4 April 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 blogger.comted Reading Time: 9 mins The essay A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf makes an influential claim that a woman’s identity as lesser than a man’s in society prevents her from the opportunity to fill her role as a writer while the novel The Bell Jar written by Sylvia Plath describes a woman’s struggle to reconcile with her expectations as a woman in the s Mar 06, · In The Bell Jar The Protagonist Esther Greenwood Pages: 3 ( words) Formal Essay in Human Relationships and Life Transitions Being an Adult Essay Pages: 7 ( words) Love And Frienship Book English Literature Essay Essay Example Pages: 7 ( words) Sample Essay on Salvation Essay Pages: 5 ( words)
"The Bell Jar" Essay Free Essay Example
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, writing and even sleeping. Her mental state decreases rapidly until she eventually attempts suicide. During the rest of the novel Esther recounts her experiences in recovery until she finally plans to leave the hospital. Critic Diane S. She explains how instead of being her the bell jar essay person, Esther conforms to the role that is culturally engrained in society, in other words she does what she believes is expected of her. There are many examples from the book that support these ideas. While in New York, Esther is concerned because she is not enjoying herself. She feels that she should be excited and accomplished like the other girls, however she finds her work pointless and she feels lost.
Some of the symbols used include the fig tree, newspaper headlines, the beating heart, and more importantly, the bell jar. The fig tree is a representation of life choices available to Esther, the bell jar essay. Newspaper headlines appear often throughout the novel, usually symbolizing something different each time. When Esther attempts suicide, she takes note of the sound of her beating heart and connects it with her body not allowing her to kill herself, the bell jar essay. The most obvious and significant symbol is the bell jar. As Esther feels emotionally unstable, she views herself as trapped under a bell jar enable to escape. The fig tree is mentioned in the beginning of the novel.
Esther has a book of short stories, and reads a tale about a Jewish man and a nun who meet every afternoon under a fig tree. The nun and the Jewish man are in love; however their relationship is obviously doomed. Before Esther met Buddy she thought for sure she was in love with him. However after they met and got to know each other, Esther grew to hate Buddy. This is somewhat like the fig the bell jar essay story because as the nun and Jewish man were picking figs, they see a chick hatch, their hands touched. After this the nun never comes out to pick figs again. Esther mentions that the moment she realized that she loathed Buddy Willard was the day that they saw a baby being born.
Obviously there is a connection between the chick hatching and the baby being born. In the novel Esther imagines each fig on the tree as a different path she can take in her life. She wants to choose all of them, however she can only choose one. As the heroine is plagued with uncertainty the bell jar essay which path, or fig, to choose, all of the figs die and fall from the tree. Esther associates this with the possibilities in her life slowly disappearing as time passes. This symbol helps readers identify with Esther as well as understand her character better.
Newspaper headlines are mentioned throughout the novel. In chapter 16, Joan shows Esther newspaper articles and clippings about her disappearance. There were initial articles about Esther, the missing girl, the rest led up to the last article, which described the discovery of the girl in a dark hole in the basement, moaning and sick from overdosing on pills. Joan explains that reading these articles inspired her to go to New York and commit suicide. For example, Esther sees the incident of her attempted suicide as only pain and swallowing pills in the darkness; however, others see a shocking story of a missing girl, a search party, and the bell jar essay astounding discovery of Esther in her own basement.
Every time she sinks to the bottom her body floats to the top. The main character recalls another suicide attempt at the ski slopes with Buddy Willard, the bell jar essay. She purposely flies down a hill that she knows she cannot handle, but instead of plummeting to her death she breaks her leg. Its triple repetition recalls Dr. The beat or brag is not, the bell jar essay, like an electrical, the bell jar essay charge or even like a literal birtha one-time expulsion of self outward. It is a continuous, repeating, loving pulsation that heals and births in the same process. And the force that supervises it is the self. While Esther views her inability to kill herself, the bell jar essay, or her beating heart, as a hindrance, Budick explains the beating heart as helpful and even loving towards Esther.
Even though she believes she really wants to die, her beating heart that pushes her forward through bad times really helps her heal and eventually escape her insanity. Though not all critics agree on what exactly the heartbeat represents, it still proves to be a noteworthy symbol the bell jar essay the work. The most obvious and significant symbol in the novel is the bell jar. Mostly due to her mental illness, Esther behaves selfishly. She does not consider the effect her suicide attempts have on her mother, or on her friends. Her own terrifying world totally occupies her thoughts Bond When Esther is at the beach with her friends, she feels like an outsider, watching everything that goes on.
The entire novel is centered around the bell jar, not only is this symbol mentioned frequently throughout the work, but it is used as the title of the novel as well. While the majority of the population felt that the Rosenberg couple were getting what they deserved, Esther expressed sympathy for them. Without symbols such as the fig tree, the heartbeat, newspaper headlines, and the bell jar, many of the novels messages would be lost. Without this symbol it would be hard to put the feeling into words. The bell jar is a perfect symbol of madness.
Obviously symbolism plays a vital role in The Bell Jar. Works Cited Bennett, Paula. My life, a loaded gun : Dickinson, Plath, Rich, and female creativity. Boston: Beacon Press. Bond, Diane. Harford Community Coll. Budick, Miller. Perloff, Marjorie, the bell jar essay. Free Essays Topics Essay Checker Hire Writer Login. Free essay samples Literature Books The bell jar essay Bell Jar The Bell Jar, the bell jar essay. The Bell Jar 4 April Hire verified writer. The Bell Jar Essay Example. Related Essays. Alarm bell Bell Specs Allegorical on the Bell Jar Bell Numbers The Division Bell For Whom The Bell Tolls By Ernes Taco Bell Marketing The Bell Jar: Esther Greenwood Sylvia Plath's Bell Jar Madison Bell's Ten Indians I FOUND A WAY by DRAKE BELL.
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Mar 06, · In The Bell Jar The Protagonist Esther Greenwood Pages: 3 ( words) Formal Essay in Human Relationships and Life Transitions Being an Adult Essay Pages: 7 ( words) Love And Frienship Book English Literature Essay Essay Example Pages: 7 ( words) Sample Essay on Salvation Essay Pages: 5 ( words) The Bell Jar literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Bell Jar. The Bell Jar Material The Bell Jar Essay. Words6 Pages. The Bell Jar. People's lives are shaped through their success and failure in their personal relationships with each other. The author Sylvia Plath demonstrates this in the novel, The Bell Jar. This is the direct result of the loss of support from a loved one, the lack of support and encouragement, and lack of self confidence and insecurity
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