Bell Jar Summary Essay, Research Paper

Many have paralleled Sylvia Plath & # 8217 ; s novel, The Bell Jar, to her really ain life. Plath is known for her anguished life of changeless depression and letdowns, doing her to stop her life early at the immature age of 30. The clip frame in which the book is in lucifers the times when she is enlisted in many mental institutes and finally her self-destruction. The narrative of Esther Greenwood besides tells the feelings and emotions of Sylvia Plath. Other characters in the novel are said to be in relation to characters in the writer & # 8217 ; s life.

The novel begins where Esther is merely approximately midway through her occupation as Mademoiselle, a manner magazine. She and many other misss received this chance because of their exceeding authorship abilities. Even though this she had waited for this opportunity for a twelvemonth, she is really defeated because she had expected more from the other prizewinners. & # 8220 ; These misss looked terribly bored to me. I saw them on the roof oscitance and painting their nails and seeking to maintain their Bermuda sunburns, and they seemed bored as snake pit & # 8230 ; Girls like that make me sick. & # 8221 ; ( Pg. 4 ) A twosome other unfortunate events besides led her to be depressed at her stay in the hotel. At a dinner assemblage, Esther ate a batch of crabmeat that happened to be poisoned. She passes out and awakes in her room. Her recovery is slow and agonising. Another societal event causes yet once more another bad luck. Doreen, Esther best friend at that place, sets Esther up with a friend of Doreen & # 8217 ; s boyfriend to travel to a party. There, the blind day of the month efforts to sexually assail, but Esther resists and walks off with her self-respect. After returning to the hotel, Esther takes no attention of the assault and merely carries on. Later, she finds out that her on and off fellow, Buddy Willard, is really non a virgin. & # 8220 ; At first I thought he must hold slept with the waitress merely that one time, but when I asked how many times, merely to do certain, he said he couldn & # 8217 ; t retrieve but a twosome of times a hebdomad for the remainder for the summer. & # 8221 ; ( Pg. 70-71 ) Knowing this, she thought it to be all right if she were to hold an matter besides. On a day of the month with Constantin, he invites her to his room, but to her discouragement, nil happens. Once the stay at the hotel is over, Esther returns place to Boston, place to more letdowns. & # 8220 ; The air punched out of my tummy. All through June the composing class stretched before me like a bright, safe span over the dull gulf of the summer. Now I saw it totter and fade out & # 8230 ; & # 8221 ; ( Pg. 114 ) During this clip, Buddy Willard is in a infirmary handling patients with

Terbium. Esther discovers that Buddy is falling in love with a nurse at that place, and continues with her ain life in Boston. Insomnia begins to turn upon Esther, and her female parent refers her to a head-shrinker. The physician concludes that Esther suffers a terrible province of depression, and is Tells her that electroconvulsive therapy therapy is needed. Later in the narrative, it reveals that the first few interventions she received really causes her restlessness. Because of these bad therapy Sessionss, Esther goes through many efforts at self-destruction, none successful. A major cause of her depression is revealed. “I thought that if my male parent hadn’t died, he would hold taught me all about insects, which was his forte at the university.” ( Pg. 165 ) She so finds her father’s grave and “couldn’t understand why I was shouting so hard.” ( Pg. 167 ) After more suicide efforts, she is taken to a mental establishment. Even there, she still thinks of self-destruction and did non bask, possibly hated, visits from her female parent. In one scene in the narrative, the female parent visits. “That afternoon my female parent had brought me the roses. ‘Save them for my funeral, ’ I’d said… ‘But Esther, don’t you remember what twenty-four hours it is today? ’ ‘No…’ ‘It’s your birthday.’ And that was when I had dumped the roses in the wastebasket.” ( Pg. 202-203 ) This was at her 3rd institute she was transferred to. At this same institute, she met an old friend, Joan who she grew to dislike. But besides here, she meets Dr. Nolan, the lone individual she seems to open up to. She really allows the physician to execute electroconvulsive therapy therapy even with the antecedently failed interventions. The Sessionss proved to assist greatly and in a few hebdomads, she seemed ready to return place. Esther goes in for her interview to be released, but “how did I know that someday – at college, in Europe, someplace, anyplace – the bell jar, with its smothering deformations, wouldn’t fall once more? ” ( Pg. 241 ) And so, the narrative ends.

The fresh brings back to life the 1950 & # 8217 ; s. Being that the fresh reflects Plath & # 8217 ; s ain life in the 1950 & # 8217 ; s, many similarities occur. Women grew more superficial in the 50 & # 8217 ; s, refering themselves with the opposite sex. This is shown by the other misss at the hotel & # 8220 ; painting their nails and seeking to maintain their Bermuda tans. & # 8221 ; Besides in the Fiftiess, sex became more and more insouciant. Esther had expected Buddy to stay pure until matrimony, but she finds that he is non a virgin and was sexually active during that summer. But this novel does non concern excessively much of America & # 8217 ; s history, but more of Plath & # 8217 ; s ain yesteryear. The Bell Jar depicted Sylvia Plath & # 8217 ; s life and ulitmate devastation.