McLean Hospital

“The Bell Jar,” one of Sylvia Plath’s most famous novels, portrays a young woman’s battle with mental illness. Set in the 1950s, the narrator, Esther Greenwood, describes her gradual downward spiral. When analyzing the novel, there any several factors that clearly contributed to her mental breakdown. Some of these factors include gender stereotypes, societal norms and self degradation. Esther Greenwood is an exceedingly intelligent and opinionated young woman. However, even at the beginning of

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath follows the journey of 19-year-old Esther Greenwood as she struggles to combat her severe depression in a society that ostracizes those affected by it, and simultaneously, attempts to conform to societal standards for women that she does not agree with. Initially, the novel opens as Esther participates in an internship for a fashion magazine in New York City where she begins to question her life’s purpose and her previous successes due to the extreme pressures put on

In the novel The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath different characters are presented to the reader. Each character has an effect towards Esther in a certain way. The characters Mrs. Greenwood, Buddy Willard, and the Protagonist Esther Greenwood all play a huge part in the novel. First of all, Mrs. Greenwood Esther's mother mostly stays in the background of the novel. Esther really does not describe her as much. But, despite of her invisibility Mrs. Greenwood pervades in Esther’s mind. She subscribes to society’s

Sylvia Plath is an American poet, novelist and short story writer who lived in London, United Kingdom. She is considered an important poet of her generation. Her work is very personal and towards the end of her life she often wrote about death. She usually used confessional genre to write her poetry. She is Best-known for her two published collections: The Colossus and Other Poetrys and Ariel. She also wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar in 1963 published shortly before her death. The

The Bell Jar by: Sylvia Plath Depression is a serious topic throughout the world, especially in America. Depression can result in someone feeling completely alone. There is no direct cause for depression in adolescents, but it can be brought on by the maturing process, stress from failure in some sort, a traumatic or disturbing event such as death, or even a break up. Sure, everyone has an off day here and there, where they feel like they shouldn’t even bother getting out bed in the morning, but

Trapped in the Jar Approximately, one in five adults in the United States suffer from mental illnesses that affect their everyday life in negative aspects. In The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath, tells a story that focuses on Esther Greenwood’s disconnection to people around her as she begins her college with much of societal pressures. Sylvia Plath creates a realistic style of writing with Esther Greenwood as the protagonist who loses herself while trying to be something in life when everyone expects

The main character Esther, in Sylvia Plath's novel experiences a series of internal conflicts and mental challenges, which eventually lead up to her breakdown. Esther initially struggles with the feeling that society expects her to be happy, due to her luxurious life in New York City but in reality, she is very unhappy. Additionally, Esther has lost her grip on life and feels emotionally numb. On top of these emotions, Esther deals with feeling like she is on display, or in the spotlight, which

In Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Mirror, the protagonists, Esther Greenwood and Mirror’s unnamed narrator, search for an escape from reality due to their current unfulfilled lives. Esther becomes alienated by American society in the materialistic 1950s, whilst the woman in Mirror reveals her fear of old age, which haunts her every time she looks within the mirror. Sylvia Plath lived in an era where the image of women “[that] perpetuated throughout the 1950s was one of inequality” (Young, 10).

The Bell Jar Living without control of your life and being powerless is especially difficult for anyone to cope with. In the novel The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath, a unique individual is struggling to find her way in life as she is living as a powerless individual. The lack of control, guidance, and power, leads to her downfall battling with reality. Plath gives the perspective of a young woman’s madness as a reaction of the social pressure that the 1950’s attributed. Esther Greenwood, the protagonist

doesn't know how to help. Then her boyfriend, Buddy Willard, who kind of drops out of the picture later on. Quotes 1.“Save them for my funeral” What she said when Esther’s mother brought her flowers to the hospital. Pg. 226¶6 2.“Still, I imagined myself going