Overall, I really enjoyed reading The Bell Jar.  I found it to be very different from any book I’ve ever read before.  I thought it was interesting that The Bell Jar so closely mirrored Sylvia Plath’s own life, and I feel that this made the story- and in particular Esther’s character- more believable.

• I think Plath did an amazing job of portraying Esther’s psychological breakdown and how it progressed throughout the story.  My favorite quote was the one that said, “I felt very still and very empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo” (3).  That statement put a vivid mental image in my mind that stuck with me the entire time I read The Bell Jar.
• One aspect of this novel that stood out to me was the character Joan.  I found it interesting that Joan’s life seemed so similar to Esther’s.  For a while, I actually question whether Joan was real or just a product of Esther’s imagination.  Esther described Joan as a “black image” of herself, and this seemed true in many ways (219). For instance, both Joan and Esther loved Buddy Willard at some point, and both were institutionalized for their depression/psychological breakdown. To me, it seemed that Joan was a representation of the really dark side of Esther.  And I found it interesting that once Joan committed suicide, it was like Esther was freed from some bondage.  After Joan’s death, Esther was able to make significant progress in getting better.