Sylvia Plath

THE BELL JAR

Whenever I am asked what my favorite book is, this one always comes to mind. Every single factor of it amazed me: the almost lyrical prose, the level of complex understanding of humanity, and the storyline in general. Of course, there is nothing wrong with any of this, but the only thing is that I read this book for school. At first I couldn’t wrap my head around how one of the few books that I’ve read that I didn’t choose for myself was my favorite. For so long I tried to find another book that I felt was more eloquently written, and I just couldn’t. Eventually I came to the obvious realization that if the book wasn’t so beautiful, they wouldn’t have put so much time and energy into teaching it to us. It really increased my appreciation for my teachers. Anyways, back to the book. It contains some really heavy topics, but as I mentioned in my review for My Year of Rest and Relaxation, sometimes it can feel therapeutic to be able to find something you constantly feel put into words, a way to harness it in a sense. Plath writes a story about a young woman named Esther Greenwood who is living in New York as part of an internship. Over the course of the book, she sinks farther and farther into depression. Plath writes it so subtly, you don’t even realize it till it is too late. As you go through her life with her, you feel like you are right there with her- stuck in the bell jar as well. Another interesting fact about this book is that it is a secret memoir of Sylvia Plath’s own life. Unfortunately, she did take her own life, which just goes to show how real the struggles were that she dealt with. Reading her words, however, brings her story back to life and offers a bit of a tribute to her.