The Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath

The novel, The Bell Jar, is a half autobiography and half fictional story written by Sylvia Plath. It follows the main character, Esther Greenwood, in first person point of view through the comforts of high society in college all the way to the asylum for the insane. While the setting is in the 1950's, the book has stood the test of time by not only being a story that discusses difficult issues but also challenges the social pressures of that time.

The Bell Jar, a coming of age, semi-autobiographical novel, by Sylvia Plath follows the life of a troubled young girl named Esther Greenwood, her slow descent into mental illness and then her subsequent recovery. The second half of the book details Esther's mental breakdown, her incarceration and stumbling recovery whilst the first half uncovers the protagonists, narrators day to day struggles which go on to contribute to her eventual breakdown . Throughout the novel, the reader comes to understand that Esther feels there are few choices; in character a woman must be either the virgin or the whore, both of which are demonstrated by Esther's friends, Betsy and Doreen. This presents one of the key internal conflicts the protagonist, Esther battles.

Sylvia Plath is known as a profound writer, depicted by her lasting works of literature and her suicide which put her poems and novel of debilitating depression into a new perspective. In her poem “Lady Lazarus,” written in 1962, her mental illness is portrayed in a means to convey to her readers the everyday struggle of depression, and how it affects her view of her world, herself, and even those who attempt to tackle her battle with her. This poem, among other poetry pieces and her novel The Bell Jar, identify her multiple suicide attempts, and how the art of dying is something she has become a master of. Plath’s “Lady Lazarus,” about her trap of depression and suicide attempts, is effective and thought provoking because of her allusions to WWII Nazi Germany and the feelings of oppression and Nazism that the recurring images evoke.

August Wilson uses a woman named Aunt Ester as the main character in five of his ten paly in the Pittsburg cycle. “Gem of the ocean” is the first of the plays that we actually see Aunt Ester and she becomes more that just a voice the reader. “Gem of the Ocean” is a play depicting the life of newly freed slaves living in the Hill District of Pittsburg, centering on how one woman, Aunt Ester, helps people that are in trouble, either legally or spiritually. Aunt Ester is the main character in many of Wilson’s play. She is an older woman that is more like a spiral healer than just a resident of the town. She uses her life skills and teachings to help the residents of the town during times of disturbances in their lives. Aunt Ester is more than just a woman living her life; she takes great pride in helping others and is trying to pass the knowledge that she has gained throughout her life along. Her role and actions in Wilson’s plays are the backbone of what of what he is trying to portray to African American men and their loss of their heritage.

Suicide was a major problem among many generations of teens that grew up in brutal societies. In the 1950s, suicide was not widely mentioned, and many people suffered without any treatments. In the novel The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath, Esther tried to kill herself multiple times. Her life was planned by the society, and she was pressured into fitting in with others. Esther’s mental problems took over her life, and caused her to lose out on her teen years. She was a successful college student, who won scholarships, and was working at a fashion magazine. However, she went through many events that caused her to accept suicide as a way of running away from her problems. In the novel The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath, Esther’s mental illness began to have an effect on her when she interfered with Buddy, Marco, and Dr. Gordon.

Esther Greenwood suffered through multiple difficult times that wore down on her mental state. She fell sick from food poisoning, was electrocuted through shock therapy, and underwent dangerous suicidal thoughts. Each time when she persevered through the pain, she emerged a stronger, newly-born person. In The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath uses plot development and characterization to illustrate that often times, painful experiences are necessary for a person to progress in life.

