The Bell Jar

I recently finished reading The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I found it interesting to read about how the character felt about everything, and her reasoning throughout the story. This book gave great insight into the life in New York in the 1950s, doing a job (magazine writer) that people still find desirable today. I felt the author touch on influence of materialism and having money. During the 1950's the nice things you had/ places you went defined who you were and how you were treated in the book. I also enjoyed reading about her experiences in the various mental hospitals, and it helped me realize that not all of the asylums treated patients the same. It was very interesting to read the narrators perspective about mental illnesses since she had the outlook of someone living in the 1950's. The Bell Jar was inspired by Sylvia Plath's experiences, and they are almost identical to her real life. This caused me to read the book and question how much of the story was actually true, and if those thoughts and feelings were Sylia Plath's. I enjoyed this book a lot, and it was a great book to read right before our "what is normal?" unit. The novel gave great insight into my city and thoughts during my decade.