Sylvia Plath Essay -- Biography

Sylvia Plath was a troubled writer to say the least, not only did she have a bun in the oven the loss of her father a young age but she subsequent on attempted suicide at her home and was hospitalized, where she underwent psychiatric treatment for her depression (Dunn). Writing primarily as a poet, she only invariably wrote a single invigorated, The Bell Jar. This put on autobiography chronicles the circumstances of her psychic collapse and subsequent suicide attempt but from the viewpoint of the fictional protagonist, Esther Greenwood, who suffers the same loss and challenges as Plath (Allen 890). Due to the novels well-knit resemblance to Plaths own history it was published under the anonym Victoria Lucas. In The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath expresses the themes of alienation and societal pressure on women in the 1950s through symbolism, an unconventional protagonist, and imagery.Through an overwhelming mind of symbolism, the author demonstrates both the separation and pressu res that Esther Greenwood goes through. The reoccurring image of a toll waver haunts Esther throughout her story representing both her mental illness and her alienation from the partnership surrounding her. As Dunn states a glass cost jar is apply to cover and protect laboratory materials. Significantly, a bell jar in addition allows objects to remain in view. Much like a scientific specimen, Esther is readily visible to those around her both observation and study. The jar in this chance represents her mental instability, which causes her to be isolated from the rest of golf club and treated abnormally. Furthermore, Plath uses the bell jar to indicate the circumference of the world of pain and mental deplorable Esther Greenwood, the heroine, lives in (Evans 105). The heroine herself admit... ...scandal that they did in the tabloids and had only seen it as an immediate means out, a way to escape. Rich in descriptive phrases and words this imagery contributes to the themes. From headlines to cadavers, bell jars to mental illnesses, and a subdued matron to a rebellious young lady, this novel hosts the two overarching themes of alienation and constraints on women in the 1950s. Esther Greenwood separates herself from nearly all of society and simultaneously must overcome the strictures that are set upon her and hinder her from the hereafter she aspires towards. Through extensive imagery, symbolism, and characterization Sylvia Plath delves into how people strive for perfection and word meaning through social standards and additionally how those that do not comply alone with them are alienated from the group of society, either by themselves or by the group.