Saturday, August 31, 2013
Nobody's home
Her feelings she hides
Her dreams she can't find
She's losing her mind
She's falling behind
She can't find her place
She's losing her faith
She's falling from Grace
She's all over the place
The song Nobody's Home is a clear representation of how Ester, the main character in The Bell Jar, feels emotionally. Ester is getting a good education, a loving boyfriend, and the opportunity to live in New York for a month and do what she loves most, writting. Yet, she is notsatisfied. Often, she makes big plans for her future, such as become an accomplished writer and editor. "What I always had in mind was getting some big scholarship to graduate school or a grant to study all over Europe, and then I thought I'd be a professor and write books of poems and be an editor of some sort. Usually I had these plans on the tip of my tongue" (Plath, 32). However, along the way to achieving her dreams, she takes an unexpected wrong turn when she does not get accepted into the writting course she was hoping to get into. This causes her to have a panic attack and go into a deep depression. This time in her life related to the lyrics "Her feelings she hides, Her dreams she can't find, She's losing her mind, she's falling behind." As she goes deeper and deeper into her depression, she slowly losses all hope and happiness and attempts to end her own life. At this point she is, like the song suggests, "losing her faith, she's falling from Grace, she's all over the place." The song title also connects to Ester, because when Nobody is home, she decides to kill her herself. And like the songs says, when "nobody's home, theres no place to go... she's broken inside." This truely explains Ester, who feels like darkness surrounds her and that her life is meaningless. She explains that, "wherever I sat - on the deck of a ship or at a street cafe in Paris or Bangkok - I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air," (Plath, 185). Ester believes that she is stuck under a glass jar and that wherever she goes, she will still be crazy, depressed, and surrounded by the darkness that is engulfing her from the inside out.
Her dreams she can't find
She's losing her mind
She's falling behind
She can't find her place
She's losing her faith
She's falling from Grace
She's all over the place
The song Nobody's Home is a clear representation of how Ester, the main character in The Bell Jar, feels emotionally. Ester is getting a good education, a loving boyfriend, and the opportunity to live in New York for a month and do what she loves most, writting. Yet, she is notsatisfied. Often, she makes big plans for her future, such as become an accomplished writer and editor. "What I always had in mind was getting some big scholarship to graduate school or a grant to study all over Europe, and then I thought I'd be a professor and write books of poems and be an editor of some sort. Usually I had these plans on the tip of my tongue" (Plath, 32). However, along the way to achieving her dreams, she takes an unexpected wrong turn when she does not get accepted into the writting course she was hoping to get into. This causes her to have a panic attack and go into a deep depression. This time in her life related to the lyrics "Her feelings she hides, Her dreams she can't find, She's losing her mind, she's falling behind." As she goes deeper and deeper into her depression, she slowly losses all hope and happiness and attempts to end her own life. At this point she is, like the song suggests, "losing her faith, she's falling from Grace, she's all over the place." The song title also connects to Ester, because when Nobody is home, she decides to kill her herself. And like the songs says, when "nobody's home, theres no place to go... she's broken inside." This truely explains Ester, who feels like darkness surrounds her and that her life is meaningless. She explains that, "wherever I sat - on the deck of a ship or at a street cafe in Paris or Bangkok - I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air," (Plath, 185). Ester believes that she is stuck under a glass jar and that wherever she goes, she will still be crazy, depressed, and surrounded by the darkness that is engulfing her from the inside out.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Creep
"But I'm a creep / I'm a weirdo / What the hell am I doing here? / I don't belong here"
- Radiohead, "Creep"
- Radiohead, "Creep"
The novel The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is the story of Esther Greenwood, a
young woman who struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts. Many of the feelings Esther experiences
throughout the novel are echoed in these lyrics from the song “Creep” by
Radiohead. Esther, too, feels out
of place and "weird". She first
starts noticing these feelings when she is working in New York at a prestigious
fashion magazine, and she describes it like this: “I guess I should have been excited the way most of
the other girls were, but I couldn’t get myself to react. I felt very still and
very empty…” (Plath 3).
Clearly, Esther feels a disconnect between herself and others. This is a theme that continues
throughout the novel as her depression worsens—she eventually comes to think of
herself as existing separately from the rest of the “normal world”, trapped
under the imaginary bell jar for which the novel is named. Indeed, her feelings of strangeness and
apartness are mirror images of the feelings expressed in the song.
Adam's Song
Adam's Song by Blink 182 perfectly fits with The Bell Jar. It starts off with these lines that relate perfectly to what Esther is facing in this story.
"Too depressed, to go on
You'll be sorry, when I'm gone."
