Initiation by Sylvia Plath

About the Author | Plath's Poetry |

Aim:

• Why does Millicent want to join a sorority in the first place?
• How do you feel about Millicent's final decision?

Do Now: Journal #2

In your journal, name some pressures that you feel and briefly note your response to these pressures.

Procedure:

A PERSONAL RESPONSE

1. How do you feel about Millicent's decision? Briefly describe your feelings in your journal.

2. How would you explain the meaning of the last sentence in the story?

3. Why does Millicent make the decision she does?

    THINK ABOUT

• her relationships with Tracy and Bev
• the things she has to do during initiation week    
• what she finds out about being in a sorority 
• the effect of her conversation with the older man on the bus

4. Compare Millicent's situation with the pressures you wrote about in your prereading journal entry.

5. How does Millicent change during the story?

A CREATIVE RESPONSE

6. If Herb Dalton had told Millicent that he would take her out as soon as she was in the sorority, how might her final decision have been affected?

A CRITICAL RESPONSE

7.Go back through the story and find the point at which you think Millicent begins to change her mind about initiations. Be prepared to explain your answer.

8.What do you think heather birds symbolize for Millicent?

    THINK ABOUT

• how she felt when the man on the bus first spoke of them
• how they are described toward the end of the story
• how they differ from the sparrows she hears outside her window

9. Analyze the way the description in the first two paragraphs prepares the reader for the rest of the story.

    THINK ABOUT

• the feelings you have as you read the paragraphs
• the sights, sounds, and physical sensations that the language conveys 
• the comparisons made

HW #2 (Essay 1)

Write a psychological analysis essay. In the essay, describe 

• the reasons why in the beginning, Millicent wants to join the sorority
• the reasons why she decides not to join the sorority after having gone through the entire initiation process

Other options

Option 1 Interview Millicent ten years after asking how she feels about the decision she made ten years ago and how that decision has reshaped her life somehow.

 Option 2: Should sororities and fraternities be allowed in high school? Write a newspaper editorial arguing your position.

Enrichment Activities:

Are there any other ways you would like to respond  to the story? Suggestions:

• POV Writing
• your own similar story
• a narrative poem
• a skit
• an artistic illustration