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Ester's Life Exposed In The Bell Jar

440 Words2 Pages

In the book, The Bell Jar, the atmosphere in which Ester Greenwood lives in is a society of expectancy. The story begins with her living in New York in the Amazon, a woman’s hotel. Everyone there is basically upper-classmen and has high standards. They all train to be people such as secretaries and have their lives planned out while Ester still does not know what she wants to do, even though she mentions becoming a publisher at times. In chapters 1 through 4, Ester shows that within this society she feels isolated and feels as if she does not “fit in” with the other girls that come around. Most of the girls there are wealthy, while Ester was probably not as wealthy. Chapter 1 states that “Ester feels numb and unmoored, and thinks there is something wrong with her.” The narrator shows that this certain character sounds detached and mature when she speaks about her depression and abnormal state …show more content…

Everyone thinks that a woman is supposed to support her man by nurturing him and his ambitions. However, Ester has never been inspired to have a husband to help. Her mind set is to either have a career, marriage, or neither. When she hears about Buddy before meeting him, she thinks that is the most perfect ideal man. Unfortunately, she finds out about his hypocrisy. Another example of Ester showing her detachment from the real world society she lives in is in the next chapters 7 and 8. She starts to doubt her worth. The world knows her as the perfect, dedicated student who just wins nothing but scholarships. But as she knows that as well, she knows that once college is over so will her success and identity be. The skiing experience is a great example of how society brings her back into reality. She liked the thought of her killing herself by going down the mountain will relieve her from life, but became distressed when the ordinary world reformed back into her

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