Diction

“The idea of being electrocuted makes me sick, and that’s all there was to read about in the papers—goggle-eyed headlines staring up at me on every street corner and at the fusty, peanut-smelling mouth of every subway. It had nothing to do with me, but I couldn’t help wondering what it would be like, being burned alive all along your nerves.

I thought it must be the worst thing in the world.

New York was bad enough. By nine in the morning the fake, country wet freshness that somehow seeped in overnight evaporated like the trail end of a dream. Mirage-gray at the bottom of their granite canyons, the hot streets wavered in the sun, the car tops sizzled and glittered, and the dry, cindery dust blew into my eyes and down my throat”(1).

Right from the start, Plath throws the reader into the world of Esther Greenwood. A world full of dark, unnatural, and bland feeling, swallowed by the city itself, and then regurgitated by some evil to make you live the same boring life over again.  The author does an exquisite job in inflicting a depressed mood on the reader through her musty diction describing the inhumanness of the city and how it is “hot” and “sizzle[ing]”.  Plath shows the detachment of humans from death, especially by electrocution, by comparing the hot temperature of the city to the way someone’s nerves are burned by the electrical current.  The reader comes to understand the message Sylvia is trying to put across and show the irony of the whole situation. 

Plath also uses elevated diction to describe the complicated intrinsic battles Esther is struggling with.  When the author utilizes such words as “promptitude” and “insinuating” it suggests that Esther is a more educated member of society, and thus is in her right mind to go insane.  Esther goes on to say that she feels like the “eye of a tornado… moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo” (3).  In this statement, it is clear that Esther feels she is not meant for her surroundings and also that she foresees destruction in the future, not only to herself, but to her loved ones as well.  Plath’s use of jargon in this instance shows how she wishes to persuade the reader that Esther is not the one going crazy, but the world around her is actually ill.

Personal Review

         The Bell Jar was truly an enjoyable read for me.  Despite the continuous pessimistic tone that dominated the book, it was truly an insightful book and the story line kept me hooked through its last words.  Although I am sure many would disagree with my review and say that the book had no depth in outlook and personality, I would say that they are right. However, the author purposely did this so that the reader could understand and hopefully feel sympathetic for Esther due to her deep depression.  Most people do not realize or understand what women had to go through in this point of history.  Imagine working hard your entire life knowing that no matter what you did or accomplished all you could be was a secretary, your thoughts and actions controlled by a man like every relationship was an abusive marriage.  It was not so simple then to just get a divorce and women clearly did not have as much freedom. I enjoyed The Bell Jar because it reminded me of how lucky I am to live in this day and age.  I can study what I want and get a job without much of the discrimination those women faced. If I had to live back then, I would be that depressed too.

Syntax

·         “I didn’t really see why people should look at me.

Plenty of people looked queerer than I did.

My gray suitcase rode on the rack above my head, empty except for The Thirty Best Short Stories of the Year; a white plastic sunglasses case and two dozen avocado pears, a parting present from Doreen” (113).

This excerpt describing Esther leaving town on the train shows that Plath’s style is that of random, pensive thoughts that in turn describes the character of Esther.  The author’s use of declarative sentences is meant to show the reader that she is trying to make and simple but strong argument through the theme and purpose of the book.  The monotonous, boring, and repetitive life that Esther lives is described through Plath’s sentence structure; these few, short, and simple sentences also parallel the needs of Esther, which are evidently very few despite her obviously complex personality.

• “The walls were beige, and the carpets were beige, and the upholstered chairs and sofas were beige. There were no mirrors or pictures, only certificates from different medical schools, with Doctor Gordon’s name in Latin, hung about the walls. Pale green loopy ferns and spiked leaves of a much darker green filled the ceramic pots on the end of the table and the coffee table and the magazine table” (127).

In contrast to the first passage, the author demonstrates her lucid and descriptive writing style when showing the reader what the office might have looked like.  Plath shows the contrast between the bright colors of the plants and the pale, “beige” colors of the man made sofas.  Despite the obvious difference between the natural and human presence in the room, one cannot help but see that they are more intertwined with each other regardless of their differences.  The plants are all in pots which rest on the tables with coffee and magazines, but all Esther sees is how boring the beige is, a stronger metaphor for the society she lives in.  The author shows her more descriptive style of writing and shows that no matter where Esther is, she is critical of something, especially herself and the life she lives.

