of the Dominican Republic. He focuses on the social culture, gender roles, economy, individual and nation identity, also authority and power relations. Several of the major relevant issues facing Dominican society include racism, sexism, and discrimination, economy of resort tourism, sex tourism and the informal economy. The objective of Gregory’s ethnographic research is to decipher exclusionary practices incorporated by resort tourism, how it has affected locals by division of class, gender, and race, increasing poverty and reliance on an informal economy.

    Read More

  • Seeing by Annie Dillard and Our Perception of the World

    1217 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the world of science there are many discoveries. “A discovery is like falling in love and reaching the top of a mountain after a hard climb all in one, an ecstasy not induced by drugs but by the revelation of a face of nature … and that often turns out to be more subtle and wonderful than anyone had imagined.” (Ferdinand Puretz). Most people in the world we live in lack to notice and or appreciate the gift of sight in life. By not cherishing the gift of sight and using it properly, many discoveries are left unfound. In the writing piece, Seeing, Annie Dillard speaks of nature and the small things that we all are unconsciously blind to and not appreciative of. Seeing explores the idea of what it means to truly see things in this world. Annie Dillard’s main point is that we should view the world with less of a meddling eye, so that we are able to capture things that would otherwise go unnoticed. There’s a science to how we view things in nature. Dillard attempts to persuade her reader to adopt to her way of seeing, which is more artificial rather than natural.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Seeing By Annie Dillard

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    In her essay “Seeing”, Annie Dillard focuses on showing how different people have different perceptions. Dillard gives multiple examples to support her main idea, which is that preconceived and inherited notions influence our perceptions. Dillard discusses the different ways of seeing, how people with different backgrounds have different experiences with seeing, and many more. While Dillard’s idea about perceptions is definitely relevant and accurate, but are certainly not complete as there are multiple things that influence our perceptions.

    Read More

  • Sylvia Plath and the Bell Jar

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    "The bell jar hung, suspended, a few feet above my head…” For most people, when the name Sylvia Plath comes to mind, the word “psychotic” is the word that follows; however, there was more to Plath than her demented works. Throughout her shortened life, Plath had a variety of titles bestowed upon her: daughter, sister, student, wife, mother, teacher, author, and poetess However, Sylvia Plath was a haunted soul, as she also had the labels of “manic depressive” and “bipolar.” Her constant struggles with her mental illnesses are evident in her writing, especially her semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar.

    Read More

  • Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray

    1195 Words  | 3 Pages

    I think this because as I was reading the book I could see that Lord

    Read More

  • Through The Looking Glass of Art

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    What makes us human is the ability to recognize the good in other people and in turn recognize the good in ourselves. There is a saying that whatever you think about another person is just a reflection of what you think about yourself; it is like looking into a mirror. Paintings can act like mirrors as well; we can gaze into a painting and see the good of the subject being portrayed and in turn we can identify the same attributes within ourselves allowing us to relate to the subject matter. Both Rembrandt and Vermeer were able to capture intersubjectivity in their paintings. In The Return of the Prodigal Son (Fig. 1) and Aristotle (Fig. 2) by Rembrandt and The Milk Maid (Fig. 3) and Woman Weighing Pearls (Fig. 4) by Vermeer there is an autonomy that can be recognized in the painting as well as within us.

    Read More

  • Mirrors by Sylvia Plath

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    13th March, 2014 In the poem “Mirrors”, by Sylvia Plath, the speaker accentuates the importance of looks as an aging woman brawls with her inner and outward appearance. Employing an instance of self-refection, the speaker shifts to a lake and describes the discrepancies between inevitable old age and zealous youth. By means of sight and personification, shifts and metaphors, the orator initiates the change in appearance which relies on an individual’s decision to embrace and reject it. The author applies sight and personification to accentuate the mirror’s role.

    Read More

  • A Research Paper On Sylvia Plath

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    It’s inevitable that if you mention Sylvia Plath in a group of people, someone will say “Isn’t that the lady who killed herself by sticking her head in an oven?” She lives on in infamy for her last act, and because of this the rest of her life is constantly overlooked as insignificant. But Sylvia was more than the woman who sealed her two children in their bedroom and let the gas fumes from her stove kill her. She was an amazing author; a mother; an award winner; and someone who, despite her tragic end, spent her life trying to be okay. Sylvia Plath had a life that consisted of more than her suicide and should be remembered as such.

    Read More

  • Decoding 'Ways of Thinking' in Cold War Era Texts

    1328 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Cold War period allowed for new understandings into the various “Ways of Thinking”, which helped shape the societal paradigms of the era. These revelations in to the new “Ways of Thinking” is evidenced through Sylvia Plath’s poems, “Daddy”, “The Applicant” and “Morning Song”, and John F. Kennedy’s speech, “Ich Bin Ein Berliner” (1963). The composers are effectively able to reflect the “Ways of Thinking” of the period, such as the scientific, religious, philosophical and economic paradigms, in their compositions through various literary techniques.

    Read More

  • The Looking Glass Self, By Charles Cooley

    1382 Words  | 3 Pages

    Culture and socialization are key aspects that make an ideal society. Culture is what gives new generations a framework of what the morals and norms are within any society there is.

    Read More

  • The Confessional Poetry Of Anne Sexton And Sylvia Plath

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    It [penis envy] is to be interpreted as a defensive protecting the woman from the political, economic, social, and cultural condition that is hers at the same time that it prevents from contributing effectively to the transformation of allotted fate. “Penis envy” translates woman’s resentment and jealousy at being deprived the advantages …“autonomy”, “freedom”, “power”, and so on; … it also expresses her resentment at having been largely excluded, as she has been for centuries, from political, social, and cultural responsibilities. (51)

    Read More

  • Reflection in Iris Murdoch's Under the Net

    2319 Words  | 5 Pages

    In her novel Under the Net, Iris Murdoch examines the nature of reality through the thoughts and relationships of the novel's main character, Jake Donaghue. A recurring theme in the novel is the idea of reflection, in both senses of the word: Jake is continually thinking about ideas, and he is also forever trying to see himself as he really is. Many of the instances of reflection in the novel occur near rivers or are connected in some way to currents. As we shall see, Iris Murdoch uses reflections in Under the Net to represent the mirror opposites of reality and appearance. The Novel As Reflection

    Read More

  • The Awakening Reflection

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the course of her awakening Edna worked hard against her fixed life that society characterized women like her should live. In a young girl's life her father in the first man she learns to love and trust. Edna had to grow up without a mom which contributed in her having to grow up faster only learning the works of a “wife” and not being able to enjoy her youth. Repression was introduced to Edna by her father at a young age and groomed her to be controlled. The 1898 traditional woman were not allowed to make choices, or be independent. The colonel being a man of his age did not teach Edna to defy society, but instead forced her to follow its ways. His ways made Edna “not very warmly and deeply

    Read More

  • The Theme of Death in Poetry by Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    Death is a prevalent theme in the poetry of both Sylvia Plath and Emily Dickinson. They both examine death from varied angles. There are many similarities as well as differences in the representation of this theme in their poetry. Plath views death as a sinister and intimidating end, while Dickinson depicts death with the endearment of romantic attraction. In the poetry of Plath death is depicted traditionally, while Dickinson attributes some mysticism to the end of life.

    Read More

More about Sylvia Plath's Mirror

Open Document