1. What is the bell jar? 2. How much is Esther living in her own mental world? 3. How much of Esther’s life is caused by fate? Which part? 4. How much of Esther’s life is caused by her character? 5. How much of Esther’s life is caused by her […]
Read more Study Help Essay QuestionsCritical Essays Suicide — A Conclusion
In some ways, we, the readers, are left to judge not only Plath’s action, but to evaluate the whole literary and cultural tradition that spawned her. First, there was Eliot’s The Waste Land, and then there were several decades during which the best and brightest had only the most depressing […]
Read more Critical Essays Suicide — A ConclusionCritical Essays Anxiety about Death in The Bell Jar
When Esther wants Buddy Willard to show her “some really interesting hospital sights,” this excursion includes a look at four cadavers and a number of glass bottles filled with dead babies. Esther is proud of how calm she is when observing these “gruesome things.” She even nonchalantly leans her elbow […]
Read more Critical Essays Anxiety about Death in The Bell JarCritical Essays What Went Wrong for Sylvia Plath?
Perhaps Plath was one of the first of the post-World War II, post-1950s era women who lived lives of intensity, creativity, and success, and died early of some kind of self-abuse. Sensitive artists, frustrated by a world that they found cruel, demanding, seductive and bewildering — these poets, musicians, and […]
Read more Critical Essays What Went Wrong for Sylvia Plath?Critical Essays Plath, the Individual, versus Society
When we look at her childhood, we see that Plath’s father encouraged her precociousness and that Plath’s mother made great efforts to see that her daughter would be successful in society. She certainly came from a family that encouraged and rewarded her achievements and made it clear that discipline was […]
Read more Critical Essays Plath, the Individual, versus SocietySylvia Plath Biography
So if The Bell Jar is fiction of questionable quality or even, questionably, fiction, how does one label the book? First, the reader should have some idea about the life of the author, Sylvia Plath. For example, one should know that Plath is best recognized for her poetry and also […]
Read more Sylvia Plath BiographyCharacter Analysis Doctor Nolan
Dr. Nolan tries to be warm and supportive, but she is not an intellectual equal of Esther, and Esther does not totally trust her. Dr. Nolan helps Esther by advising her about getting a diaphram, and, thus, in a practical way, she helps Esther with her fears about sex and […]
Read more Character Analysis Doctor NolanCharacter Analysis Philomena Guinea
Mrs. Guinea, well-bred as she is, never really says anything to Esther. Mrs. Guinea’s first novel was made into a movie with Bette Davis, and a long-running radio serial, based on the novel, is still running. Mrs. Guinea flies back from the Bahamas to help Esther be admitted into a […]
Read more Character Analysis Philomena GuineaCharacter Analysis Jay Cee
Jay Cee’s major function in the novel is that of a successful career woman, a woman, however, whom Esther is not particularly interested in emulating — even if she is married.
Read more Character Analysis Jay CeeCharacter Analysis Doreen
But Esther likes Doreen, even though she cannot be like her. What she likes most is the fact that Doreen is smart enough to see through the hypocrisies of society, and perhaps Esther is more than a little envious of Doreen’s ability to make the best of a bad situation. […]
Read more Character Analysis Doreen