Text Connections

     The constant theme of growing and maturing in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye can be compared to The Bell Jar.  In The Bell Jar, Esther endures a battle within herself and society over whether she should submit to the ideal woman’s character or rebel against it.  Similarly, Holden, in The Catcher in the Rye, also battles against the societal norms and often thinks of suicide.  In contrast, Holden works to preserve the sacredness of innocence despite his rash and immoral actions while Esther works to become less innocent in her attempts to lose her virginity.  It is also clear that both characters are constantly trying to become more in touch with nature or compare their feelings to natural occurrences.  Esther relates her feelings of loneliness and unhappiness to that of a tornado and also comments on the disappearance of nature in New York City.  Holden, also talks profoundly of nature when he worries about where the ducks go in the cold winter, despite the annoyance many people feel when he asks them, which in turn symbolizes both his worries for innocent beings and also how not very many people care about him, besides his teacher Mr. Spencer.    Despite the two novels’ differences, both of the protagonists end up in mental asylums.  

       I can also relate to Esther in The Bell Jar because I too sometimes second guess the meaning of life.  Although I have not taken such extreme measures to find out what I want like Esther did, I still sometimes feel depressed despite my success in school.  In the novel, Esther has gotten everything a girl could dream of and instead of now following down the domestic path; she becomes consumed with her depression and in turn becomes insane.  I can understand Esther’s thoughts as she is turning the next page in her life and I too feel scared for what comes next.  Like Esther, I am growing up and on my way to maturity and sometimes I question what I really want. I am faced with societal pressures to go to college and get a job and then raise a family.  Every day I work strenuously towards my goals mirroring Esther’s hard work for the Fashion magazine.  Esther has always wanted to work her entire life but when she is asked what she wants face to face, she has a hard time coming up with a sure answer. 

Rhetorical Strategies

·         Simile: “I hadn’t, at the last moment, felt like washing off the two diagonal lines of dried blood that marked my cheeks. They seemed touching, rather spectacular, and I thought I would carry them around with me, like the relic of a dead lover, till they wore off of their own accord” (Plath 112-113).

·         Simile: “I looked as yellow as a Chinaman” (8).

·         Symbolism: “We had met together under our own imaginary fig tree…” (55).

·         Polysyndeton: “One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet, and another fig was a brilliant professor…” (77).

·         Anecdote: “And I knew that in spite of all the roses and kisses and restaurant dinners a man showered on a woman before he married her, what he secretly wanted when the wedding service ended was for her to flatten out under his feet like Mrs. Willard’s kitchen mat” (85).

·         Metaphor: “A green eye glowed on the bed beside me. It was divided into quarters like a compass. I reached out slowly and closed my hand on it. I lifted it up. With it came an arm, heavy as a dead man’s, but warm with sleep” (84).

        

Plath’s use of simile and metaphor in The Bell Jar symbolizes Esther’s feelings in comparison to the things and happenings around her.  Esther feels like she has to fit into a mold like a china doll in order to fit into what society thinks is a model woman.  Although Plath may have not intended to inflict this thought upon the reader with the simile comparing Esther to a “Chinaman”, it is clear to the reader that Esther not only thinks of herself as “yellow” skinned by her appearance but also appearing to look like something other than herself.  The author's clever use of simile in this case shows that she has a mysterious and in turn haunting style of writing for the purpose of making the reader pensive about her work.  Whether Esther is in an insane asylum or on the streets of New York City, she is constantly affected by some kind of label and demonstrates the author’s purpose in demonstrating this flaw within society. Esther often compares her feelings to that of nature in order to try and remove herself from this label; however, it is evident that nature and humans are more intertwined than one would think in that the humans have become more animal like especially when it comes to marriage. This contrasts Esther’s thoughts on nature being more innocent and pure.  When Esther decides to keep the blood on her face it is evident that she does so because the blood is the only thing that shows what she is truly on the inside despite her cheerful appearance.  Although Esther does this, it is essential to know that this does not mean she knows who she is but rather that she knows she is not what she is portrayed to be. Plath’s use of anecdote also articulates Esther’s feelings and philosophy on life as a woman.  Through the combination of metaphor, simile, and other rhetorical devises, the author conveys her developing theme of how life does not always turn out the way you planned and sometimes the best route towards figuring out what you really want has the hardest path.