Personal Review - The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, I would consider now one of my favorite books. Esther is brought to life with Plath’s diction and syntax and is a real person that so many girls can relate to. Although there were times in her life that were really low, in my eyes, she can still be seen as a role model. At one point of her depression she had considered becoming Catholic because she thought they might talk her out of wanting to commit suicide, which I think is a sign that she wanted to be saved but did not know how. Fortunately Esther finally, how Sylvia Plath put it, was able to come out of the bell jar and breathe the air circulating in the sky around her. Esther’s life may not have been a real but there has been similar cases in which the depressed girl never comes out of the “bell jar” and ends up dying by old age or by committing suicide, which is probably the most common. That is why Esther can be a great role model, because she acknowledged her problem and accepted help. Through these great qualities she was able to come out healthy in the end.       

            My curiosity grew as I progressed in the book. How did Esther’s depression come to be? One can say it was because of her lack of direction. She had no where to look to and nothing to look forward to in her life, so she resolved to a big jar of emptiness and nothingness. I happen to think it is something much more than that. Somewhere in the story, Esther said she was never truly happy since she was nine years old. It was year after year of unhappiness in her life that kept catching up to her until she finally could not take it any longer. But, why was she not happy? The day Esther’s father died was not stated, but I think is important in playing a part in her depression. Esther once said that if her father was alive, he would have taught her how to speak and read different languages like German or Latin. My theory is that the death of Esther’s life had a huge impact on her, but since her mom paid no attention to it, neither did she. Esther silently grieved for her father for so many years until she found his grave and was able to pour out all her sadness. This still did not relieve her from all those years of pain, so rehabilitation became necessary in the eyes of professionals.

Text Connections - The Bell Jar

Text Connections

            Marco mirrors the character of the snake in the Garden of Eden from the Bible very well. Plath compares Marco to a snake and accompanies the metaphor with a flashback(106). This gives greater credibility to my suspicions. Not only is the connection made directly. In The Bell Jar, Esther encounters a horrible situation with Marco (Doreen’s boyfriend’s friend). He tries to seduce her, but Esther sees his peculiar ways from the very start and at the end manages to escape.

            Many times throughout the novel I was able to relate with Esther’s point of view. When Esther had found out that the boy she had loved for so long had slept with a waitress numerous times one summer she became infuriated, but she never showed it (70-71). Instead she asked him about it and on her own decided that he was a hypocrite and she wanted nothing to do with him. If I were to be in that situation I would find myself wearing the same shoes as she and walking through the same scenes.   

            Esther had received a phone call Jody because Jody wanted to know when to expect her at the college because they were supposed to take a course together, but Esther had not made the course. Esther was still injured from the news and having this conversation only made things worse. Esther had told Jody not to expect her and to take another girl into the apartment. At first Jody insisted Esther take another course, but when she refused Jody resigned and hung up (118). My chagrin would also lead me to a foolish decision and decide to stay home instead of going to summer school. I would be too bummed to try to keep advancing, which is exactly what Esther did. She gave up and eventually resolved to depression.

            The depressed mood Esther was feeling reminded me of the depressed mood of the infatuated teenager, in New Moon the Twilight saga, after the love of her life had left her stranded in the small town of Forks in Washington. In The Bell Jar, Esther’s mom had called a friend of Esther’s so they can go out and so Esther would not be home alone all day. Which is what Bella Swan’s, the teenager in New Moon, father had done to get her out of the house and the zombie state she was in. This attempt failed for both girls and its outcome was possible death in both situations.

Syntax - The Bell Jar

Syntax

            Sylvia Plath uses a variety of sentence structure throughout her novel but what stays consistent throughout her style are telegraphic sentences. It seems that her sentences become smaller as her emotions become greater. Esther says, “They would grow old. They would forget me” (160). By following Plath’s style it is easy to come to the conclusion that Esther is blunt and pessimistic. She rarely looks for hope, except for once but she negated it right after, and as the novel progresses her personality becomes stronger. Another example would be when she tried to swim miles away from the beach to a rock in the ocean. She had a strong determination to make it to that rock, but once she realized that she could not get closer to that rock she said, “I knew when I was beaten. I turned back” (161). She was overcome with chagrin, there was nothing else she could do and she knew it, which is precisely why she just “turned back.”

