The Bell Jar Analysis

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“The Bell Jar” by Sylvia Plath is a very dark but uniquely enjoyable piece to read. Two themes that I decided to focus on from the book are the representation of and understanding oneself in a world, which you can become completely lost in. The book is a semi-autobiography that divulges on Esther Greenwood, a nineteen year old college student who is spending a month of summer in New York City to work at a fashion magazine. What should have been a great experience for Esther actually turned out to be a nightmare, leaving Esther only to return home and fall into a state of deep depression. Esther started out in the novel as a young girl who had great potential and was ready to indulge in a summer of living in New York City. “I was supposed to be having the time of my life” (Plath, 1971), is what Esther Greenwood ended up saying to herself during her stay in New York. She was not enjoying her experience in the way that she thought she would. I feel that most young girls would be able to align with Esther in that aspect because, when you go off in life’s journeys they sometimes do not ...

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