At first glance, the term “bell jar” does not particularly stand out except as the title of the novel. However, upon further scrutiny and thorough reading, readers can deduce that this term actually has a negative connotation throughout the novel due to the fact that Esther, the main character, literally feels confined inside a bell jar with no way to get out. Written by Sylvia Plath, the novel The Bell Jar focuses on how restrictions of society suffocate Esther to the point where she is unable to handle the stress anymore. Plath uses symbols in her novel such as the bell jar, fig tree, mirror, and numerous newspaper headlines in order to emphasize Esther’s inner struggles coping with the restrictions of society, and also how she finds connections

The Bell Jar is a novel about Esther Greenwood, a nineteen-year-old girl, who experiences a breakdown and her path to recovery. The novel starts off with Esther working at Ladies Day magazine in New York City as an editorial intern because she had won the paid internship for the summer. She and elven other girls stay in a women’s only hotel, get fancy dinners and gifts from the sponsors and get to have a good time exploring New York City. Buddy Willard, Esther college boyfriend, ask her to marry him but he does not understand Esther and is not pure so she decides she will not marry him and comes to realize she does not want to marry ever. While still in the city Esther goes on many dates but no guy interest her enough to marry. As the internship

During the 1950s, women’s identities slowly changed; there were positive adjustments for women and for the equality of the sexes, but some things continued to remain the same, which is portrayed in The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath, and Mona Lisa Smile. The 1950s was the decade after World War II came to a close, so there was a want for stability but also change from many minority groups, such as women. In the war, women were given many responsibilities, some of which transferred over into the next decade, so they had more freedom and control over their lives. However, many limitations persisted into the 1950s.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is a novel that follows Esther around while she deals with issues that would not be seen in the media. In the novel The Bell Jar, Plath presents a different perspective of women from the norm during the 1950's.

One is often enticed to read a novel because of the way in which the characters are viewed and the way in which characters view their surroundings. In the novel The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Esther Greenwood is a character whose "heightened and highly emotional response to events, actions and sentiments" (Assignment sheet) intrigue the reader. One of her character traits is extreme paranoia that is shown in different situations throughout the novel. As a result of this, she allows herself to be easily let down, as she believes that all events that are unsatisfactory are directed towards her. Finally, it is clear that she attempts to escape this notion by imagining an idyllic yet impossible life that she

Of the two readings we were given to select from for our Midterm Assignment, I chose to conduct my initial psychosocial and diagnostic assessment on the character, Esther, from the semi-autobiographical novel “The Bell Jar”, by Sylvia Plath. The protagonist in the novel is a 19-year-old girl from the suburbs of Boston growing up in the 1950’s who has accepted a summer internship working at a prominent magazine in New York City. It is made clear from the beginning of the novel that Esther’s move has resulted in a possible adjustment disorder as she narrates her feelings of sadness, misplacement, and disconnectedness from reality.

The Bell Jar teaches us that every opportunity a woman had received in the 1950’s was a gift and should be taken immediately. Women had certain expectations they must meet and ways they must look in order to be accepted by society. Women were compared to the look of models, they were expected to look just as good as they still are nowadays. For example, “ A model named Bettina was known for her tall, slim figure, youthful movements, short bobbed hair, shapely eyebrows and bright red lipstick” ( Sherrow, Modeling and Models). This shows how women were expected to be slim, with youthful energy and have short hair. Esther was one of those women who were expected to look like this. She used to have youthful energy, but events over her life started to take away that energy. Women in the 1950’s had to compete with the model’s image, women were especially compared during beauty competitions. “Women in Beauty Pageants were judged basis of physical appearance and named best looking or most beautiful” (Sherrow, Beauty Pageants). The idea that people would be considered

Estelle had been tortured. She was considered a traitor of the country, traitor to Big Brother. All because of that one man, that one man whom she fell in love with and decided to follow with all her heart. Because of him she suffered,

Sylvia Plath uses many literary devices to convey her purpose in The Bell Jar such as symbolism. The Bell Jar itself is used as symbolic representation of the emotional state Esther is in. The glass jar distorts her image of the world as she feels trapped under the glass. It represents mental illness; a confining jar that descends over her mind and doesn’t allow her to live and think freely. Symbols of life and death pervade The Bell Jar. Esther experiences psychological distress which is a major motif in the novel. The death of Esther’s father and the relationship with her mother is a possible reason for her illness. Sylvia Plath expresses the difficulties Esther faces and parallels her struggle with depression and illustrates it using various symbols such as a fig tree, mirrors, beating heart and a bell jar throughout the novel.