The Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath - 1803 Words

In the 1963 novel, The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath depicts the mental breakdown of a young woman, Esther Greenwood, as a result of the pressures of her environment. Esther grows depressed throughout the novel and goes â€Å"crazy† due the many conflicting choices she is faced with. In Esther’s 1950s society, she is expected to marry and have children. Yet, she is confronted with her many wants that conflict with this picture of ideal femininity. As Jay Cee says, Esther â€Å"wants to be everything† (83), and this is precisely where her dilemma lies. Essentially, Esther’s breakdown can be attributed to her fear of making a choice. This fear is communicated when Esther states â€Å"I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked† (62). Esther is torn between the want for many different futures. The â€Å"branches† suggest that her choices are mutually exclusive, and she is only able to take one path. All the figs are â€Å"fat purple,† communicating that all the options are equally fruitful, desirable, and attractive, making Esther’s decision extremely difficult. She describes an array of paths including motherhood and careers, none of which she is able chose from. She states she, â€Å"wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant loosing all the rest† (63). Unable to make a decision she â€Å"starves to death† (63), and allows the futures to â€Å"die.† She says, â€Å"the figs began toShow MoreRelatedThe Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath1318 Words   |  6 Pageswe live. Many authors who seek this understanding fall short of their expectations and find themselves questioning life to an even greater extent than they had prior to their endeavors. One example of this would be author and poet Sylvia Plath, whose novel The Bell Jar parallels the tragic events that occurred throughout her own life. This coming-of-age story follows the life of Esther, a very bright and introverted student from Boston. She spends a month in New York City as a contest-winning juniorRead MoreThe Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath1211 Words   |  5 PagesOn January 14th of 1963, Sylvia Plath had finally completed The Bell Jar after approximately two years of writing. This novel could have been considered a partial autobiography, because the main character Esther Greenwood eerily represents Sylvia Plath. There are a number of references to Plath’s real life throughout the book, too many for it to be considered a mere coincidence. Within the story, Esther Greenwood considers and attempts suicide quite frequently. Could this novel have been foreshadowingRead MoreThe Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath Essay1438 Words   |  6 Pagesthe novel been translated into nearly a dozen different languages, but it is also the only novel under the American writer and poet Sylvia Plath. She wrote this novel to resemble her life whenever she was dealing with mental illness. It was published in 1967 and was not published in the United States until 1971. After the first publication in the United Kingdom, Plath committed suicide in a very tragic way.   Even though this novel can be viewed as â€Å"dark†, many english classes read this world wideRead MoreThe Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath1099 Words   |  5 PagesThe Bell Jar by: Sylvia Plath Depression is a serious topic throughout the world, especially in America. Depression can result in someone feeling completely alone. There is no direct cause for depression in adolescents, but it can be brought on by the maturing process, stress from failure in some sort, a traumatic or disturbing event such as death, or even a break up. Sure, everyone has an off day here and there, where they feel like they shouldn’t even bother getting out bed in the morning, butRead MoreThe Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath1211 Words   |  5 PagesSylvia Plath Research Paper Title The Bell Jar place[s] [the] turbulent months[of an adolescent’s life] in[to] mature perspective (Hall, 30). In The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath uses parallelism, stream of consciousness, the motif of renewal and rebirth, symbolism of the boundary-driven entrapped mentally ill, and auto-biographical details to epitomize the mental downfall of protagonist, Esther Greenwood. Plath also explores the idea of how grave these timeless and poignant issues can affect a fragileRead More The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath1820 Words   |  7 PagesIdentity is fragile and is a characteristic that every person must discover without hiding behind inexperience’s and excluding themselves from the outside world of reality or else their own personal bell jar will suffocate them alive. The Bell Jar, a semi-autobiographical novel written by Sylvia Plath portrays how a young woman with too many identities and unrealistic expectations overwhelms herself to the point that she contemplates and attempts su icide multiple times. Esther Greenwood, a young collegeRead MoreThe Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath942 Words   |  4 Pagesdevelopment of her relationship with many characters in the novel, The Bell Jar. Esther is mentally and emotionally different than a majority of the people in her community. As a result of this state, she often has difficulty taking criticism to heart. Her depression continues to build throughout the novel as she remains in the asylum. It does not help that she has no aid from her loved ones. In the novel, The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath utilizes the relationships that Esther shares with Buddy Willard MrsRead MoreThe Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath1274 Words   |  6 Pagesnovel The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath the prime character, Esther Greenwood, struggles to handle life in her own skin. She feels as though she is trapped in a glass bell jar with no escape because of her incapability to comprehend herself. For example, in chapter one Plath states, â€Å"‘My name s Elly H igginbottom,’ I said. ‘I come from Chicago.’ After that I felt safer. I didn t want anything I said or did that night to be associated with me and my real name and coming from Boston† (Plath 11). In thisRead MoreThe Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath1554 Words   |  6 Pagestrials and triumphs in their personal life, their relationships with others and their surroundings. In the Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath explores the role of women in society in 1950s New York City through her relationships and interactions. Esther Greenwood is the major character and is therefore central to the novel. The book is considered to be a â€Å"roman a` clef† portraying the painful summer of Sylvia Plath’s psychotic breakdown in 1953, and contains â€Å"thinly disguised portraits of her family and friends†Read MoreThe Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath1940 Words   |  8 PagesAccording to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the definition of the word â€Å"bell jar† is, †Å"a bell-shaped usually glass vessel designed to contain objects or preserve gases and or a vacuum†. Sylvia Plath’s title, The Bell Jar, symbolically represents her feeling towards the seclusion and inferiority women endured trapped by societes glass vessel during the 1950’s. The Bell Jar, follows the life of Esther Greenwood, the protagonist and narrator of the story, during her desperate attempt to become a woman