The struggle and roller coaster ride that Esther takes emotionally through out this book is quite heavy on me as a reader to listen to the awful, painful thoughts she has. The song "Adam's Song" has to do with a struggling teenager who is trying so hard to break out of this bottomless depression just how Esther does in the book. Some days she starts to get better and then others she gets worse then ever. For anyone that reads this book and might have thoughts that are relatable to those of Esther, I do not think The Bell Jar is a good choice because it is a dark memoir almost about the author herself, who does not end up well after this book was written. Overall, both the book and the song are about the tough mental ride someone took and the need of the person affected, to break out of it.
"Too depressed, to go on
You'll be sorry, when I'm gone."
The struggle and roller coaster ride that Esther takes emotionally through out this book is quite heavy on me as a reader to listen to the awful, painful thoughts she has. The song "Adam's Song" has to do with a struggling teenager who is trying so hard to break out of this bottomless depression just how Esther does in the book. Some days she starts to get better and then others she gets worse then ever. For anyone that reads this book and might have thoughts that are relatable to those of Esther, I do not think The Bell Jar is a good choice because it is a dark memoir almost about the author herself, who does not end up well after this book was written. Overall, both the book and the song are about the tough mental ride someone took and the need of the person affected, to break out of it.
Nothing Left to Say
"Who knows how long I've been awake now?
The shadows on my wall don't sleep
They keep calling me
Beckoning"
These lyrics from the song Nothing Left to Say by Imagine Dragons reflect Esther Greenwood's depression, especially during the time she spent staying with her mother. Esther often mentions that she hasn't been sleeping, such as when she says "I hadn't slept for twenty-one nights," and "I must be just about the only person who had stayed awake for a solid month without dropping dead of exhaustion," (147, 157). The shadows referred to in the song can be compared to Esther's suicidal thoughts. They plague her frequently, as shown by her asking Cal "If you were going to kill yourself how would you do it?" (156) Esther's suicide attempts are the result of her following the shadows when they beckon, since she is succumbing to her thoughts and trying to kill herself, first by drowning, then rope, then sleeping pills. The four lines of this song reflect the climax of Esther's downward spiral by representing her sleep deprivation, suicidal thoughts, and eventual attempts at suicide.
The shadows on my wall don't sleep
They keep calling me
Beckoning"
These lyrics from the song Nothing Left to Say by Imagine Dragons reflect Esther Greenwood's depression, especially during the time she spent staying with her mother. Esther often mentions that she hasn't been sleeping, such as when she says "I hadn't slept for twenty-one nights," and "I must be just about the only person who had stayed awake for a solid month without dropping dead of exhaustion," (147, 157). The shadows referred to in the song can be compared to Esther's suicidal thoughts. They plague her frequently, as shown by her asking Cal "If you were going to kill yourself how would you do it?" (156) Esther's suicide attempts are the result of her following the shadows when they beckon, since she is succumbing to her thoughts and trying to kill herself, first by drowning, then rope, then sleeping pills. The four lines of this song reflect the climax of Esther's downward spiral by representing her sleep deprivation, suicidal thoughts, and eventual attempts at suicide.
Miss Murder
"We're the empty set just floating through, wrapped in skin
Ever searching for what we were promised
Reaching for that golden ring we'd never let go"
The song I think relates most to The Bell Jar is "Miss Murder" by AFL. The song is about someone contemplating death in the face of hopelessness. Esther, the heroine of The Bell Jar sees no end to her illness, thus believes suicide to be the only escape. The first line, where the lyrics say, "We're the empty set just floating through, wrapped in skin," describes the numbness Esther feels. She describes herself as "the eye of a tornado" mulling around amidst the energy around her. Thus, pain is the only way she can make herself feel (cutting herself with a razor.) The next line,"Ever searching for what we were promised," could be the peace and happiness society promised Esther. She has a great life as an intern for a popular magazine in New York, she has nice clothes, and (seems to be) pretty. Everyone around her is genuinely happy so she feels she should be too. The very last line, "Reaching for that golden ring we'd never let go," relates to Esther's perception of the perfect relationship: a pure woman and a pure man (the golden ring.) When she discovers that Doreen, a good friend, , and Buddy, her ex, are not virgins, she has trouble letting go. She continuously calls Buddy a hypocrite and a bad person because he slept with someone and didn't tell her. I particularly thought this was a good song for the book because it makes suicide look like the only logical escape to the person, just as Sylvia Plath does.
