Symbolism In The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar, written by Sylvia Plath, is an outstanding piece of work that focuses on the story of a young woman developing into adult. However, it does not follow the usual procedures of adolescent development into adulthood. Rather than undergoing the progressive education about the world affairs and making a transitioning into adulthood, Esther takes a step back and regresses into madness. All the beginnings of this lady are usually disastrous and disorienting including her first time in New York, her first marriage proposal as well as her success in college (Sylvia 44). Despite being young, Esther prefers death and decides to end her life by committing suicide instead of discovering and finding new meanings in life. The author applies numerous symbolic explanations in The Bell Jar, as well as many other captivating and interesting literary devices. …show more content…
It opens with Esther’s obsession with gruesome electrocution, which signals the experiences ahead of her. The scenes with electroshock therapy descriptions are frightening, just like her life experiences. Moreover, Esther’s suicidal thoughts and violent encounters with people like Irwin are just a few incidences of shocking scenes in her life. Therefore, it is ironic that the society’s cure for “uncontrollable” individuals like Esther is hardships. Esther also experiences insomnia and other challenges in her sleeping patterns. After the internship, she returns to her Boston house but cannot fall into a peaceful sleep. She reveals that she has not slept for seven days and if she did, then it must have been with her eyes wide open (Sylvia 58). Esther also has lost interest in the normal activities. Initially, she was an ambitious young lady, applying for grants and attending prestigious women’s college. However, she has lost interest in the same activities after returning to New