Sybil Essay

Sybil is a movie based on a real person. She was abused and mistreated by her Mother. When experiencing the traumatizing events that took place throughout her childhood Sybil started creating personalities for each horrific or memorizing event. For example Peggy Lou Baldwin was one of the personalities Sybil’s created to cope with the anger and sadness she was feeling when her mother punished her for doing something that she didn’t do. Sybil had a very challenging life she would black out and not remember anything. When she blacked out one of her 16 personalities would come out and replace her depending on the feeling or situation she is forced to remember. Sybil somehow finds herself meeting Dr. Wilbur who becomes very interested in her because

Wilbur began having session to get an understanding of what was going on with her. As Dr. Wilbur sessions progressed she came in contact with some of Sybil’s personalities. She studied that they each behaved differently but they were all links to Sybil meaning that they all share memories from sibyls past that she refuses to acknowledge. It was hard for Sybil to have a regular life because of the abuse she received as a child. When she meet a guy named Richard who cared about her she was unable to care for him back because she was scared of hands meaning that when her mother would tell Sybil she loved her she would hit her so for Sybil it was uneasy to trust Richard because he could be just like her mother who said affectionate things but hit her and abused her. Not only were hands uncomfortable for her but also kitchen towels, button hook and Christmas. The kitchen towels were used to tie Sybil down and the button hook was an object her mother used to rape her with. Christmas was also a horrible remembrance of Sybil’s past. Her mother was so cruel to her around this time as Sybil grew older she signified Christmas time as a time period of the world ending due to the suffering and abuse she would go through during this time