Ever searching for what we were promised
Reaching for that golden ring we'd never let go"
The song I think relates most to The Bell Jar is "Miss Murder" by AFL. The song is about someone contemplating death in the face of hopelessness. Esther, the heroine of The Bell Jar sees no end to her illness, thus believes suicide to be the only escape. The first line, where the lyrics say, "We're the empty set just floating through, wrapped in skin," describes the numbness Esther feels. She describes herself as "the eye of a tornado" mulling around amidst the energy around her. Thus, pain is the only way she can make herself feel (cutting herself with a razor.) The next line,"Ever searching for what we were promised," could be the peace and happiness society promised Esther. She has a great life as an intern for a popular magazine in New York, she has nice clothes, and (seems to be) pretty. Everyone around her is genuinely happy so she feels she should be too. The very last line, "Reaching for that golden ring we'd never let go," relates to Esther's perception of the perfect relationship: a pure woman and a pure man (the golden ring.) When she discovers that Doreen, a good friend, , and Buddy, her ex, are not virgins, she has trouble letting go. She continuously calls Buddy a hypocrite and a bad person because he slept with someone and didn't tell her. I particularly thought this was a good song for the book because it makes suicide look like the only logical escape to the person, just as Sylvia Plath does.
"Panic Attack"
"Panic Attack"- Dream Theater
The song "Panic Attack" by Dream Theater describes the thoughts and emotions of a person experiencing a panic attack. The lyrics are written in first person, which mirrors the point of view in which Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar was written. Both the song and the novel take us inside the mind of a mentally unstable person, and both are, at times, chilling to the bone. Esther has a few panic attacks throughout The Bell Jar, which in the end send her down into a deep, suicidal depression. In the seventh verse of "Panic Attack," the lyrics are "Tension strikes, Choking me, Worries grow." Tension strikes when Esther suddenly finds out that she has not been accepted to the writing course. Although she claims that she was expecting the worst, it is clear that she really thought she would make it. She starts to get very nervous and has a panic attack, falling into a depression. She constantly worries about her future, making one insane plan after another. She is just grasping since her plan in life came crashing down on her in a matter of seconds. "Panic Attack" goes on to say, "Rapid heartbeat pounding through my chest./Agitated body in distress . . . Daily life is strangled by my stress." As soon as Esther's mother tells her the news about her rejection by the instructors of the writing course, Esther says, "The air punched out of my stomach" (Plath 114). After taking such a blow, she and her body become agitated and remain that way for quite some time. While Esther stays at her mother's house, she is never the same. Every day, she is so stressed and depressed that she thinks about ending her life. In a way, a part of her already died with the rejection: her happiness and hope. "Panic Attack" says later on, "Lost all hope for redemption. A grave situation desperate at best." While Esther does make a plethora of plans in the days after her rejection from the writing course, she knows in her heart that she will not follow through with any of them. She sees a one-way path in her depression, and it ends in death. In her mind, there is no hope of recovery. Therefore, she decides to try to kill herself, which is a very grave situation that is clearly a desperate cry for help.
The song "Panic Attack" by Dream Theater describes the thoughts and emotions of a person experiencing a panic attack. The lyrics are written in first person, which mirrors the point of view in which Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar was written. Both the song and the novel take us inside the mind of a mentally unstable person, and both are, at times, chilling to the bone. Esther has a few panic attacks throughout The Bell Jar, which in the end send her down into a deep, suicidal depression. In the seventh verse of "Panic Attack," the lyrics are "Tension strikes, Choking me, Worries grow." Tension strikes when Esther suddenly finds out that she has not been accepted to the writing course. Although she claims that she was expecting the worst, it is clear that she really thought she would make it. She starts to get very nervous and has a panic attack, falling into a depression. She constantly worries about her future, making one insane plan after another. She is just grasping since her plan in life came crashing down on her in a matter of seconds. "Panic Attack" goes on to say, "Rapid heartbeat pounding through my chest./Agitated body in distress . . . Daily life is strangled by my stress." As soon as Esther's mother tells her the news about her rejection by the instructors of the writing course, Esther says, "The air punched out of my stomach" (Plath 114). After taking such a blow, she and her body become agitated and remain that way for quite some time. While Esther stays at her mother's house, she is never the same. Every day, she is so stressed and depressed that she thinks about ending her life. In a way, a part of her already died with the rejection: her happiness and hope. "Panic Attack" says later on, "Lost all hope for redemption. A grave situation desperate at best." While Esther does make a plethora of plans in the days after her rejection from the writing course, she knows in her heart that she will not follow through with any of them. She sees a one-way path in her depression, and it ends in death. In her mind, there is no hope of recovery. Therefore, she decides to try to kill herself, which is a very grave situation that is clearly a desperate cry for help.
