How do we breathe? Clara and Dominic have both produced a statement, upon how the bell jar represents the way we breathe, our respiratory system. Clara states that the model is correct as it shows that we breathe because the diaphragm moves up and down, on the contrary Dominic says the model is incorrect as we breathe with our ribs. My conclusion on who is correct is that Clara is correct because...Read more 2764
The Bell Jar
by Sylvia Plath
The Bell Jar was first published in London in January 1963 by William Heinemann Limited publishers under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas, for Sylvia Plath questioned the literary value of the novel and did not believe that it was a “serious work.” More importantly, the novel had numerous parallels to the life of its author. Both Sylvia Plath and her fictional counterpart, Esther Greenwood, lost their father at early ages and hail from the Boston area. Sylvia and Esther were both poets who were noted for winning prizes and scholarships; although the college which Esther attends is not stated explicitly in The Bell Jar, it is a prestigious women’s college that could easily be Sylvia Plath’s alma mater, Smith College.
At Smith College, Sylvia Plath received a scholarship donated by Olive Higgins Prouty, the novelist and author of Stella Dallas, who later became a friend and patron for Plath, thus paralleling the relationship between the fictional philanthropist Philomena Guinea and Esther Greenwood. Replicating the events of the first chapters of The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath won an internship at Mademoiselle.
The most important events of the novel are almost strictly drawn from Sylvia Plath’s biography. Sylvia underwent electroshock therapy and disappeared after a suicide attempt, after which she was hospitalized for psychotherapy.
When The Bell Jar was first published, Sylvia Plath was disconcerted by the reviews, which criticized the novel a feminist counterpart to the works of J.D. Salinger. The reviews were lukewarm, for British critics found it to be a critique of American society and deemed the title character a hopeless neurotic. Shortly after the British publication of the novel, Sylvia Plath committed suicide.
The novel did not reach American shores for another several years, despite great demand in America for it. Because the novel had been published abroad by an American citizen and had not been published in America within six months of foreign publication or copyright, The Bell Jar fell under a now nullified provision called Ad Interim, which meant that it was no longer eligible for copyright protection in the United States. By the time that the novel reached America in 1971, Sylvia Plath was a household name and confessional literature was in vogue.
The feminist movement, fascination with death, and mental illness were at that time contemporary preoccupations. A definitive change occurred during this first publication. Despite some negative reviews, The Bell Jar quickly became the definitive female rite-of-passage novel, fulfilling the British critical idea that it would become a touchstone for American youth akin to The Catcher in The Rye.
L. P. Hartley and Sylvia Plath both use the first person narrative to evoke a sense of tragedy for their protagonists, however, with Leo, Hartley uses the first person narrative to allow the reader to understand the unfortunate event in the life of twelve year old Leo. Some may say that the first person narration of Leo is both more personal and detailed than that of Esther. The reader sees the...Read more 2190
“If you expect nothing from somebody you are never disappointed.” — Page 87 — “I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am.” — — “I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and...Read more 1643
Adolescence in the Bell Jar and Catcher in the Rye Adolescence in the Bell Jar and Catcher in the Rye Adolescence is the period between puberty and adulthood. Every teenager experience this moment in life differently some sail through happily to carry on with a peaceful life where as others are less fortunate and find that this moment is much more harder and stressful then they thought. Esther...Read more 1192
Isolation in general has a lasting effect on a person’s growth and understanding. As isolation comes in different forms, the effect it has on the nature of man also varies. The one thing that all forms of isolation have in common is that they influence an individual’s growth in some way. Forced isolation is isolation that is involuntary, or against the will. Isolation in which an individual...Read more 1162
Differences in style of writing between “The Bell Jar” by Sylvia Plath and “Girl, Interrupted” by Susanna Kaysen
Since the two books are from two different genres, it is no surprise that the styles in which they are written differ – Susanna Kaysen’s “Girl, Interrupted” is a collection of memoirs whereas Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar” is a novel, though autobiographical to a degree. From a literary point of view, “The Bell Jar” is the better written of the...Read more 1129
“The Bell Jar”, which is written by Sylvia Plath, indicates that patriarchal society has many effects on women. Men have power over women in both direct and indirect ways. In this paper, I would like to concern about Esther and patriarchy. Men use their power directly to oppress Esther. Also they use power indirectly to set up social values and sexual stereotyping which have many...Read more 913
Catcher and The Bell Jar ” Two Coming of Age Novels While J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar are two entirely different novels with different themes at first glance, both tell tales of teenagers who are coming of age and learning responsibility. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has been kicked out of school and is trying to decide...Read more 788
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...Read more 668
Sylvia Plath wrote an autobiography which was never meant to be known that it was about her own self, or even to be read in America until after her death. Who and what could she have been protecting and why would she even have wrote if it was such a big secret? Plath tells her story of the madness that came over her through Esther, the main character in The Bell Jar. She could make this story...Read more 542
Slipping Into Insanity A time of individuality and rebellion made a mark in the world of literature, and modernist writers weren’t afraid to break away from the norm. The Bell Jar, written by Sylvia Plath, is an outstanding novel which depicts the modernist era as a whole. Sylvia Plath takes her readers through the mind of a young girl in her twenties, Esther, whose stability and sanity slowly...Read more 541
In the novel, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath it unveils a woman’s downhill spiral into a dark place. The novel is an autobiographical account of Sylvia Plath’s own life, however the names are changed. The main character is named Esther Greenwood, a young, bright writer who has won a contest to work at a magazine in New York City. While it seems glamorous, this is just the beginning of a...Read more 541