Analysis Of The Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath - 1385 Words

Altering information and data has been, and will always be practiced by authors for the simple fact that they too, would like to have some sort of control over their what their readers know about them. In â€Å"The Bell Jar† by Sylvia Plath, the main character, Esther, a girl who is based on Plath herself, finds herself struggling with depression and anxiety and plans to take her own life several times but can never follow through. Plath modified biographical details because she wanted to simplify the material to make it easier to understand, to emphasize any points she wanted to come across to the reader more strongly, and to protect the privacy of not only herself, but other real people whom she might have characterized in the book. To†¦show more content†¦However, in real life, the true origin of her depression stemmed from the unexpected death of her father when she was eight years old (Wagner 6). This alteration was significant because many readers are not able to relate to the death of a father at a young age and the subsequent depression and sadness that would stem from an experience like that. However, everyone can relate to having moments of sadness and detachment as a result of seeing or hearing of something traumatic that has happened in society. These alterations also allowed Plath to elevate certain messages in the book when necessary. Along with increasing understanding, Plath also altered material to greater emphasize points she was trying to show. In the story, Esther’s initial suicide attempt is when she decides she will cut herself and bleed out, but first gives herself a small cut on the ankle just to see what might happen (Plath 148). The point Plath was trying to emphasize was how Esther’s rationality and judgement was beginning to be affected by her condition. Esther’s mental health had declined to a level where she thought that committing suicide by bleeding herself out was a feasible and intelligent plan. In reality though, Plath’s first suicide attempt was at the age of nineteen when she swallowed a large quantity of sleeping pills (Sylvia). This alteration is important because her changingShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Sylvia Plath s The Bell Jar 1573 Words   |  7 Pages How Sylvia Plath represent madness in the Bell Jar The book shows us a young girl who wants to be totally in charge of her own life where females were expected to be interesting and educated but only marry and be a good wife for ambitious men. She wants to enjoy life and experience every bit of it as she wants it to be. This would never work and in some ways she is born early. She would have been better in the ‘women s lib’ age ready for independence and happy of going places. Always able toRead MoreAnalysis Of Sylvia Plath s The Bell Jar 2248 Words   |  9 PagesTara Cameron Ms. Frega English 2.1 May 8, 2015 Sylvia Plath and Depression Sylvia Plath was a young and talented writer with the potential to exceed literary expectations. She was able to write a semi-autobiographical book about her struggle with depression and suicide, putting her personal story into the character of Esther Greenwood. The Bell Jar is the story of the hardships of a young woman named Esther who is clinically depressed and who struggles to keep up with the world around her. EstherRead MoreAnalysis Of The Opening Line Of The Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath2088 Words   |  9 PagesGirl in the Bell Jar It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn t know what I was doing in New York (1; ch. 1), the opening line of The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, effectively sets the tone for both the life of Plath and the remainder of the novel. 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Esther experiences psychological distress whichRead MoreThe Bell Jar : Literary Analysis2261 Words   |  10 Pages2014 The Bell Jar: Literary Analysis With Author Biography Sylvia Plath is a renowned poet and author. She fantasied the world with her powerful writings. Beloved to the world, she truly changed women s status. She wrote distinctively from her own life experiences. This is cleared showed in her book, The Bell Jar. This book offers a theme of rebirth and a theme of feminism. The 27th of October in 1932, Sylvia Plath was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Her father, Otto Plath, was a collegeRead MoreBiography of Sylvia Plath1452 Words   |  6 PagesCritical Analysis Sylvia Plath, a great American author, focuses mostly on actual experiences. Plath’s poetry displays feelings and emotions. Plath had the ability to transform everyday happenings into poems or diary entries. Plath had a passion for poetry and her work was valued. She was inspired by novelists and her own skills. Her poetry was also very important to readers and critics. 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The novel tells of Esther’s battle against her oppressive surroundings and her ever building madness, this is the central conflict throughout the narrative. After coming home from a month in New York as a guest editor for a magazine, Esther begins to have trouble with everyday activities such as reading,