BECOMING INSANE - The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Esther Greenwood had a full scholarship to one of the best colleges in America at her time. She was always the top of her class, and she always received straight A’s. The summer after her first year of college, she was granted an internship at one of the most prestigious magazine companies in New York City -- Esther wanted to become a writer. She was smart, talented, and beautiful. Hundreds upon thousands of girls across America were dying to be her, and to have the opportunities she naturally received. But the big city and the glamorous internship -- along with the appealing lifestyle it came with -- did not appeal to Esther, as rather, she despises her own life.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath follows a young lady named Esther Greenwood and her progression towards insanity. This semi-autobiographical book is the only novel poet Sylvia Plath has ever published. In this book, Esther begins as a fairly normal nineteen-year-old, but as the story progresses, her thoughts turn dark as a mental illness creeps in. Growing up, Esther wanted to be a poet, but her mother had other plans for her future. In addition, Esther’s father died when she was nine, causing Esther to constantly wonder how her life would have changed if he was still alive. One day, she attends a social gathering in the city and encounters a woman-hater, who assaults Esther, leaving her bloody and traumatized. This experience forces Esther to return home to the suburbs of Boston, where she learns that she has been rejected from a writing program taught by a world-renowned author. These series of events cause Esther to lose hope and breakdown, claiming that she is no longer able to write or read. Despite trying to recover, Esther attempts suicide multiple times, but continues to become insane.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is a shocking book, with insanely descriptive paragraphs and enticingly simple sentences that grasps the reader’s attention and transports them into Esther’s mind. Plath does an excellent job portraying Esther, almost to the point where readers begin to question if this book is an autobiography -- after all, many of Esther’s life experiences align with Plath’s own encounters. The pain and struggles that Esther goes through -- the desperate need to fit in with the pretentious girls at the magazine company, the worry of having enough money to support herself, the pressure from her mother to learn useful skills other than writing, and the pressure to marry someone wonderful -- are heart-wrenching and disheartening, as these pressures are encountered by young ladies today, even though this book was published nearly sixty years ago. Plath’s wording is easy to understand, but her words are sometimes outdated. Additionally, the book has a strange time sequence; Plath jumps back and forth in time, which can sometimes be unclear.

Overall, this book is worth reading, as the story is told incredibly well in Esther’s voice. The readers glimpse at what goes on in the mind of someone who is practically going insane, is losing hope, and is struggling to deal with the pressure exerted from her society, as well as from her personal traumatic experiences. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath will grasp the reader’s attention, and help them better understand what it is like fighting against insanity. On the bologna scale, I give this book 12/13 bologna slices.