No matter what role Sylvia Plath played at any given time – student, poet, teacher, wife – her feverish perfectionism was a constant factor. During her tumultuous years at Smith College, her concern over the flaws she perceived in her character led her to begin a process that would fascinate future readers and biographers: the journey to create one's own identity and form a persona. perfect. However, although she had a clear idea of ​​her intended destination, she found herself unable to do more than mask the reality of her personality with a veneer of perfection. An honest assimilation of his constructed identity still eluded him. Nowhere is this theme more clearly represented in her poetry than in "In Plaster", in which she takes on the role of the "old yellow me" desperately trying to reconcile her dependence on the "absolutely white new person" with her fear of being usurped. by a stronger and more perfect personality. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay When the poem begins, the yellow self is certain that her new counterpart is superior and rebels against her. However, both halves begin to get used to each other, realizing that the second cannot exist without the first and the first can become stronger with the help of the second. However, as the new self assumes a caring role, a newfound confidence and vitality causes it to become more autonomous and less willing to devote itself to the speaker's well-being. Eventually, both selves, unhappy with their codependent relationship, disconnect and resign themselves to wishing the other dead. “In Plaster” originally characterizes the two conflicting selves through a color metaphor. The older self is yellow, meaning its imperfection, and the newer self is white, meaning it is stainless and good. In fact, this second self is so perfect that it needs no food, is unbreakable, and cold to the touch – in short, the perfect self is not even a living person. As such, she does not have all of the human flaws that the original self suffers from. Her physical condition is much better and she takes on the role of attentive nurse in the invalid role of her first self, "holding [her] bones in place so that they repair properly." When she becomes less conscientious in her care, the first self begins to realize how much she depends on the second self for her safety when her skin begins to flake - without someone to care for her, the first self literally deteriorates. The second self also avoids the same mental instability that the first self exhibits, especially in the early stanzas of the poem. While the latter is instantly terrified and irritated towards the new self, beating him up and eventually taking advantage of his "slave mentality", the former is a serene pacifist, "one of the true saints". Originally, the old self believes the new self. be clearly superior. However, once she trusts the other and is neglected by him, she no longer considers her counterpart's inhuman perfection to be an advantage. Scornfully, she tells us, “Then I saw what the problem was: she thought she was immortal.” Here another striking contrast emerges between the two selves: the second self is dying, the white self is becoming more alive. This theme of death continues throughout the poem, particularly as the two selves begin to come into conflict more frequently. The yellow self begins to feel like it is “living with [its] own coffin,” now that the white self,..