“i have to do a project as a part of my graduation program. i thought i could work on sylvia plath. i want her book- The Bell Jar. can someone give an ebook link which lets me download this book for free?”
“It was greater the second time around!”
“It made me sleepy but sad”
“One other thing about this book that makes it timely for me: I was really struck by how often Esther counts up all her achievements: she's always managed to get straight As, she was able to get teachers and administrators do see things her way (talked her way out of chem, for example) and she got this dream opportunity in NY which saw her have beautiful clothes and gifts showered on her, and yet all that achievement is still not quite enough. As someone in our reading group today pointed out, she gets all that and is told by Jay Cee, magazine editor, that she also needs to learn a couple languages (French, maybe Russian) etc. She's gotten this opportunity because she's the smartest in her circle, and now she's thrown into this circle of other "smartest" young women and she recounts to us their special skills (one is prettier than the others, another kinder, yet another has a talent for recreating the latest fashions at a fraction of the cost of the originals, etc.)it's like she's reached the pinnacle and finds there's another one just ahead that's barely visible that she now has to try for. And I think of Michael Jackson and Brittany, who also had by most accounts the perfect dream life. And yet once at the pinnacle of world-wide fame and adoration, they find that life is not perfect. In fact, the "good life" is all to often awfully darn hollow, and your flaws and shortcoming are exposed and revealed. Not everyone experiences success that way, of course, but that kind of success doesn't grant confidence and security to those who have not already found or established it in some other way. It's not the answer, it's just another context. But now this post is far too long... ”
“I managed to avoid reading this book up until just recently. I finally read it when a book club I'd joined added it to the list. Now I've read it, I find I actually really appreciate it. Our book club was pretty much evenly divided into those who found it hollow, were frustrated and or annoyed with the main character and the context, and generally found it unsatisfying. I found the detachment of the narrator to be one of the more appealing aspects of the book. For me that distance represented the way in which Esther is unable to emotionally engage with the world around her or even her own life. Because of culture, family, personality, she simply does not have the vocabulary to express what she's experiencing and so can't even really acknowledge it. In her own life (and of course the Bell Jar is really about her own life) the ability to channel some of that into poetry must have been such an outlet, but clearly not enough of one to make life worth living. I was deeply touched by the book, and will very likely read it again. ”
“Someone mentioned that Plath was racist in this book.I don't understand how. She used the word "negro," but that was common in that time. She may have kicked the guy, but he was screwing with her on her first night in the asylum, or so she thought. Can't blame someone in her place for lashing out.”
“i absolutely adore this book! i had to write a research paper on it in high school. i though i related to it then and when i read it in college i related to it on a whole new level. and you dont have to be crazy & depressed to empathize with the main character, esther greenwood. i think there's a little bit of esther in all of us.”
“Oh my god, yes! Read my review on it..I've been trying to make parallel links with Holden Caulfield and Esther Greenwood(Unfortunately my friend has my copy of The Bell Jar, grr)But I must say.. IF you are one to get depressed or in such a state of mind.. READ THIS BOOK.If taken the way it was intended on being received, I think it could put you in a state of meditative consciousness.And you'll also see the beauty in what it is like to be someone who thinks the way people like Sylvia Plath did.”
“This is a pretty intense book to read, but its written very well. It had a really Catcher in the Rye feel to it at the beginning, plus it had lots of metaphors and it was a really beautiful book. Certainly not one to read if you are easily depressed though.”
“My all time favorite book. I have read it twice. I think I love it so much because I can really relate to Esther. My favorite part was her discussion of the fig tree. BEST and most moving metaphor/imagery I have ever encountered!”