Sexuality Constructing Problems And Defining Solutions

Sexuality: Constructing Problems and Defining Solutions In 1942, Alfred Kinsley â€Å"founded the Institute of Sex Research† (Macionis, 2015, p. 204) and his research opened this country’s culture to talk about sex and its sexuality (Macionis, 2015). Also, â€Å"Advances in technology lead to more control over reproduction and societies then allowed more choice about sexual practice (Macionis, 2015, P. 202), adding cultural issues to what was once a more biological issue. Sexuality social problems began to emerge, such as prostitution, sex tourism, and sexually transmitted infections (STI), to name a few. This essay will investigate these three social problems, looking at the political positions, traditional morality versus individual choice, and possible solutions to these three specific issues. Globally, some of these social issues have seen major decline, which could also be possible in the United States (Macionis, 2015) Political Positions Over the years, laws in the United States have changed to address some of the social problems of sexuality. The legal system has banned discrimination based on sexual orientation and as of 2015, some thirty states have legalized same sex marriages (Macionis, 2015). Today, â€Å"Laws regulate certain types of pornography, including the depiction of sexual violence and sexual acts with children† (Macionis, 2015, p.210). In the are of sex tourism, the US prosecutes predators who engage in travel for the purpose of sexual activities with childrenShow MoreRelatedState s Control Over Sexuality2212 Words   |  9 Pagesapply them to how the state approaches the issue of HIV/AIDS. We will examine the issue in relation to how the state uses sexuality to control and regulate its population. We will utilize Dean Spade’s principle of â€Å"population-management power† for such ends and contrast it with other models of state power and their shortages when we try to explain t he state’s control over sexuality. First, we outline the theoretical framework of power models on which this paper will be built. The conventional wayRead MoreMedia And Its Effect On Children1954 Words   |  8 Pageshealth problems in the United States. (Collins, Martino, Elliot, Miu) While there are smaller efforts to create positive sexual messages, as well as more parent involvement on the subject, it is mostly the overwhelmingly negative effects that we get to see on health statistics of youth today. With 745,000 women under 20 becoming pregnant every year and one in four US women between the ages of 14-19 being infected with one of the most common STDs, the numbers don’t lie and there is a problem. (GavinRead MoreThe Forever War By Joe Haldeman2059 Words   |  9 Pagesconcept is formed. Human nature is frequently viewed as a symbol of fortitude and the foundation of everything humans do. It is the force that guides our actions and the center from which institutions are built. There have been many attempts at defining human nature as well as distinguishing its susceptibility to change (Farris 1; Klasios 103; Murphy 191; Panese 1). Evolutionary psychology argues that human nature is the aggregate of four distinct parts: survival, reproduction, kin selection, andRead More Human Trafficking and the International Sex Industry Essay3304 Words   |  14 Pagesbrothel’s profits. Many elements of human trafficking can be theorized in relation to Orientalism. Critical scholar Edward Said defined Orientalism with several different approaches. Orientalism is a legacy of the Enlightenment, which focused on defining the world in strict dichotomies such as good versus evil. Said analyzes Orientalism as a tradition of theory and practice that has affected the way we think today. According to Said, Orientalism emerged in Europe as an academic tradition of teachingRead MoreEssay on The Category of the Individual4933 Words   |  20 Pagesheterotopias, which undermine language, make it impossible to name this and that, shatter or tangle common names, and destroy syntax in advance (Foucault xviii). When Foucault refers to syntax, he is not just talking about our method of constructing sentences but also that less apparent syntax which causes words and things (next to and also opposite one another) to hold together (Foucault xviii). In other words, there is need for us to take into account how the things in our world areRead MoreCMNS 304 Notes Essay5778 Words   |  24 Pagespart Meeting a need = problem solved (supply and demand) Identifying needs and interests (sporty guy = sporty car) Language plays a role in transaction Horse example* What’s wrong with this? HOMYNYMS (sound the same but different meanings), always give†¦ Why? odd, math = formal logic, speech variation and reading variation, power of signifiers (if this then that), manipulation of expert knowledge because they sound technical SO, we don’t know Bush Example* Much isn’t a problem but some is? What ifRead MoreStatement of Purpose23848 Words   |  96 Pagesprogram. Explain your research interests and link them with one or two professors in the program. As I note above, this means learning about the program and familiarizing yourself with the research of one or more faculty members. And refrain from defining your interests too broadly unless you have interdisciplinary interests that match the integrative philosophy of the programs. Limit your research interest to one area, possibly two, depending on the discipline and program, if you want to be consideredRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pages282 330 382 432 . . Contents Preface List of figures List of tables Acknowledgements xiii xvii xix xx Chapter 1 Introducing organization theory: what is it, and why does it matter? Introduction What is organization theory? Defining theory What are organizations? The relationship between organization theory and human activities The relationship between organization theory and management practice Social engineering and organization theory Critical alternatives to managerialismRead MoreRacism and Ethnic Discrimination44667 Words   |  179 Pagesprocess of juridical and political recognition of multiculturalism has initiated.6 These measures however have not contributed to transforming the State, or to guaranteeing equal opportunities of access in the construction of democracy. The central problem continues to be the form and behavior removal or diminishment of recognition, enjoyment, or exercise, under equal conditions, of human rights and fundamental liberties in political, economic, social, cultural spheres, or any other sphere of publicRead MoreOcd - Symptoms, Causes, Treatment131367 Words   |  526 PagesCriterion A Presence of obsessions and/or compulsions: Obsessions are repetitive and persistent thoughts, images, or impulses that, at some point, are considered intrusive and inappropriate and cause marked distress; they are not worries about real-life problems; they are accompanied by attempts to ignore, suppress, or neutralize (i.e., subjective resistance); and they are acknowledged as a product of the person’s mind. 7 Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that the person feels compelled

