ipl-logo

Symbolism In Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar

819 Words4 Pages

It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop,” a quote Confucius once wrote. The meaning behind this quote is found within Sylvia Plath’s award winning novel, The Bell Jar. The main character within Plath’s novel is on a journey to find herself and heal her mind,. Esther Greenwood suffers from a mental illness, depression, and is struggling to find “happiness. Symbolism is heavily used throughout Plath’s novel to emphasize a greater meaning behind Esther’s mental illness. The bell jar, the fig tree, mirrors, and electricity all symbolize what occurs in Esther’s head, . The first symbol within The Bell Jar is the bell jar itself. The bell jar symbolizes mental illness, and a trap within the mind and body. The bell jar refers to suffering from a mental illness, and not being able to find a way to escape. “I feel as if I am trapped within the bell jar, and there is no way to escape” (Plath). Esther feels that the bell jar holds her back from being who she truly is, and who she wants to be. One cannot grow in a place of confinement, and this is the mindset that Esther has throughout the book. “Growth is necessary with any mental illness, to be able to take a step forward is the greatest success any person with a mental illness can have” (Tsank). While Esther in trapped in the bell jar, she cannot experience character development. Character development is essential on the journey, but she is stuck within the same place for most of the book. Although the bell

Show More
Related

  • Symbolism In Margaret Peterson Haddix's Found

    335 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Author Margaret Peterson Haddix in the book Found had these letters in the beginning. And in the book she shows what these letters symbolize. The characters, Jonah, Chip, and JB, see these letters as different symbols throughout the book and act differently to the letters. The letters is taken in at three different points of view. Jonah's meaning of the letters are, that these letters are pranks because “now they are in middle school

    Read More

  • Symbolism In James Baldwin's The Rockpile

    251 Words  | 2 Pages

    In James Baldwin’s short story, “The Rockpile”, he uses an object, the rockpile, as symbolism for something bigger. Baldwin uses the rockpile to represent the dangers that come with freedom. The mother of the main character says to her sons, “Its a wonder they don’t kill themselves” (1). This illustrates that the rockpile and those who regularly go there are dangerous. The statement sets the idea that both John and Roy should not be going there.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Laurie Halse Anderson's 'Speak'

    805 Words  | 4 Pages

    Symbolism is the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character. In Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson uses literary devices to help the reader better understand Melinda’s personal changes and growth. Trees, lips, and coldness are all symbolically used to represent the changes of Melinda. Throughout the novel, trees play a big part in symbolizing Melinda. Melinda is constantly drawing and relating to trees in the book.

    Read More

  • Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life Of Bees

    655 Words  | 3 Pages

    when Lily tried to let the bees free, they didn’t leave because they don’t have heir queen bee to lead them. Lily wanted to get away from T-ray but she was scared because she didn’t have her mom to guide her. Lily says “I’m catching bees to show T-Ray,he thinks i’m making them up.” The jar symbolizes T-Ray and the bees symbolize Lily.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Sing, Unburied, Sing By Jesmyn Ward

    1046 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the book “Sing, Unburied, Sing” by Jesmyn Ward, symbolism is used to portray unresolved trauma to emphasize how it influences the characters. Leonie has faced traumatic

    Read More

  • Hope In Little Bee By Chris Cleave

    559 Words  | 3 Pages

    It really sad to hear a young girl going to some difficult due the fact she does not have a voice or opinion. Another symbolism was in chapter 6 when Sarah tells Lawrence “... I cut off my own bloody finger. Do you think I wouldn’t cut you off too?” This is the symbol of the chapters because it shows Sarah’s dedication to Little Bee. She shows her loyalty to Little Bee by threatening her relationship with Lawrence.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken

    945 Words  | 4 Pages

    Symbolism in Unbroken “What stays with you latest and deepest? of curious panics, Of hard-fought engagements or sieges tremendous what deepest remains” (Whitman, Walt. “The Wound-Dresser” line 11 and 12)? In the novel Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, symbols like their plane, Super Man, the raft that Louie and his crew-mates survived on, and the names carved in the cell wall, represent the characters’ hope and perseverance in the face of their fear. The military believed they had more advanced planes than their enemies and that they would help them win the war.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In 'Everyday Use' By Alice Walker

