The Bell Jar
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The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
| Summary | A creative fictional work, this book is a summary of Plath's emotional decay. She is sent off to work in New York City for a fashion magazine during the 1950s when she is introduced to the rather harsh world outside of her Massachusetts home. She becomes depressed as she starts to see that she is not fit enough for society, and her return to her hometown only makes her feelings worse. Then, she tries to kill herself and is sent to multiple mental asylums. (Plath killed herself shortly after this book was published.) |
| Review |
I had to read this book for my English class. I was pretty excited to read this story, and I was not disappointed at all. Not only did I
love Plath's writing style, but it provided much for me to write about in my English paper. She uses wonderful chronology - the story
starts out during her work at "Ladies' Day" and works its way to her release from the asylum with multiple flashbacks to her life with her
superficial boyfriend, Buddy Willard. She doesn't waste a word and uses great precision to help her express her feelings and thoughts to
the readers. I also mentioned that it was wonderful for my English essay, and it indeed was. She uses a lot of imagery and metaphors to describe her mental decline, and a lot of recurring ideas, as well. She uses the symbolism of the tree and the bell jar to describe her confusion and feelings of being held to an evil society. All of this, she did very beautifully and flawlessly! I did not have any complaints or even peeves about this book nonewhatsoever. She said in her book that she once tried to write a book, but it failed because she didn't have experience. The Bell Jar has pretty legit feelings and memories in it, and it is beautifully written! I really wish that she had lived to write more. She had a good head on her shoulders. |
| Recommendation | I'd recommend this book to any young adult reader, specifically anyone who's interested in issues with femininity, great writing, and/or depression. I definitely think that this is an eye-opening and inspiring book [sorry for the rather melancholy outlook] that's worth taking a look at. |
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Rating (out of 5) | ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |