This realization arises from a number of events that occur throughout the story, but Plath's use of symbolism with the heather birds sums up this idea in the best possible way. Millicent's first chronological encounter with the heathbirds takes place with a man in the back of a bus, the setting for one of the aforementioned essays. When Millicent asks him what he ate for breakfast, he simply responds with "Heatherbird eyebrows", heatherbirds being creatures that "live on the mythological moors and fly all day, singing wildly and soft in the sun…” (Plath something). Her reaction to this is a burst of laughter and a newfound camaraderie that overpowers her fears of "the rest of the humiliating tasks assigned to her during the initiation process, because she really doesn't mind being an 'other'." . (Yasoni something). This disconnect with the sisterhood only grows throughout the story until the end where she compares the sparrows she observes to heathers. His description of sparrows, “pale gray-brown birds in a flock, one like heather birds.” the others, all exactly alike” (Plath one page) is a depiction of sorority girls, a gaggle of characters who care nothing for freedom, individuality, or any form of expression that deviates from their standards. This contrasts with his description of the. heather birds, “flooding carefree over the moors, they would sing and shout across the wide open spaces… strong and proud of their freedom and their sometimes solitude” (another quote please). The man and the heaths allow Millicent to accept her differences and those of others to be a happy and free being. This final development provides an optimistic conclusion to the story, where Millicent is no longer held back by her