Esther's Response To An Iconic Image In The Bell Jar

233 Words1 Pages
An iconic image in The Bell Jar is that of the fig tree – the starving Esther sitting below it; watching, with the passage of time, as each available opportunity falls to the ground in the shape of a dead fig. This also means that Esther has so many things to choose from yet she was undecided which path she will take until all these possibilities fade away in just a matter of time. Sometimes, viewing this scene simply as a reflection of the unfairly diverse choices that society is forcing Esther to choose from, as critics are prone to do, one cannot quite encompass the reality of the situation. Actually, Esther's response to the dilemma in her life reveals much more about her than the fact that she was burdened with these dilemmas of what she