Initiation

Similes are a form of comparison that uses “like” or “as.” Plath uses simile in “Initiation” to illustrate Millicent’s shifting feelings about acceptance into the sorority. Early on, Millicent daydreams about the life she will lead afterward: “[I]t was as if she had been sitting for years in a pavilion outside a dance floor […] wistfully watching the couples [...] laughing in pairs and groups together” (241). This passage shows just how much Millicent has romanticized the feeling of acceptance that she hopes to gain from joining the sorority. By pairing this daydream with the reality of Millicent’s hazing, Plath casts doubt on whether Millicent’s hopes will come to fruition, particularly as Millicent herself begins to have misgivings. Millicent’s reflection that the “gopher” nickname “is degrading, like being given a number” suggests her growing unease with the initiation process (243). She can’t quite articulate her discomfort (hence the need for a simile), but her emotions are clear. When Millicent encounters the man on the bus, the fantastical similes reappear: “[H]e looked something like a gnome or a cheerful leprechaun” (246). Here, however, the simile indicates the value of individuality, marking the moment’s pivotal role in Millicent’s thoughts about the sorority.