How Life Will Be in 50 Years Free Essays

In general life will be a lot better in 50 years. Some people can say that it’s true,however some may not agree with this opinion. World and life are changing on our eyes with the killing speed. We will write a custom essay sample on How Life Will Be in 50 Years or any similar topic only for you Order Now There are changes in our life which are good for us,for all mankind,but also there are a lot of changes that are bad for people or for health. In my opinion life wouldn’t be much better than it is today and it’s possibile that it would be even worse. New technologies are considered as good by the most of the society and there is a tought that life will be easier and better thanks to them. But is this a wholly true? Surely not. Computer is one of the greatest inventions of the 21th century. If we use it in the right way it won’t be dangerous for us. But even know we can see problems according to internet and computers so what would be in 50 years? Scientists certified that time we are spending in virtual world will be notoriously increasing. So†¦ will we spend something about 12 hours a day in front of a computer? I don’t think it would be healthy for anyone. Part of the society will be just unable to handle that and something that was invited to serve us and make life easier can lead people right into madness. However,new technologies have a good side too. In present there ale ilnesses and diseases which we are unable to cure. Cancer kills a million of people around the world everyday. Thousands of people get HIV everyday. Medicine made a hughe step in 21th century but not as big as to cure every ilness. I think in 50 years from now scientists will invite medicine to many different kinds of ilnesses. How to cite How Life Will Be in 50 Years, Essay examples

