The Bell Jar Essay

The Bell Jar and The Member of the Wedding Jordan O’Brien Thesis: In both The Bell Jar and The Member of the Wedding, the main character goes on a journey of self-discovery that completely changes her life, but each girl responds to this transformation differently. Plot/ Structure: The structure of the Bell Jar One thing that greatly contributes to the development of Esther’s character is the expectations of women in the 1950s. In that time, it was customary for a woman to become

Research Paper: The Bell Jar, By: Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar is a work of fiction that spans a six month time period in the life of the protagonist and narrator, Esther Greenwood. The novel tells of Esther’s battle against her oppressive surroundings and her ever building madness, this is the central conflict throughout the narrative. After coming home from a month in New York as a guest editor for a magazine, Esther begins to have trouble with everyday activities such as reading,

future, but the chances for that are slim because naive minds are susceptible to adapt according to their surroundings. In other words, the individual will conform to the social construct in order to fit in. The character Esther Greenwood, from The Bell Jar, a nineteen year old adult living independently in New York City experiences this. She suffers from the pressures of her society; this leads her to adjust her actions according to these pressures. She was expected to fit the “image” that was socially

1. List the major topics/issues Sylvia Plath explores in The Bell Jar (at least four). To what extent are the issues still relevant today? The major topics explored in The Bell Jar include the inferiority of women, the wrongful treatment of the mentally ill, sexuality and the double standard for men and women on sex, and conformity to society’s expectations. The inferiority of women refers to society’s view that women are subordinate to men, and are supposed to serve men after marriage, become housewives

forth between one mutually exclusive thing and another for the rest of my days" (Plath). Plath was in fact a schizophrenic, never really being cured and only receiving temporarily relief from her own mind with electroshock therapy. Her novel, The Bell Jar, is almost a self-biography with the veil of fiction over the story of Plath’s own life being so thin that her mother fought its publication (McCann 1631). Nevertheless, Plath’s immense hard work paid off and it was published. Writing was Plath’s

The Bell Jar as a Controlling Image in The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar contains a constant reference to a bell jar that acts as a controlling image. The bell jar in the novel controls the novel in three ways. It acts as a symbol for the depression that Esther Greenwood, the central character, experiences. It also serves as a metaphor for her. Finally, it is the very illusion that drives her into depression. Esther Greenwood works for a fashion magazine in New York and lives a "dream

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

Sylvia Plath’s Bell Jar was composed as a semi- auto biographical novel yet it dealt with many of the contemporary issues of the time such as women emancipation in a psychological sphere. Plath’s actual psyche is reflected in her work which she struggled to continue as a female writer. As an American writer she faced plentyof criticism which over-powered her mental faculty as a clinically depressed author. Sadly, she ended her life shortly after finishing this novel and her prolific writing career

The Bell Jar is one of the most famous and acknowledged Coming - of - Age novels today written by Sylvia Plath.. Showing the change from adolescents to womanly adulthood. Esther notices differences between her and her friends, even trying quite a few attempts to commit suicide. The source of her obvious discomfort is never made clear throughout the book. ("The Bell Jar Thesis Statements and Important Quotes." PaperStartercom.) The Bell Jar was originally published on January 14, 1963. The setting

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 and images of life and death pervade The Bell Jar. Esther experiences psychological distress which is a motif