The Bell Jar Literary Analysis

Despite this initial attraction to, and appreciation of, Doreen’s messy, flirty lifestyle, Esther still remains stuck in a traditional mindset. She turns on Doreen after she witnesses what she perceives as Doreen’s whorish, sloppy behavior in the incident with Lenny, where in which Doreen had drunk herself sick and acted promiscuously with a man she had met on the street just a few hours before. Esther even states that “[d]eep down, I would be loyal to Betsey and her innocent friends. It was Betsey I resembled at heart” (22). Earlier in the novel, Doreen and Esther had made fun of Betsey’s wholesome, goody-goody personality, calling her “Pollyanna Cowgirl” (6) behind her back. Even though Esther was originally awed by Doreen’s boldness, she feels naturally compelled to stay true to the clean, innocent lifestyle preferred for women in the 1950s.

In Sylvia Plath's novel The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood seems incapable of healthy relationships with other women. She is trapped in a patriarchal society with rigid expectations of womanhood. The cost of transgressing social norms is isolation, institutionalization and a lost identity as woman. The struggle for an individual identity under this regime is enough to drive a person to the verge of suicide. Given the oppressive system under which she must operate, Esther Greenwood's problems with women stem from her conflict between individuality and conformity.

And when «she knows it's happening: that thing, that connection» between them, when she dances for him and «making him fall in love with her» she says to him: «We've got all we need. We don't need love. Don't diminish yourself – don't reveal yourself as a sentimental sap. You're dying to do it, but don't. Let's not lose this.» (p. 231). She knows she's driving him nuts, she knows that her rejection of his feelings makes him want to attach to her sentimentaly even more. She dances for him and teaches him what life really is. She – a 34-year-old illiterate janitor, teaches him – colledge proffessor, ex-dean, a member of highest rank of society class, what life is all about.

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 the author of the Bell Jar and was an American poet, novelist, and short-story writer (JRSM. June, 2003). The Bell Jar book was published in London a month before Plath’s death in January, 1963. The book was first published under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas, and then later published in Plath’s own name. Esther Greenwood is the main character in the Bell Jar. Esther suffered from mental illness and struggled against depressive environment and continuously aggravated madness that led to her suicide and death (JRSM. June, 2003). I ague that Esther’s mental illness was aggravated by her internal pressure and depressive environment in which she lived.

When the narrator first encounters the girl, his friend's older sister, he can only see her silhouette in the “light from the half-opened door”. This is the beginning of his infatuation with the girl. After his discovery, he is plagued by thoughts of the girl which make his daily obligations seem like “ugly, monotonous, child's play”. He has become blinded by the light. The narrator not only fails to learn the name of his “girl”, he does not realize that his infatuation with a woman considerably older than himself is not appropriate. He relishes in his infatuation, feeling “thankful [he] could see so little” while he thinks of the distant “lamp or lighted window” that represents his girl. The narrator is engulfed by the false light that is his futile love.

Through life, we often lose someone we loved and cared deeply for and supported us through life. This is demonstrated by the loss of a loved one when Esther's father died when she was nine. "My German speaking father, dead since I was nine came from some

Sylvia Plath’s wit, sarcasm, and myriad of emotions in The Bell Jar are all shown throughout. Esther Greenwood, whom represents Plath in the novel, feels trapped in a bell jar that is society. Esther never truly learned how to be an independent individual herself, so she is simply dependent on others and follows their way of life being that she is highly indecisive. Esther Greenwood’s insanity is influenced by her role within the society of the 1950s and by the dominance of males which she had to learn to coexist with. Her state is a repercussion of her standing as a female in society during the 1950s.

When Esther finds out that Buddy had sex with a waitress, she wanted to get seduced because she wanted to be even with Buddy. Esther didn’t like the feeling that he had sex and she didn’t so she tried to seduce any man she could. When Esther finally had sex, she started to bleed and Joan killed herself so this was a night that she won’t forget.

Sylvia Plath’s novel, “The Bell Jar”, tells a story of a young woman’s descent into mental illness. Esther Greenwood, a 19 year old girl, struggles to find meaning within her life as she sees a distorted version of the world. In Plath’s novel, different elements and themes of symbolism are used to explain the mental downfall of the book’s main character and narrator such as cutting her off from others, forcing her to delve further into her own mind, and casting an air of negativity around her. Plath uses images of rotting fig trees and veils of mist to convey the desperation she feels when confronted with issues of her future. Esther Greenwood feels that she is trapped under a bell jar, which distorts her view of the world around her.

Esther evidently feels as if she is constantly being judged and tested, although in fact she is not. Her magnified sense of distrust is illustrated repeatedly throughout the course of the book, at once involving the reader and developing her own characteristic response to unique situations. Finally, one who views occurrences which can only be categorized as coincidental as being planned often experiences a suspicious response. When she finds out that an acquaintance from high school is at the same hospital, her first reaction is wariness: "It occurred to me that Joan, hearing where I was, had engaged the room at the asylum on pretence, simply as a joke." (Plath 207). Although the reader is incredulous of the protagonist's manner of thought, it is also possible to feel a connection to the situation. Such a

Marco is not successful in his attempted rape of Esther. Though his assault has detrimental effects on her mental stability, he does not break her or destroy her. However, Buddy succeeds in shifting the focus of the gaze to be socially oppressive. In The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood is a woman of the 1950s who goes against the belief that women should marry; in fact, she declares, “I’m never going to get married” (Plath 93) while being proposed to by Buddy Willard. In his proposal, Buddy asks the question, “How would you like to be Mrs. Buddy Willard?” (92). In other words, he asks her if she would like to serve as an extension of himself. He is adhering to the Victorian notions of marriage. Her identity of Esther Greenwood will be erased with her marriage to Buddy Willard. Not only does society want Esther to succumb to her inferiority, but a specific man does as well. Society’s convictions in regards to women were so powerful that they entrenched themselves into the mind of a man Esther knew since childhood. These convictions aid Buddy in taking on the oppressive form of the male gaze. He does not view her sexually, but rather as something for him to own – someone for him to stamp his own name onto.

This shows how they live in different worlds, with different interests. Marco and Marry need to "allow for unhesitant flow of communication as possible"(Vatsal, Anand) because then they can come up with activities that both will enjoy. A good relationship is "built on trust, honesty, openness, and mutual respect"(Steve, Earlam), Marco and Mary need to work on the openness aspect in their

Both characters, Marie and Robbie, are in a situation that is relevant to couples today which make the play have a tone of intensity. Marie reveleaing that she is afraid to fall deep in love with Robbie like she has in her past with someone else creates a strong sense of pity from Robbie because he was continually insisting for her to go back to his house with him to stay the night. Robbie immediately responded to Marie with “It’s okay” (Kraar, 321) Marie also revealed that she was just afraid that Robbie was using her, the understanding and feelings of these two characters are very compelling to human qualities. The situation of this piece is not too farfetched from something that can occur in this present day between two people in a serious

Perhaps the most famous work of Sylvia Plath’s is The Bell Jar -- a book that follows the mental deterioration of a nineteen-year-old girl named Esther through the narration of Esther herself. Although Sylvia Plath hated life in general and committed suicide at the age of 32 after her husband left her, the myriad autobiographical elements, metaphors, and motifs that appear throughout her works produce a beautifully vivid representation of people, the world, and life itself (“Sylvia Plath”).