https://padlet.com/mmtran110/jgeqew0i78t8 Made by Derek Nguyen and Malia Tran en-us 2017-10-13 20:11:57 UTC 2025-12-28 07:33:53 UTC hello@padlet.com mmtran110 https://padlet.com/mmtran110/jgeqew0i78t8/wish/196966340 Derek Nguyen and Malia Tran]]> 2017-10-13 20:14:12 UTC https://padlet.com/mmtran110/jgeqew0i78t8/wish/196966340 mmtran110 https://padlet.com/mmtran110/jgeqew0i78t8/wish/196966722 2017-10-13 20:16:05 UTC https://padlet.com/mmtran110/jgeqew0i78t8/wish/196966722 mmtran110 https://padlet.com/mmtran110/jgeqew0i78t8/wish/196966891 The end of the short story Initiation claims, "Within Milicent another melody soared, strong and exuberant, a triumphant answer to the music of the darting heather birds that sang so clear and lilting over the far lands. And she knew that her own private initiation had just began." (Plath 14). This quote concludes the story by confirming Milicent dropping out of the sorority and being her own individual, as free as the heather birds. The author includes this as an ending in order for the reader to connect her decision to her incident with the old, little man and heather bird eyebrows.]]> 2017-10-13 20:16:59 UTC https://padlet.com/mmtran110/jgeqew0i78t8/wish/196966891 mmtran110 https://padlet.com/mmtran110/jgeqew0i78t8/wish/196967012 Symbolism is a method to acquire an object and correspond it with an abstract idea to represent. In the short story Initiation by Sylvia Plath, Milicent is a high school girl who is overcoming  some common issues as a developing teen. The typical thing to do at her school is to join the girls' sorority and do whatever the sorority directs them to.
Once Milicent is accepted into the sorority, she perceives that she is treated poorly by the upperclassmen. While she is walking down the bus for one of the tasks to join the sorority, she meets an old man at the back of the bus. She asks him, "What did you eat for breakfast?" and he responds with, "Heather birds' eyebrows on toast," this was when the heather birds were first introduced in the story. The heather birds that the quirky, little man mentions symbolize freedom of individuality. The heather birds are described as whimsical creatures that soar freely across the sky and sing happily all day long. They are not pressured into doing whatever their surroundings are doing and act as openly as they wish. In the end the heather birds allow Milicent to make a final decision about quitting the sorority and be free with herself.]]> 2017-10-13 20:17:32 UTC https://padlet.com/mmtran110/jgeqew0i78t8/wish/196967012 mmtran110 https://padlet.com/mmtran110/jgeqew0i78t8/wish/196967925 2017-10-13 20:23:27 UTC https://padlet.com/mmtran110/jgeqew0i78t8/wish/196967925 mmtran110 https://padlet.com/mmtran110/jgeqew0i78t8/wish/196969803 "Heather birds live the mythological moors and fly about all day long, singing wild and sweet in the sun." (Plath 12). This quote is describing the heather birds when Milicent meets the man from the bus and he says that he ate heather bird's eyebrows on toast for breakfast. The heather birds represent freedom as they "fly about all day long" without worry of fitting into a sorority. The author includes this quote in order for the reader because the heather birds are a big symbol in the story that truly affects the theme and Milicent's final decision at the end of the story.]]> 2017-10-13 20:36:07 UTC https://padlet.com/mmtran110/jgeqew0i78t8/wish/196969803