"Diary"
From “Diary” by Sylvia Plath
I chose to write about 2 quotes from the excerpt which describes her feelings about her life and her job as a teacher.
“Letter to a demon… I could not sleep, although tired, and lay feeling my nerves shaved to pain and the groaning inner voice: oh, you can't teach, can't do anything. Can't write, can't think. And I lay under the negative icy flood of denial, thinking that voice was all my own, a part of me, and it must somehow conquer me and leave me with my worst visions: having had the chance to battle it and win day by day, and having failed.” (Plath, 664)
“I have an inner fight that won’t be conquered by a motto or one night’s resolution. My demon of negation will tempt me day by day, and I’ll fight it, as something other than my essential self, which I am fighting to save: each day will have something to recommend it: whether the honest delight and watching the quick third body of a squirrel, or sensing, deeply, the weather in color, or reading and thinking of something in a different light.” (Plath, 666)
The first comes from Plath’s first diary entry. In this she writes to a “demon” that she has become close to. I think the “demon” in her writing is her mental illness which I believe is some sort of anxiety disorder or depression. She describes how she feels like she is incapable of everything, from teaching to thinking. She compares her mind to a battle, in which she fails to win.
In the second quote Plath mentions a “fight” which is common wording for someone who is battling against their mind and mental illness. She writes about how her “inner fight” can't be conquered overnight, but that she will work everyday towards defeating it. She describes how she has to fight to save her “essential self” by completing small tasks such as reading.
This excerpt was really interesting to me because it touched on the topic of mental health and how that can cause trauma in someone's life. I think that when most people think of trauma they think of a loved one dying or someone fighting in a war, but Plath’s diary showed that trauma does not have to come from one big event.
Word Count: 392
I like how you mentioned how, when she inserts the "demon" that she is writing to, she is making a reference to her mental health. I noticed that there was a great amount of imagery in her writings. I think that this is one of the things that led her to become such a great writer, especially with her poetry. She is able to describe her feelings and thoughts in a way that almost makes it clear that she is talking about her anxiety and depression without coming right out and saying so. I also found the excerpt interesting in how it touched on mental health because, especially back them, I think that mental health issues were kind of taboo and was not spoken of like it is today. I think that it shows how strong she was that she was able to quiet her inner thoughts in order to get through the day and how she fights every day in order to stay on top of them and not let her outward demeanor slip- so that her coworkers don't know what she is going through.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job of analyzing the symbolism of the "demon" in Plath's diary entry. I also had a similar idea that the demon that she was referring to was her mental illness and the dark and depressing emotions that she experienced. It was unique to have someone personify an illness but for her, that could have been what she pictured when she was "fighting" her demons. Also, "fighting" is a common word used for recovering from mental illness and other sicknesses as well.
ReplyDeleteI think her addressing the first diary entry we read to "Demon" was able to set the tone for the rest of what we would be reading about. I think it clearly demonstrates that mental health is an issue for her.I like how you mentioned her fight, I think she wanted so badly to fight against it for herself and the kids she was teaching. I think she understood overtime that she couldn't help her kids and fill them with happiness if she couldn't even allow herself to be happy and stable. Mental illness is hard and I think it is something a lot of people do not want to talk about it. I like the way you analyzed this story into your own words. It is well written.
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