Mental illness is a taboo subject that has plagued people throughout time. Poet Anne Sexton was one of them. She struggled throughout her entire life, like many others have struggled. She was lost and depressed—misunderstood. Sexton’s childhood was surrounded by abuse. To cope, Sexton wrote poetry to describe her struggle with mental illness. Her verses express her feelings of helplessness as her life plunged into a downward spiral. Sexton poured her heart and soul into her writing, expressing her emotions on paper, resulting in raw, powerful, beautiful poetry. Although Sexton’s life ended prematurely, the impact of her writings on the reader opens a door to discussions about mental illness. It continues to help others cope with their own issues.
In the poem Old by Anne Sexton, the narrator is presumably in a hospital setting as she says she is afraid of “needles” and tired of “rubber sheets”, “tubes”, and “faces that I don’t know”. This choice of setting is most likely a result of Sexton’s own stays in mental hospitals because of her depression and addiction troubles. After the setting is established the narrator says that she thinks “death is starting” and that is starts “like a dream”. Dreams are seen as a positive thing where people experience their inner most desires. By equating death to a dream, Sexton is saying that she sees death as a place of peace and solace from unhappiness. The suicidal tendencies expressed in the poem as well as the narrative voice remind me of conversations
Anne had a heart filled with hope and had a bright future ahead of her, as the war progressed she began to see the suffering of the people around her. Everyone did love her personality. She was very curious, talkative, and playful and was lots of fun to be around. Anne had a hunger for knowledge and was very optimistic. Writing was always her favorite thing. It calmed her from the rages of the world, she could just write and be herself. When she went into hiding she lived in a place called the Secret Annex. A Secret Annex was a building that was placed between two buildings. The first floor was Otto Frank's business and the second was the hiding spot. The real name in Dutch meant behind or back, so in the diary, they used the term Secret Annex. For over 2 years she lived in the secret home, and that is when she got her journal at the age of 13. Almost every day she would write about her current life and the things going on around her. She would write about how much she missed her friends from school and often missed being outside out in the open air. When the Van Pels moved in they had a son named Peter, Anne would play around with Peter, take his shoes and hide them. She thought it was very amusing, Peter didn't quite think so.
Her life story. Anne was thought by some of her family members to be the illegitimate the daughter of irish lawyer (her dad) William Cormac. Later on William separated with Anne’s mom and had custody of Anne. At the age of 13 Anne mom died of typhoid fever. Later her father wanted her to marry to some local man, She said no. Later on she married a sailor in 1718. Together they both travel to places like, New Province
Throughout the Earth’s vast history, women who have defied or who have simply not adhered to society’s standards have been literally and metaphorically burned at the stake. These kinds of women have been ostracized, demonized, and called all kinds of names simply for not fitting a uniform criterion. This exclusion of female outcasts is what Anne Sexton focuses on in her poem “Her Kind.” In it, she elaborates on the idea that society naturally shuns and persecutes all women that are deemed undesirable or nonconforming. Put simply, in Anne Sexton’s “Her Kind,” imagery, repetition, and syntax reveal the author’s theme on societal views regarding female identity.
After graduation, Margaret taught first grade in a public school in New Jersey; she loved it. Unfortunately, Margaret had to leave her job that same year to care for her mother who had become critically ill. Anne Higgins had suffered from tuberculosis since before Margaret was born, but Margaret still tried her hardest to nurse her mother back to health. All of her attempts failed and, in March of 1896, Anne Higgins died. Margaret always believed that it was her mother's frequent pregnancies (18 total) that led to her ill health and premature death. Realizing that it was her turn to pitch in and help the family, Margaret stayed at home and took over most of her mother's duties. Margaret did not mind the housework much, but it was the change in her father that she could not handle; he had turned in to a bitter tyrant that rant the girls ragged. Margaret reconciled with her father, but left soon after to pursue
A few years into union, Anne had two children, Linda and Joy, and was hospitalized for postpartum depression after the birth of both children (McCartan 2). Her depression was severe, and Sexton was suicidal for most of her adult life. On October 4, 1974, shortly after the release of Transformations, Anne could no longer stand the pressures of her existence and committed suicide (McCartan 35).
