...Period D English The Theme of “Identity” In The Bell Jar Humans’ lives are shaped by success and failure within their personal life, and their relationships with one another. This is expressed in The Bell Jar, a novel written by Sylvia Plath. Plath is concerned almost entirely with the education and maturation of the novel’s main character, Esther Greenwood. The Bell Jar uses a chronological structure to constantly keep Esther in focus. Though significant, the other characters are secondary to Esther and her developing character. As Esther’s character develops, she becomes more central and relatable to the reader. The reader tends to sympathize with Esther’s character. We all at one time have felt that we just did not quite fit in. Esther tries to adjust herself to those that surround her by observing different personalities and trying to find the right one for her. We lose respect for ourselves if we allow others to determine who we are and who we ought to be. Esther’s dive into depression has made her unsure and unsatisfied with the world around her. This leads her thoughts to become dark and eventually attempt suicide. But this novel is much more than a story about suicide, it is a journey that inspires a new beginning, mentally and spiritually. In The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood’s struggle to deal with the pressures of social and personal life lead her into a dark place full of negative thoughts and depression. Esther feels trapped in her own mind with no escape “…wherever...
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...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 start to slip away. Esther’s trouble starts within her mind but become magnified when external factors start to interfere. She disconnects herself from society and as her mind regresses; her hope of reaching sanity starts to diminish as well. Throughout the novel, Esther struggles with finding herself in a society filled with uncertainty. Sylvia Plath was able to create the perfect character to reveal her attitude towards new modernist view through her literary techniques, symbolism, and was able to intertwine reality with lunacy, creating the perfect modernist piece of literature. The modern era was composed of many elements in which authors incorporated a variety of literary techniques. The use of stream of consciousness, juxtaposition of ideas, staccato sentences, and symbolism was what led the modern era to success. The shifting outlook authors had during this era was like a chain reaction, and writers began to utilize these techniques to create a novel which was considered to be taboo. Sylvia Plath uses many symbols throughout The Bell Jar to represent various intangible concepts. Esther often feels disconnected from the real world and feels trapped in a bell jar, where her outlook on life is distorted. A bell jar is an airless...
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...Set during American Conformism in the 1950s, Esther Greenwood, an individualistic young woman, struggles within a society largely shaped by conservative values and patriarchic structures, where women are subjected to the ideal housewife role. Esther intends to defy and eject this conventional model of womanhood, consequently the repetition or “I Am I Am I Am” (Plath 158). In the midst of this, Esther’s battles psychological downward spiral, resulting in suicide attempts and depression. Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Marymount Manhattan College, Susan J. Behrens, describers Plath’s “alter ego is Esther Greenwood… both existed on the verge of major changes in women’s roles in society. Both had college educations and talents enough to land a competitive internship; and they both bristled at being locked into traditional female roles” (240-...
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...A bell jar is a bell-shaped glass cover used for covering delicate objects or are used in a laboratory, typically for enclosing samples for observation. In The same manner Sylvia Plath's the bell jar captures what it is like to be under a personal bell jar, poised on the edge of chaos and insanity. This unforgettable classic shows the reader what it is like to slowly drift into depression through the eyes of Esther Greenwood. Esther sees herself living in a bell jar. This is what makes her so relatable to those who have also seen the world through their own bell jar. The relatability is what makes this piece of work immensely powerful. Esther Greenwood gives the reader a sense of hope and the knowledge of knowing they are not alone. Esther’s...
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...Consulted Dunkle, Iris Jamahl. "Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar: Understanding Cultural and Historical Context in an Iconic Text." Critical Insights: The Bell Jar.Web. <http://literature.salempress.com/doi/full/10.3331/CIBell_Jar_711531005?prevSearch=the+bell+jar&searchHistoryKey=&queryHash=311b1d1f647bfe6cc1e161a0181d7589>. The piece “Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar: Understanding Cultural and Historical Context in an Iconic Text” by Iris Jamahl Dunkle is an excerpt from the Critical Insights: The Bell Jar provides an interesting perspective on how the postwar society has a great effect on a woman’s sexuality and sexual behaviour. For example, women were much more encouraged to engage in intimate relationships and wanted to have children. Dunkle explains that “there is nothing psychotic about any of this, and most women who lived through the 1950s [...] attitudes toward virginity and that once freed from this-the virginity itself and her attitude toward it- a woman could be free” (Dunkle). This observation suggests that women felt a tie or a debt to men and the only way to be freed was through sex. This passage is significant as it will aid me though writing my essay because it adds new viewpoint while analysing the sexual affairs that occur throughout the novel. Additionally, by studying Plath and her literature it is evident that “there is [a] particularly stubborn, uncompromising mind of [Plath] represented in Esther’s psyche”(Dunkle). This is crucial to consider through...
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...The Bell Jar like one of Mrs Guinea's novels is 'crammed from beginning to end with long, suspenseful questions'. It examines the character of feminism and, in so doing, begs the question of the relationship between men and women. It looks at the nature of insanity and enquires as to its causes and cure. It questions literature, novelists, suicide, medical practice, American society and so on and so forth. But are these questions ever answered? 'What I hate is being under a man's thumb'. This is a feminist statement if ever there were one, but is The Bell Jar a feminist novel? There are some feminist innuendoes. Jay Cee is a heroic feminist figure, named by her initials in the American business fashion and in her 'strict business suit' and 'luncheon ticket hat'. She has 'brains' to make up for her 'plug-ugly' looks in comparison with the archetypal male Buddy Willard who is 'stupid' although he can 'get good marks all right'. And there is an implied resentment that men have certain privileges denied to women. Only a boy baby may have the privilege of peeing in a doctor's face. Teresa, Dr Quinn and Dr Nolan can be doctors and Joan can aspire to be a psychiatrist but only Dr Gordon can charge twenty-five dollars an hour. Esther could have taken a medical degree if she had not 'dodged chemistry' but her degree in English is of no value without a knowledge of shorthand to enable her to be an acolyte of a man. Esther would have liked to have been a translator but her brother...
