Symbolism In Sylvia Plath's 'Initiation'

Initiation Essay In “Initiation”, Plath creates the theme, a person does not need to follow the social norms to be accepted into society, through the utilization of foreshadowing, symbolism, and conflict to elucidate the importance of being an individual and not collapsing under the pressure of society’s set standards. In “Initiation”, Plath creates the theme; person does not need to follow the social norms to be accepted into society, through the utilization of foreshadowing to elucidate the importance of being an individual and not collapsing under the pressure of society’s set standards. Furthermore, in the short story, the utilization of foreshadowing demonstrates that Millicent’s actions will end up showing her true individuality and …show more content…
Furthermore, Path employs the symbolism of certain types of birds to demonstrate how free and unrestricted these birds are, in comparison to Millicent who is following all the rules and orders by the sorority. In addition, in “Initiation”, Plath writes, “Outside the sparrows were still chirping . . . pale gray-brown birds in a flock, one like the other exactly alike . . . Millicent thought of the other birds swooping carefree over the moors, they would go singing and crying out across the great spaces of air, dipping and darting, strong and proud in their freedom and their sometime loneliness” (Plath). Thus, Plath uses the non-individualistic sparrows to represent the ramifications of Millicent’s choice to join the sorority because she will not be able to free and an individual since she will have to follow the standards and rules set by the sorority as like everyone else in the group. However, Plath also utilizes the other types of birds who are not part of a flock, but how free and individualistic these birds are to symbolize the outcome of Millicent’s decision if she does not join the sorority; because she will not follow the standards and rules set by the sorority which will allow her to be free and an individual like the other types of birds. Thus, the different types of birds represent how a person should be an individual to be able to free and not follow the rules set by society or a certain group. Moreover, this utilization of symbolism confirms the theme; a person does not need to follow the social norms to be accepted into society, to demonstrate the importance of being an individual and not collapsing under the pressure of society’s set standards. In addition, in “Initiation”, Plath