            “Marco’s small, flickering smile reminded me of a snake I’d teased in the Bronx Zoo. When I tapped my finger on the stout cage glass the snake had opened its clockwork jaws and seemed to smile. Then it struck and struck and struck at the invisible pane till I moved off”(106). In This quote Plath uses a variety of syntactical strategies. The comparison between Marco and the snake really brings about the true nature of Marco. The alliterated polysyndeton in the last sentence of Esther’s flashback can be associated as foreshadowing to Marco’s evildoings. There are different ways Plath’s syntax can be interpreted in this circumstance.

Diction - The Bell Jar

Diction

Sylvia Plath narrates The Bell Jar through the eyes of a depressed college-aged girl, Esther Greenwood. The diction is paralleled with Esther’s mood, which varies throughout the novel and establishes tone. In the beginning Esther describes the summer as “queer” and “sultry” and the people as “fusty” and “peanut-smelling.” Plath uses negative connotative diction to feed off a little bit of Esther’s personality. At one point Esther referred to herself as “stupid” (1). Esther says that she feels like she is holding a “cadaver’s head along with [her]” which is “black and “noiseless.” This not only gives out a disturbing tone, but it also symbolizes Esther’s personality and almost foreshadows her life.

            Doreen is described with a superior and intimidating tone. The author uses words like “terrific” and “spectacular” to describe Esther’s friend. When Esther is around Doreen she feels “wise” and “cynical” (2).  In comparison to how she describes herself, Doreen is given a much more superior attitude and the tone suggests that Doreen is a leader while Esther just follows, perhaps because she feels intimidated by Doreen’s good looks.

Plath develops a chaotic and alarming tone after Esther attempts to commit suicide. She described the hands wrapped around her as “mummy hands” and the lights were “blinding.” Esther did not know what was happening which made the situation even more chaotic. Esther described a voice (her voice) as “think,” “warm,” and “fury dark” which feed off an alarming tone.

Rhetorical Strategies - The Bell Jar

• Simile:

Sylvia Plath uses a lot of similes throughout her novel, The Bell Jar. A simile compares two seemingly unrelated objects using like or as. Through the use of similes Plath gives a better understanding of what she is trying to describe. For example, “Doctor Gordon cradled his pencil like a slim, silver bullet.” A pencil and a bullet have nothing in common, but if Dr. Gordon were to have been cradling a bullet he would have been doing it more carefully. Therefore, the simile gives the impression that he is carefully cradling the bullet. Plath uses this strategy throughout the whole book, from beginning to end adding a unique veranda of similes to her style.

• Metaphor:

Plath incorporates a good deal of metaphors in her writing. Metaphors are used to give a deeper meaning or understanding to something. A metaphor compares to dissimilar things without using like or as.  In The Bell Jar, Esther says, “the world itself is the bad dream” which compares the world to a nightmare. Obviously the world is not a dream, but she is comparing it with one. The comparison without the use of like or as gives the subject a more important connotation. When one thinks of a bad dream they get anxious, scared, annoyed, angry etc. When Plath gives one the thought of the world being a bad dream, they now have the same feelings toward the world as they would have toward the dream which provides the reader with a deeper understanding of the world, at least in the eyes of Esther Greenwood.

• Personification:

The personifying of inanimate objects throughout the book gives Plath a lively style. Esther narrates,

“I felt her gaze pierce through the white clapboard and the pink wallpaper roses and uncover me, crouching there behind the silver pickets of the radiator.” A simple gaze does not have the ability to pierce through anything nor does a gaze have hands to uncover a person. But when Plath personifies the gaze in that matter, it gives you a feeling that the gaze is strong and intimidating. Plath’s style is very descriptive given the help of personification.

• Symbol:

Plath may have included a few ambiguous symbols in her novel which add acknowledgement and a bit of secrecy to her style. Joan is a character in the novel that does not come up very much until the middle of the book. At first it is not clear to see that Joan is symbolic of Esther’s troubles and depression, but at the end it becomes clear that Joan was like Esther’s shadow that followed her everywhere. It was not until the death of Joan that Esther had been cured from her depression.