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... where her vexed relationship with her mother and her rejection from a summer writing program intensify her feelings of hopelessness. Back home, Esther feels her worst fears about herself have been confirmed. The rejection from the writing program kills her self-esteem, and she's stuck at home with her mom in the soul-crushing boredom of the suburbs for the rest of the summer. Climax Esther attempts suicide, but is saved in the nick of time. As the summer wears on, Esther's behavior grows more erratic as her despair deepens. A visit to a psychiatrist and electroshock therapy only accelerate her decline. After a few hesitant attempts at suicide, Esther decides to end it all by crawling into a hollow underneath her house and swallowing a bottle of sleeping pills. She's discovered a few days later, barely alive. Suspense After her nightmarish experience in the psychiatric wards of two different hospitals, Esther ends up at a private, psychiatric institution where she finds a more supportive environment. It's touch-and-go for Esther for the first few weeks after her suicide attempt. The first two psychiatric wards do nothing to help her condition. Finally,...
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...The books “The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath” and “Midnight Cowboy by James Leo Herlihy” feature characters who are searching for something. Esther Greenwood as well as Joe Buck are two lost souls attempting to make their way into a world that is overwhelming. The stories are prime examples of the Bildungsroman and the Picaro. The two characters are at times quite similar and at others complete opposites. Esther is intelligent, comes from a semi-affluent family, and has a set of goals that she has laid down for her life. She has a mother, who, while not a doting mother, appears to be willing to do alot for her daughter; except admit that she has problems. Joe is the opposite of Esther on many fronts. While, Esther is intelligent Joe is slow at best and flat out developmentally challenged at worst. Esther has a family and friends that she could, if she chose to, fall back upon; Joe, not counting his mostly absent grandmother, has a long series of people that scamper into his life and leave just as quickly as they appeared. Growing up, Esther had her mother and father while Joe had the unrealistic world of 50s television to aid their development....
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...As the tension of violence withholds freedom from happiness for women, constraints upon the expression and vocations of young women also affect their ability to actualize their potential quality of life. That is, the strains of gendered expectations are injurious to the mental welfare of women. In the past, the psychiatric community has unethically––and yet perhaps unconsciously––used mental diagnoses to prune women into their gender roles and punish deviation from the norm, again referencing the historically sexist conventions of psychology [Source B]. The Journal of Mental Health Counseling continues to attest that “girls who defy gender roles are more often rejected by peers and have a higher risk for experiencing significant psychological...
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...[pic] ББК 81.2.1. Англ. М41 Рецензенты: кафедра английского языка Новгородского государственного университета им. Ярослава Мудрого (зав. кафедрой, доцент, кандидат филологических наук Е. Ф. Жукова) доцент кафедры английской филологии № 2 Санкт-Петербургского государственного университета М. В. Сорокина Меркулова Е. М., Филимонова О. Е., Костыгина С. И., Иванова Ю. А., Папанова Л. В. М41 Английский язык для студентов университетов. Чтение, письменная и устная практика. Серия «Изучаем иностранные языки».— СПб.: Издательство Союз, 2000.— 384 с. ISBN 5-87852-114-8 Настоящая книга представляет собой вторую часть учебного комплекса "English For University Students". Учебник включает текстовый материал и комплексную систему упражнений для отработки навыков устной и письменной речи на продвинутом этапе обучения. Материал отредактирован профессором кафедры современных языков и литератур Оклевдского университета Н. Ф. Лонганом. Все права защищены. ( «Издательство Союз», 2000 ( Меркулова Е. М.. Филимонова О. Е., Костыгина С. И., Иванова Ю. А., Папанова Л.В., 2000 ( В.А. Гореликов, художественное оформление, 2000 ISBN 5-87852-114-8 CONTENTS Lesson 1 FAMILY LIFE 3 Lesson 2 HOME 16 Lesson 3 DAILY ROUTINE 29 Lesson 4 DOMESTIC CHORES 41 Lesson 5 SHOPPING FOR FOOD 54 Lesson 6 SHOPPING FOR CONSUMER GOODS 68 Lesson 7 MEALS AND COOKING 81 Lesson 8 COLLEGE LIFE 96 ...
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...THE HANDY RELIGION AN SWE R BOOK JOHN RENARD Detroit The Handy Religion Answer Book™ C O P Y R I G H T © 2002 BY VI S I B LE I N K PRE SS® This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copyright laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competition, and other applicable laws. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine or newspaper. All rights to this publication will be vigorously defended. Visible Ink Press® 43311 Joy Rd. #414 Canton, MI 48187-2075 Visible Ink Press and The Handy Religion Answer Book are trademarks of Visible Ink Press LLC. Most Visible Ink Press books are available at special quantity discounts when purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, or groups. Customized printings, special imprints, messages, and excerpts can be produced to meet your needs. For more information, contact Special Markets Director, Visible Ink Press, at www.visibleink.com or (734) 667-3211. Art Director: Mary Claire Krzewinski Typesetting: Graphix Group Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Renard, John, 1944The handy religion answer book / John Renard. p. cm. ISBN 1-57859-125-2 (pbk.) 1. Religions--Miscellanea. I. Title. BL80.2 .R46 2001 291--dc21 Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved ...
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