It's evident that Plath is truly fascinated by the idea of not only dying but being "burned alive"." She's intrigued by the idea of experiencing such a tormented way of death. It also shows how cynical and twisted her perception of life is. Pat Macpherson, the author of Reflecting on The Bell Jar states that rather than predominantly ascribing symbolic meaning to the author's use of language, objects, relationships or attempting to understand Esther's inner turmoil through the chaos of the outside world, the novel can be cleanly outlined in terms of Esther's psychological illness and her skewed perception of the world around her (44). .
In "The Ball Jar," it becomes clear that Esther's surroundings ultimately lead up to her psychological breakdown. The need to fulfill herself becomes overbearingly oppressive as she struggles to maintain what little sanity she still possesses. On returning home, the suicidal mindset that Esther is in has increasingly altered, for the first time she attempts to take her own life; "That morning I had tried to hang myself " (Plath 158). This shows that Esther has undoubtedly lost all connection with life. After her failed attempt to take her own life Esther makes reference to Doctor Gordon and his "shock machine."" This of course ties back into the idea of being electrocuted which at first struck an interest in Esther but consequently once experienced she immediately took a dislike too. Desperate and disappointed, Esther tries yet again to steal her life away, "The only thing left to do was to drown myself then and there"" (Plath 160). Esther never clearly states as to why she's so set on taking her own life and ultimately it seems that she doesn't quite know the answer herself. Once again Pat Macpherson's, reflecting on "The Bell Jar" states that Esther's suicide attempt becomes an act of retaliation against suburbia (1). To some, life is anything but fragile: it's neglected, abused, and taken for granted but to most life is really quite a beautiful thing.
Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath was born on October 27, 1932 in Boston, Massachusetts. ... At age 7, Sylvia studied the viola. ... Sylvia attended Smith College. ... Later that year in London, The Bell Jar was published. ... Plath, or if she passed away. ...
Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar is an autobiographical account of the author's mental breakdown and suicide attempt as a young woman. ... Robert Taubman drew this conclusion about the significance of the viewpoint Miss Plath chose to write in: It [The Bell Jar] reads so much like the truth it is hard to disassociate her from Esther Greenwood, the "I" of the story, but she has the gift of being able to feel and yet watch herself: she can feel the desolation and yet relate it to everyday life (345). ... This novel is an autobiographical account of Sylvia Plath's mental brea...
Sylvia Plath became a sort of a martyr for women's rights. ... The Bell jar is based mainly on Plath's own suicide attempt from the summer of 1953. ... Many parallels can be drawn from the life of Sylvia Plath and the life of Esther Greenwood in the Bell Jar. The title, "Bell Jar", evokes a negative image. ... It's at this point that we felt Esther felt "the Bell Jar" of depression lifting from her....
Reading Sylvia Plaths poems and knowing little about her life, a psychological aspect is obvious. To people less familiar with Plaths works they can read poems like the Bell Jar and "Metaphors" to get a taste of what Plath's psychological foundation was, or her unfortunate oven suicide. ... Sylvia Plath's writing always had a way to make the reader understand how she was feeling about trials in her life; Plath pulled her readers in her world. . Sylvia Plath's poem "Metaphors" concentrates on the psychology of pregnant women, and the apprehension Plath had during this time in he...
The novel The Bell Jar written by Sylvia Plath is set in the 1950s America when the idea of adolescence was reasonably recent and society seemed a little uncomfortable with the idea of unrestricted individuality. Sylvia Plath explores these issues about individuality against society's expectations through the protagonist of The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood who has an identity crisis, which leads to a mental breakdown. ... Sylvia Plath uses the motif "the bell jar" to illustrate the effect of society on Esther. ... "The air of the bell jar wadded around me and I couldn't stir." ... Thro...
Sylvia Plath What was it that drove Sylvia Plath to suicide? What encourages a poet such as Sylvia Plath to produce such intense pieces of writing? ... Many poets in the past have produced such works, but none have been as striking as those of Sylvia Plath's. ... Sylvia Plath had it all. ... One of her famous writings was an autobiography on her attempted suicide called The Bell Jar. ...
Sylvia Plath, a complex poet, a complex mind. The life of Sylvia Plath began on October 27, 1932 and was abruptly ended on February 11, 1963. ... Plath published many works in her lifetime, yet her most famous works which include The Bell Jar, Ariel, "Crossing the Water", Letters Home, and Johnny Panic and The Bible of Dreams were all published after her death (Bloom 163). ... The poetry of Sylvia Plath contains various themes that stem from the author's mind. ... Sylvia Plath is most definitely not exempt from this stereotype. ...
The American woman, Sylvia Plath, is one of the well-known poets who used a lot of the theme of death in her literary works. ... However, with all the events that happened during that summer, she was really inspired and she published an autobiographical novel named The Bell Jar. ... They got married in 1956 and had a turbulent relationship ("Sylvia Plath"). ... As stated above, the life of Sylvia Plath definitely affected her writing and the way she wrote poetry. ... In conclusion, many of Sylvia Plath's poems have been affected by her past and what she has been through. ...