The Bell Jar Literary Analysis

Literature is composed with many thoughts and ideas, the limitations are miniscule. For example, Sylvia Plath formulated her experiences and time period into a plot to compose her novel. As the book progresses, the protagonist provides insight on her journey and struggle to find happiness. In The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath utilizes an autobiographical protagonist to express purity versus impurity, as well as mind versus body in a world of double standards. Before one understands how Plath's experiences were influential upon her writing, it is crucial to know about her as an individual. Plath, born in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, on October 27th of 1932, was the daughter of Aurelia and Otto Plath (“The Bell”). Given her time period, Plath showed great success in comparison to her peers; for example, she received various scholarships for her writing abilities and “won first prize for fiction from Mademoiselle” (Materer). Growing up, she possessed a strong passion for writing poetry, that love became stronger once diagnosed with depression. In college Plath met a guy by the name of Ted Hughes. He played a role of

This novel “was published in London, England in January 1963” (“The Bell”) by Harper and Row. The book was published in England because Plath's mother, Aurelia, felt like the plot consisted of “ungrateful caricatures of people who tried to help her daughter.” (Scholes). The Bell Jar depicts “cultural alienation- and the resulting frustration- of talented women” (Johnson) and “is an important work by a major American writer” (Lowe-Evans). Although it was published in England, either years later the novel became very popular and widespread in America (Scholes). Now, The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath is known as a work of fiction by an American author. Unfortunately, Plath passed away shortly after her novel being published (“The Bell”), being unable to see how it took