In “Wanting To Die”, Anne Sexton illustrates vividly an analogy that compares one’s desire to commit suicide and drug addiction. Though this poem may initially seem to revolve around the themes of death and suicide, there are several examples in the poem that can be referenced to drug addiction and the intentions of the drug user. In general, the tone of this poem is luridly depressing as it produces an imagery that is painstakingly dark and morbid. It encapsulates the reader within the mind of the suicidal thinker through specific personifications of suicide and death. Sexton also utilizes metaphors and similes in this poem to describe how suicide conducts a mind of its own which engages in
Anne didn’t have much of an adult life due to her death at 15. She died in a Nazi concentration camp at the age of 15. What Anne did to get famous was write in her diary about her stay in the secret annex. Her family hiding was an attempt
Margaret went to school at the Claverack College and Hudson River Institute. She wanted to further her education so in 1900 she enrolled in the White Plains Hospital as a nurse probationer. Margaret was married to a dashing man who was called William Sanger. Margaret was plagued by an active tubercular condition but still managed to birth three children and settle down to a quaint life in Westchester, New York. In 1911 Margaret and her family gave up their suburban home after a fire destroyed it and moved to New York City. Margaret then worked as a visiting nurse in the slums of NewYork’s East Side. Margaret’s husband was an architect and worked
Anne Sullivan was born on Saturday, April 14, 1866 in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts. Anne grew up in a poor household with her two other siblings and her mother and father. . When Anne was only five years of age, she contracted trachoma, an eye disease. Her mother, Alice, suffered from tuberculosis and unfortunately died when Anne was eight years old. Her abusive father, Thomas, left Anne and her siblings after the death of his wife, thus leaving forcing Anne and one of her brothers to Tewksbury Almshouse. Tewksbury Almshouse was very run down and dirty which eventually led to Anne brother’s death a few months after their arrival. While Anne was at Tewksbury, she gained an interest in schools for the blind and was persistent in gaining an education and escaping poverty.
As a child Anne became very fond with drama, acting, and was not shy to speak in front of big groups of people. Anne was quickly nicknamed Nancy when her father left the marriage. Later on Nancy got a good education at a school that exposed her to wealth and privilege. She studied drama at Smith college and got a bachelor's of arts degree.
She was very serious and hard working, maintaining her straight A’s, meanwhile modeling since the age of thirteen for fashion shows, television, and printed advertisements. Her high school education was at Nutley High School in New Jersey, and she went to Barnard College in Manhattan. She started out her college career majoring in chemistry, but later switched it to art, European history, and architectural history. She married Andrew Stewart in her sophomore college year in 1961, and graduated with double major in history and architectural history later on, and even continued to model after her
Before WW2, Anne attend two school’s; Montessori Lyceum Amsterdam and Jewish Lyceum. Anne was born on June 12,1929, in Frankfurt, Germany. She was the child of Otto and Edith Frank. Anne was their second daughter, after her older sister Margot. In 1935, the Franks moved to Amsterdam due to Hitler taking over Germany. Anne never really paid much attention to what was happening with the jews, but one thing she did notice was the racism that was showed in school. On May 10, 1940,
Regarding physical qualities, everybody has their own idiosyncrasies or quirks, things which make them peculiar and yet interesting. These features make us who we are and even if we consider them as flaws, they still make us beautiful somehow. The 1957 film, Funny Face, was actually a tribute to the late Audrey Hepburn’s rather unusual, quirky facial features—her large nose, thick eyebrows, slightly crooked teeth, being doe-eyed—which all summed up to her being the epitome of a truly beautiful woman that she was (De La Hoz 6). Audrey Kathleen Ruston Hepburn embodied both essential aspects of inner and outer beauty which does not equate to being flawless. Voted as the “Most Beautiful Woman of All Time” in 2006 by New Woman magazine, it is