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The Bell Jar - Coggle Diagram
The Bell Jar
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Characters
Ester(main character) - aspiring writer and poet, sent to New York for a month after winning a writing opportunity with a Magazine, mentally troubled (depression/suicidal), loves to eat, finds less and less joy in the world as the book progresses, father died at a young age
Doreen- witty, white hair (very pretty), likes to party, adamant, one of Ester's best friends (another New York girl) until Lenny came into the picture, fashionable
Buddy Willard- Ester's childhood crush, hypocrite, later Buddy falls for Ester and Ester hates his guts, goes to Yale until he catches TB, proposes to Ester, Ester has a really good relationship with his parents but does not want to be with him
Jay Cee- Ester's boss in New York, fashion magazine editor, ugly but very intelligent, respected, pushes Ester to be her best
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Figurative Language
Sylvia Plath uses figurative Language throughout the book to portray the emotions of the narrator and how she perceives the world. (metaphors, similes, personification, etc.)
ex: "... pretty soon I felt as though I were carrying that cadaver's head around with me on a string, like some black, noseless balloon stinking of vinegar" (2). simile
ex: "It sounded like a heavy wooden object falling downstairs, boomp boomp boomp, step after step" (124). onomatopoeia
Ester also compares her life and opportunities to a fig tree and all her possible paths withering away with time like figs on a tree. She continuously compares her own image to these distorted women such as an old Chinese or Indian woman.
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Author's Purpose
to depict the conflicts young women in the 1950s who do not conform to the expectations of women in that era face
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Dialogue
The most important dialogue within the book is Ester's internal thoughts and dialogue that truly help the reader understand the story and her as a character.
Ester does talk to other characters such as the other girls in New York, men she interacts with, her mother, and more.
Symbolism
Ester's constant hunger symbolizes her never-ending need for fulfillment and her constant indulgence in food that never ends well.
The cadavers seem to foreshadow Ester's fate and show that she is mentally troubled and her obsession with death.
The absence of her father affected Ester in multiple ways and helped to symbolize Ester's relationship with men and her loniless.