Question

I need help. I have to argue in a paragraph about whether "Daddy" by Sylvia Plath is surrealistic or not. I don't even know how to start it.

Answer 1

Start by deciding whether he is surrealistic.

Then, find three facts that support your opinion.

Start writing with a topic sentence.

Then, write the rest of your paragraph.

Answer 2

Do these words fit?

fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtapositions

You might start your paragraph by asking if Plath's description of "daddy" uses those ideas. Does her image seem 'other worldly'? beyond reality? skewed? Why or why not.

Answer 3

This is what I got so far. Is it good?

This poem to me, doesn’t really define the term surrealistic. Surrealistic is defined by Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary as marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream; also: unbelievable, fantastic. The poem is about; that she is craving for her father's attention, and yet she despises him in so many ways...she is in a love hate relationship. I don’t think Plath poem is even close to being surrealistic because in her poem, she mentions in lines 24-25 that…”I never could talk to you.” “The tongue stuck in my jaw”. This is not a dream; she is basically saying she was so scared of her dad, that she was too scared to talk to him. She mentions that her dad is the devil, which mainly suggest that he is mean in line 52-55, “You stand at the blackboard, daddy,…the picture I have of you,….instead of your foot But no less a devil for that, no not…. She not only tried to kill her father, but in the end of her poem, she calls her dad a “(expletive)”.

Answer 4

I think you developed your thesis very well. You have very good support.