The Bell Jar Analysis - 750 Words

For most adolescents, the coming-of-age period can challenging and painful. For Esther Greenwood in â€Å"The Bell Jar† by Sylvia Plath, however, coming-of-age is literally life-threatening. As she notices the differences between herself and her friends and attempts to find meaning in her life, Esther regresses into madness, and then makes several unsuccessful attempts to end her life using various means. The source of Esther’s discontent, however, is never entirely clear. In, â€Å"The Bell Jar† by Sylvia Plath, the author expresses that Esther’s journey and events are that of a coming-to-age realization or story for her. Experiences for a women like Esther (in this sense of a coming-to-age realization) are supposed to positive and encouraging,†¦show more content†¦With her attempted suicide being interpreted as a noble, her gradual steps towards sanity and survival are dignified. Esther has made a significant recovery through contrasting Esthers concrete independent attitude with the false confidence that Joan displays before her suicide. Plath contrasts Esthers resolve, even when making poor decision such as sleeping with Irwin, to the random behavior displayed by Joan Giling. Joan shifts from location to location, unsure of what she will be; this parallels the behavior demonstrated by Esther during the early chapter of the novel, and thus indicates how far Esther has progressed. Near the end of the book, Esther emerges from her trials with a clear understanding of her own mental health, the strength that she summoned to help her survive, and increased confidence in her skepticism of society. Esther adopts a new tone here, specifically stating that she feels free and rejuvenated. While previously demonstrated through Esthers actions and attitude, Plath makes this explicit through Esthers self-confident narration in which she states outright that she is patched, retreaded and approved for the road. Plath still concedes that Esther may never fully be cured, as when Esther wondersShow MoreRelatedThe Bell Jar Analysis1429 Words   |  6 PagesEsther Greenwood, the protagonist of The Bell Jar by Silvia Plath, is cast under the spell of her own depression and the story of being released from the spell follows the structure of one of the 7 plot types Christopher Booker created. These 7 plot archetypes include the Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, Overcomin g the Monster, Rags to Riches, and lastly the archetype of Rebirth. The novel The Bell Jar is classified as the Rebirth plot, in accordance with the 5 stages that make up saidRead MoreThe Bell Jar : Literary Analysis2261 Words   |  10 PagesLeBouef 1 Breana LeBouef Mrs. Smith English III 9 November 2014 The Bell Jar: Literary Analysis With Author Biography Sylvia Plath is a renowned poet and author. She fantasied the world with her powerful writings. Beloved to the world, she truly changed women s status. She wrote distinctively from her own life experiences. This is cleared showed in her book, The Bell Jar. This book offers a theme of rebirth and a theme of feminism. The 27th of October in 1932, Sylvia Plath was bornRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem The Bell Jar 1536 Words   |  7 Pagesabnormality may be seen as bad or undesirable (Boundless). Sylvia Plath, the author of The Bell Jar, writes in a very simple and ordinary but exceptionally unique way. She put her whole young genuine heart and soul into this semi-autobiography. Her first person point of view allows the reader to really engage with the characters thoughts, specifically Esther Greenwood and her perspective on everything. In The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood encounters the coming of many things, including age and mental illnessRead MoreAn Analysis Of Sylvia Plaths The Bell Jar1603 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"woman-hater† (106) in New York and her rejection from a selective writing course, which proves her depression is a result of the events that occur in her life, rather than her own brain miswirings. In her article â€Å"We Are All Mad Here: Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar as a Political novel,† Laura De La Parra Fernandez explains: â€Å"the moment her career opportunities dwindle, she starts to feel trapped in a role she does not desire, and that is when she begins to identify herself with the Other counter to the AmericanRead MoreAnalysis Of Sylvia Plaths The Bell Jar747 Words   |  3 PagesThe Bell Jar, written by Sylvia Plath, is a fictionalized memoir centered around main character, Esther Greenwood. Esther is a young woman from Boston who is extremely intelligent and funds her education through several scholarships. As she continuously draws nearer to the end of her education, Esther begins to realize the constraints put on women in the society she was born into. Women of this time were expected to get married and have children while also giving up their aspirations of a careerRead MoreAnalysis Of Sylvia Plaths The Bell Jar1593 Words   |  7 Pagesoptions. This cultimating stress leads to certain youths blindly following paths that are praised by those around them, rather than addressing their own goals and wants, and making an informed decision. In Sylvia Plaths coming of age novel, The Bell Jar, the protagoni st Esther spirals into a deep depression as she remains trapped in limbo, unable to choose a direction for her professional or personal life to follow. While Esthers frozen state is detrimental to her mental health, she avoids theRead MoreAnalysis Of The Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath1385 Words   |  6 PagesAltering information and data has been, and will always be practiced by authors for the simple fact that they too, would like to have some sort of control over their what their readers know about them. In â€Å"The Bell Jar† by Sylvia Plath, the main character, Esther, a girl who is based on Plath herself, finds herself struggling with depression and anxiety and plans to take her own life several times but can never follow through. Plath modified biographical details because she wanted to simplify theRead MoreAnalysis Of Sylvia Plath s The Bell Jar 1573 Words   |  7 Pages How Sylvia Plath represent madness in the Bell Jar The book shows us a young girl who wants to be totally in charge of her own life where females were expected to be interesting and educated but only marry and be a good wife for ambitious men. She wants to enjoy life and experience every bit of it as she wants it to be. This would never work and in some ways she is born early. She would have been better in the ‘women s lib’ age ready for independence and happy of going places. Always able toRead MoreAnalysis Of Sylvia Plath s The Bell Jar 2248 Words   |  9 Pagesyoung and talented writer with the potential to exceed literary expectations. She was able to write a semi-autobiographical book about her struggle with depression and suicide, putting her personal story into the character of Esther Greenwood. The Bell Jar is the story of the hardships of a young woman named Esther who is clinically depressed and who struggles to keep up with the world around her. Esther struggles with succeeding in school, dealing with the pressure of finding of husband, and losingRead MoreAnalysis Of The Bell Jar A Streetcar Named Desire And Hamlet 1324 Words   |  6 Pagessections of ‘The Bell Jar’, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ and ‘Hamlet’. Sylvia Plath’s 1963 novel ‘The Bell Jar’, Tennessee Williams’ 1947 play ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ and William Shakespeare’s 1603 play ‘Hamlet’, share many similarities, albeit there are also differences, in the way in which the themes of death and decay are presented. Sylvia Plath’s poor mental health, which subsequently lead to her suicide on February 11th 1963, may be seen to be reflected in her novel, ‘The Bell Jar’. Death may be