The Roller Coaster Life of Sylvia Plath

Often times we look through people and not truly at them. Sylvia Plath was one person who was looked through a lot when she desperately wanted to be noticed. As a striving poet and author in a time period where women were not expected to perform such tasks Sylvia struggled to keep it all together. Although she had her high points, like we all do, it remains apparent that she was battling with a deep inner conflict. Sylvia brings her emotional burden to life in her first novel The Bell Jar. Feminism, communism and a suicide attempt are all intertwined in this biography. The life of a not only a tortured poet but a struggling mother is obvious throughout her work. In order to grasp the lasting impression of Sylvia Plath, we have to understand where she comes from, how the critics and the people of her time viewed her, and the impact she left for the rest us.

Background

Sylvia's genuine emotion that shines through her work is rooted deep in her childhood. Sylvia was a perfectly normal child that enjoyed life until at age eight when she lost the closest person to her. Her father, Otto Plath, died from complication with diabetes. (Kehoe 1) Sylvia had been his favorite and hit her the hardest. The toughest part was that because of her age she was not permitted to go to the funeral so she was never able to let go and say goodbye. She never fully recovered and later in life became convinced that the majority of her pain was caused by losing her father. A. Alvarez, a friend and critic, stated years later “The death of her father, whom she loved, who abandoned her, and who dragged her after him into death.” (Kehoe 1) She tried to pick the pieces up and move on. She moved on to become a good student. In all her years of s...

... middle of paper ...

...ghter put up a fuss. Still this gesture shows the great importance of the life of troubled Sylvia Plath.

Throughout the life of Sylvia we was hard times and issues that no one should have to tackle alone. By going through these obstacles she was able to bring to us poerty and a novel that will not soon be forgotten. Her work made a huge step forward for feminists and women for that matter. Sylvia changed the literary world for the good. She is proof that just because you are delt a bad hand, you can make something of yourself. Sylvia also beat the annotation that when you die your fame and work goes with you. It remains clear that this is far from true concerning this young writer. Sylvia Plath was a great writer, one that will remembered for her perseverance and writing style. This great American author will go down in history as a woman who took a stand.