    1561 Words  | 7 Pages

    In the short story “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker shows the conflicts and struggles with people of the African-American culture in America. The author focuses on the members of the Johnson family, who are the main characters. In the family there are 2 daughters and a mother. The first daughter is named Maggie, who had been injured in a house fire has been living with her mom. Her older sister is Dee, who grew up with natural beauty wanted to have a better life than her mother and sister.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Jon Krakauer's 'Into The Wild'

    2137 Words  | 9 Pages

    Journal 1 Krakauer, Jon. Into The Wild. New York: Villard, 1996. Print. Journal 2

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Mildred D. Taylor's Roll Of Thunder Hear My Cry

    503 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the book “Roll of thunder hear my cry”, Mildred D. Taylor uses symbolism to provide context, and background information of the how their community is, and who the Logan’s fit in it. A great example when the author provides context and background information would be the fig tree. When the author is describing the fig tree, she describes it as “It keeps on blooming, bearing good fruit year after year, knowing all the time it’ll never get big as them other trees.” (pg 206) The author is trying to describe how the Logan family fits in in the community.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Mother By Ted Kooser

    804 Words  | 4 Pages

    Have you ever felt loss so deep that everything you see is different just because that person is gone? In Mother by Ted Kooser the speaker’s mother’s death made his world view more sorrowful. Through this view of the world Kooser uses symbolism, personification, and imagery to show the speaker’s feelings about his mother dying. Symbolism is used in many different ways throughout this poem to present the speakers feelings on his mother dying. Her vibrance is shown in the lightness and happiness of nature.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Devices In The Bell Jar

    2037 Words  | 9 Pages

    1. Introduction Published in 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas, The Bell Jar has aroused the interest of scholars all over the world. One of the most often discussed characteristics of The Bell Jar is its use of similes, metaphors, and symbols. Throughout The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath employs rhetorical devices to paint a vivid picture of its protagonist Esther. This essay will discuss how Sylvia Plath uses figurative language to represent Esther’s feelings of insanity, anxiety, and freedom.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Cynthia Ozick's 'The Shawl'

    1180 Words  | 5 Pages

    Take a second and imagine, imagine yourself being starved, tortured, and enslaved. What would you do to save your children and yourself? In Cynthia Ozick's story “The Shawl” we meet Rosa and her two daughters Stella, who is fourteen, and Magda an infant who is being concealed, on their grueling march to a concentration camp. The Nazi’s are unaware of Magda’s existence due to Rosa hiding her under the shawl as they are marching. Rosa is faced with the difficulty of keeping her daughters alive, while trying to survive herself.

    Read More

  • Story Of An Hour Symbolism Essay

    1054 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout the story, there are symbols that significantly expressed the setting and the primary characters involved. Examples of the symbols could include: a heart as it represents Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition as well as her variant emotions; the window, whether it be opened or closed, could represent Mrs. Mallard’s freedom and life in a sense that she wanted to pass before she found new hope through the observance of the sky, and lastly, the chair which could represent Mrs. Mallard’s freedom and newfound independence after being oppressed within her relationship and society’s expectations of women in that period of time. References to the symbolism of the heart could be found throughout the story

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of The Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath

    1755 Words  | 8 Pages

    The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is a semi-autobiographical novel in which Plath relays her own experiences through protagonist Esther Greenwood by highlighting the struggles she faced in navigating societal expectations, depression, and her own desires. Having spent time in college and later in multiple mental health institutions, Plath tells her story through Esther in a way that blends fiction and reality. Through Esther, we see Plath’s own interpretations of her triumphs, failures, values, and the slow but seemingly inevitable diminishment of her mental health. The story starts with Esther Greenwood in New York City, where she is spending a month working at a magazine because she won a scholarship to a special summer program for female writers.

    Read More

More about Symbolism In Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar

Open Document