The Bell Jar

Ramona · 16th January 2002, 11:41pm

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Read this recently. Its about a girl who is about 19 or 20 who goes through a breakdown and ends up in an asylum. It is told from the girls perspective.

The story starts in New York, where the girl has a summer placement. When she moves home, she tries to kill herself and ends up in hospital. The story then tells how she moves from hospital to hospital. A lot of the story is told in flashback, too - such as bits about her friends and ex-boyfriend. This was a wee bit confusing.

The good thing about this book is that it shows how a girl who has loads going for her ends up having treatment for deppression.

Drusilla MacBog · 8th June 2002, 7:08pm

I've just finished reading this myself and quite enjoyed it. It's easy to read (I finished it within two or three days) and because of the first person narrative you find yourself being drawn in.

It also reminded me a lot of Girl, Interupted.

Purplerose · 14th June 2002, 1:54pm

I loved the Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath is one of my favourite writers, the story is about her. It was one of the influences for Elizabeth Wurtzels Prozac Nation. I didnt find it confusing at all and it held my attention from when i opened it that afternoon till i finished it the next morning at like 6am reading non stop

skimmedmilk · 19th June 2002, 6:51pm

sylvia plath (author of the bell jar) was at the same mental institution as susanna keyson (author of girl interrupted) though of course sylvia had been and gone long before susanna keyson....they apparantly both had the same mental disorder
mouthing the words by camilla gibb and the trick is to keep breathing by janice galloway are also good if you like this genre. and of course, catcher in the rye bye JD salinger.

iscariiot · 14th July 2002, 4:37pm

i did the bell jar for higher portfolio, then advanced higher dissertation, its a really good book, but i'm sick lookin at it, i must have read it a million times now...

Jenpot · 4th August 2002, 9:16pm

I loved The Bell Jar, but thought that 'Girl Interrupted' was too similar to it, without the same spark.

ChRiSPY · 4th August 2002, 9:33pm

I like Sylvia Plath...she is talented in writing and poetry.

I also like Girl, Interrupted...because Angelina Jolie is in the movie.

Reow!

skimmedmilk · 7th August 2002, 9:16pm

the bell jar and girl, interrupted are nothing alike! girl, interrupted is real and the bell jar is fiction. sorry, its a sore point of mine.

Jenpot · 8th August 2002, 8:06am

The Bell Jar isnt fiction? Its a true story...the girl killed herself two weeks after she wrote the book?

iscariiot · 13th August 2002, 11:30pm

christ.
the bell jar was a semi autobiographical account of a year in the life of (fictional character) esther greenwood. who was a fictional interpretation of sylvia plath (real person). the book can only be described as semi autobiographical because:
a: plath was a loon who wrote the book on a whim during a nervous breakdown and, as one would expect, her grip on reality was somewhat slipping.
and b:
there are too many coincidences and shortcomings in the book to say whether she was always a loon, or if she just went batty.

read letters home. if u ask me, she was always a loonball.

and she put her head in the oven about months after the book was published under a fake name, and left her two babies in the house, alone. what an effed up fannan.

nice book tho.

girl interuppted wants to BE the bell jar. but its too baws.

HeartSick · 18th October 2002, 7:56pm

I personally enjoyed both books, Sylvia Plaths,the bell Jar is an amazing book which i found really interesting to read. Sylvia Plath in my eyes was a wonderful writer but a very tortured soul and it is a shame she died so young as i believe she had more greatness yet to write .
Also Girl Interrupted is a good book ,the film is a good representation of the book . I dont think it was trying to be the bell jar although there are similarities.
Another book i loved was Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel .this is a heartbreaking but inspiring account of another lost soul and sadly i identified with her throught out the novel but an excellent read ,i couldnt put it down.

Pier Angeli · 22nd October 2002, 2:00pm

both the bell jar & girl, interrupted kick ass, but the bell jar is better. truly fucked up.

black rainbow · 4th February 2003, 4:57pm

i just finished reading the bell jar. i really enjoyed reading this and finished it in one day. i could relate to alot of the stuff she was sayin, but prefered prozac nation, because the girl in that is more like me and i can relate better.

skimmedmilk · 23rd February 2003, 9:11pm

How can you say girl,interrupted is trying to be the bell jar? Sorry...but there are two massive differences. Susanna Keyson got better and went out to tell people of her experiences. Sylvia Plath never got better. She killed herself and left her children. Girl, interrupted is written from a healthy point of view and the bell jar came out of the mind of someone who wanted to kill themselves. There's no way they can be alike

Black_Rainbow · 14th March 2003, 4:12pm

Quote:

Originally posted by black rainbow
i just finished reading the bell jar. i really enjoyed reading this and finished it in one day. i could relate to alot of the stuff she was sayin, but prefered prozac nation, because the girl in that is more like me and i can relate better.

Oh Hello Black Rainbow My name is Black Rainbow

WOW sorry to copy your Name did not know anyone else was using the Name, just thought i would say Hi and nice name.

Oh Well

Bye

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