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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
Esther Greenwood, a promising young woman, a bright student winning scholarships and prizes, suffers from crippling depression. The Bell Jar chronicles in her own words her days of darkness, from her suicide attempt to shock therapy in an asylum.
The clarity in the writing is undeniable. Every sentence flows to the next as if connected with a natural ecology. Sylvia Plath is a born writer.
But unfortunately she is not a novelist.
The prose, although without friction or faltering, is bursting with filter words and excessive similes. In The Bell Jar, sweat doesn't dribble down, it crawls down like insects, and rocks don't jut out of lakes, they poke out of lakes like an egg. Some, even most, of the metaphors are warranted, even perfect, but after a certain amount, the frequency becomes too much to bear. What would be commonplace in poems, these metaphors, are annoying and pacebreaking in narrative prose.
The character of Esther Greenwood is also not a mature creation. I know she is based on Plath herself, but her inability to sympathize with others is troublesome. To her everyone is against her. When her mother comes to her room in the asylum, after Esther tried to kill herself, she ruins her mother. The mother is already broken down, by the incident and the possibility of her guilt in it, and instead of sympathizing with her, Esther throws the bouquet of roses her mother brought in the trash.
Her interaction with her mother is only one example. She antagonizes everyone. The boy who tries to court her, she turns a cold shoulder after learning he isn't a virgin as she expected. The girls who tries to befriend her - Doreen, Betsy, Joan - she envies and detests. If she were not suffering from mental illness, I would not understand her character. And even considering her condition, it is a mystery what we are to learn about her and the depression she was in. It seems indulging instead of communicating.
Sylvia Plath was a fine writer, but not a mature one.
The clarity in the writing is undeniable. Every sentence flows to the next as if connected with a natural ecology. Sylvia Plath is a born writer.
But unfortunately she is not a novelist.
The prose, although without friction or faltering, is bursting with filter words and excessive similes. In The Bell Jar, sweat doesn't dribble down, it crawls down like insects, and rocks don't jut out of lakes, they poke out of lakes like an egg. Some, even most, of the metaphors are warranted, even perfect, but after a certain amount, the frequency becomes too much to bear. What would be commonplace in poems, these metaphors, are annoying and pacebreaking in narrative prose.
The character of Esther Greenwood is also not a mature creation. I know she is based on Plath herself, but her inability to sympathize with others is troublesome. To her everyone is against her. When her mother comes to her room in the asylum, after Esther tried to kill herself, she ruins her mother. The mother is already broken down, by the incident and the possibility of her guilt in it, and instead of sympathizing with her, Esther throws the bouquet of roses her mother brought in the trash.
Her interaction with her mother is only one example. She antagonizes everyone. The boy who tries to court her, she turns a cold shoulder after learning he isn't a virgin as she expected. The girls who tries to befriend her - Doreen, Betsy, Joan - she envies and detests. If she were not suffering from mental illness, I would not understand her character. And even considering her condition, it is a mystery what we are to learn about her and the depression she was in. It seems indulging instead of communicating.
Sylvia Plath was a fine writer, but not a mature one.
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I honestly cannot recount a single thing of significance that happened in this book and I literally just finished reading it?? Thank god it was short enough for me to read in a day (also YIKES, you’re definitely reminded how old it is
I really enjoyed this book. It had many relatable aspects and thought provoking messages. I think this book changed me a lot, for the better or for worse? We'll find out. I will say there was some racism in it but then again the time period it was made in it was sadly the norm, it doesn't take away from the message still in my opinion.
3.5 stars
I knew nothing about this book going into it. About halfway through I had to look up a little summary to try to figure out what the point was because it seemed kind of rambling. I did find it interesting, but it wasn’t a favorite for me.
I knew nothing about this book going into it. About halfway through I had to look up a little summary to try to figure out what the point was because it seemed kind of rambling. I did find it interesting, but it wasn’t a favorite for me.
‘A bad dream.-
To a person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is a bad dream.-
A bad dream.’
To a person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is a bad dream.-
A bad dream.’
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated