February 9, 2017

Essay Sample Bell Jar: Journey of a woman to freedom

Life is beautiful. This statement is propagated and advertised at various places through various media until we find out that life is totally different to what we perceive and experience. Bell Jar is one such story of Esther, a small town girl, comes to New York on a scholarship. The novel travels through the depressive mind state of Esther who is not happy with her life though other girls envy of becoming like her. Mental stability and peace is an important factor in human’s life which is observed in Esther’s case as she is unable to concentrate on her goal and is not clear what her ambition is? The author, Sylvia Plath, takes the story to another level which normally follows depression i.e. suicide. The author has made an honest attempt to bring forward the plight of woman during early 1950s when they were viewed as objects limited to the role of marriage and mother. Esther suppresses her dream of becoming a poem writer because neither her boyfriend nor mother supports her dream and demoralize her by imposing their wishes on her.

The world looks bleak for Esther, who is without support and attempts to suicide numerous times, finally landing in mental hospital receiving shock treatments which makes her more violent. The author makes an attempt to state that love is the best medicine to heal a person suffering from internal forces. Esther’s mother Mrs. Greenwood, her boyfriend Buddy do not help her but criticize her but the love and care she receives from Dr. Nolan who helps her to come out of depression, advises her to follow her dream and tells her every right thing which makes Esther feel pure and free from uneasiness that had engulfed her by the metaphorical Bell Jar. Plath seems to make a statement that this metaphorical bell jar covers almost every human being but one has to look out of it to achieve their dream. But, cautions that insecurity remains because world offers serious problems from various corners and it depends on us to overcome the problems i.e. bell jar.

Reference

Plath, S. 1971, “The Bell Jar”, United States of America: Harper & Row

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