The Scarlet Letter Persuasive Essay Example For Students

The Scarlet Letter Persuasive Essay People judge others they encounter based upon their own values. These values are acquired through experiences in the home, school, at work, and with friends. A person is taught from their parents at a very young age what is right and wrong, but they may fail to realize that the values they are taught are filtered through the minds of those who teach. Therefore one is a product of their previous generation adding our his or her judgement to the values that we will pass on.Hawthorne judges the characters in The Scarlet Letter by using his own values. These values were drastically different from other Puritans. Instead of the stern, harsh values of the Puritans, Hawthorne sees life through the eyes of a Romantic. He judges each person accordingly, characterizing each persons sin as the pardonable sin of nature or the unpardonable sin of the human soul. One can infer, by the writing style, that Hawthorne is most forgiving to Hester. He writes about Hester with a feeling of compassion that the descriptions of the other characters lack. Hawthorne approves of Hetsers feeling, vitality, and thirst to overcome the iron shackles of binding society. We will write a custom essay on The Scarlet Letter Persuasive specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now He shows us that although Hester is not permitted to express her feelings verbally because of social persecution, there is no one that can restrain the thoughts of the human mind. Hawthorne, being a romantic and man of nature himself, can relate to the this. If you were to look up the human mating characteristics in a science book you may surprise yourself. The human instinct is to have more than one partner not to stay loyal to one partner- In fact Hester is often contrasted with the Puritan laws and rules, especially when Hawthorne states: The worlds law was no law for her mind. (70) Roger Chillingworths personality is one of intelligence and knowledge but no feeling. Hawthorne considers Roger Chilingworths sin the worst in the book. In one of his journal entrees he labels it the unpardonable sin. Hawthorne describes him as very cold and Puritan-like, an educated man that looked very scholarly. As stated here:There was a remarkable intelligence in his features, as a person who had so cultivated his mental part that it could not fail to mould to physical to itself, and become manifest by unmistakable tokens. (67)Hawthorne frequently refers to Chillingworths genius and diction, but purposely fails to have Chillingworth show any slight sign of compassion. This lack of compassion is what made him the monster that he is. He treats people like a mathematical problem analyzing only the facts, caring nothing about the harm that he might cause. (my notes) He picks at Dimmsdale the same way as described here:He now dug into the poor clergymans heart like a miner searching for gold or, rather, like a sexton delving into a grave Possibly in the quest of a jewel that had been buried on the dead mans bosom, but likely to find nothing save morality and corruption. (127)Chillingworth now takes room with Dimmsdale only pretending to be his friend but secretly plotting his demise. Shortly after people begin to notice something ugly and evil in his face which the had not previously noticed and grew to the more obvious to sight the more they looked upon him. (67) Chillingworths face seemed to change more and more. Hawthorne soon refers to Chillingworth as the black man, which is a derivative of the devil. Hawthorne describes Chillingworth with such strong disdain that in the end Chillingworth simply dies when there is no pain or suffering for him to live off of. He is a parasite, a leech that sucked dry the life of the once young and strong Dimmsdale. For this feat Chillingworth shall be eternally punished. .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 , .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .postImageUrl , .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 , .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8:hover , .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8:visited , .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8:active { border:0!important; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8:active , .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8 .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ue4f9586596c54548b871c8923bb69eb8:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Autism Essay He has committed the worst sin, not of the mind but the mortal sin that is the desecration of the human soul. The reader first comes across Arthur Dimmsdale in the church making his sermon. The people love him, regarding him as a good, young, Christian man. The one thing that no one knows is the secret that he holds within. We see that Dimmsdale watches Hetser being prosecuted, doing nothing to stop the injustice. He is a weak and immoral man that has no inner strength whatsoever. In some points of the story he cannot even bear to live with the sin, in some severe instances he even whips himself as punishment, but he will not tell of the sin because he fears the social persecution that he will receive if he admits to this hanous crime. Dimmsdales sin is one of enigma. He commits a sin against two people, one being himself and the other being Hester. It is very clear that he has done Hester wrong but the sin against him is more complicated. By not telling the people that he has done wrong he lays tremendous guilt on his soul, so much so that it causes his physical appearance to fade and almost extinguishes as Hawthorne iterates here:His form grew emaciated his voice, still rich and sweet had a melancholy prophecy of decay in it he was often observed on a slight alarm or other sudden accident, to put his hand over his heart, with first a flush and then paleness, indicative of pain. (119) Hawthorne is a romantic and has the personality of one. He is most forgiving to Hester because she is a Romantic person. She lives in a society many years before her time, but she is strong willed and fights societies disdain to overcome her own sin. He places Dimmsdale somewhere amidst the foggy middle, between these two characters. Dimmsdale is sat here because he commits no direct sin. By not telling anyone of his secret sin he causes the pain of himself and Hester. He clearly characterizes Chilingworth as the least pardonable because he commits the sin of the heart, the soul, and of God.