“So my mind was filled with wonder when the evening headlines read: “Richard Cory went home last night and put a bullet through his head.””
- Richard Cory, Simon and Garfunkel
The song that I feel represents The Bell Jar is Richard Cory by Simon and Garfunkel. It is a song about a wealthy and respected factory owner who, despite seemingly having an excellent life, is unhappy and kills himself. Both the song and the book feature characters- Cory and Esther- who have supposedly good lives, but are unhappy. The line “Oh, he surely must be happy with everything he’s got.” shows that people generally assume Cory must be happy because he is a wealthy factory owner. Esther in the The Bell Jar also has a supposedly good life: She is smart and is getting an excellent education, she loves and is allegedly good at writing, and she has a boyfriend who loves her and wants to marry her. However, neither Esther nor Richard Cory are happy with their lives. Richard Cory’s unhappiness is illustrated by some of the final lines of the song: “So my mind was filled with wonder when the evening headlines read: “Richard Cory went home last night and put a bullet through his head.”” Similarly to Cory, Esther attempts suicide multiple times because she feels her life is meaningless. Eventually, these feelings drive her insane, although she eventually recovers, unlike Cory.
Lyrics from The Piano Man
"He's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's someplace that he'd rather be.
He says, 'Bill I believe this is killing me'
As a smile ran way from his face.
'Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star,
If I could get out of this place.'"
These specific lyrics from The Piano Man by Billy Joel relates to how Esther is feeling constantly while she suffers in the mental institute. In the beginning of the novel, she is willing to go to parties and wander about New York City but when her mental illness is discovered, all of that changes. Esther, similar to "John" in The Piano Man, believes that only if she could escape this illness and the hospital she could be a great writer. She thinks that this illness is killing and suffocating her just as if she were trapped underneath a bell jar. Constantly making attempts at suicide, Esther believes that this is the only way that she would be able to escape her suffering. If only this illness and hospital life would go away, she could be a famous writer, just as "John" in the song believes that he could be a movie star.
But there's someplace that he'd rather be.
He says, 'Bill I believe this is killing me'
As a smile ran way from his face.
'Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star,
If I could get out of this place.'"
These specific lyrics from The Piano Man by Billy Joel relates to how Esther is feeling constantly while she suffers in the mental institute. In the beginning of the novel, she is willing to go to parties and wander about New York City but when her mental illness is discovered, all of that changes. Esther, similar to "John" in The Piano Man, believes that only if she could escape this illness and the hospital she could be a great writer. She thinks that this illness is killing and suffocating her just as if she were trapped underneath a bell jar. Constantly making attempts at suicide, Esther believes that this is the only way that she would be able to escape her suffering. If only this illness and hospital life would go away, she could be a famous writer, just as "John" in the song believes that he could be a movie star.
Comfortably Numb
"When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse out of the corner of my eye / I turned to look but it was gone, I cannot put my finger on it now / the child is grown, the dream is gone / I have become comfortably numb."
-Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, "Comfortably Numb" (The Wall, 1979)
This quote, from the 1979 Pink Floyd song "Comfortably Numb", directly relates to the situation of Esther Greenwood. As she struggles with chronic depression and attempts suicide throughout The Bell Jar, she is confronted and challenged by a feeling that her childhood is entirely gone, and she does not know how to deal with that. She compensates with self harm, which is eventually what lands her in the mental hospital. Also, Roger Waters uses the phrase "Comfortably Numb" to describe a state of being reached by the protagonist of the album "The Wall", Pink. Pink has shut himself off from the world in such a way that he is beyond aid from any person, and he is always entirely isolated in his mind, no matter if he is surrounded by other people. I think this matches Esther's feelings about the bell jar that hangs over her, threatening to trap her into darkness and isolation and depression. Another few lines from the song also verbalize Esther's situation: "Hello, is there anybody in there / just nod if you can hear me.....I can ease your pain and get you on your feet again.......Can you show me where it hurts". These lines pinpoint the doctors' attempts to help Esther and her inability to cooperate. The doctors can never truly get rid of the bell jar, and she has accepted that as a reality, therefore becoming comfortable in her state of numbness.
Hello Darkness My Old Friend
"Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you
again"-Simon & Garfunkel
The lyrics of the Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel play
exactly to the tune of The
Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Esther,
a constant fighter of depression, time and time falls into slumps in which she
is not emotionally capable of doing anything. She finds herself often in a
state in which all she can see is darkness, she cannot take joy in anything and
at a point, Esther simply becomes entranced with the subject of death. She even
goes as far to poll people for inspiration on this subject, when she casually
asks Cal, "If you were going to kill yourself, how would you do it?"
(156 Plath) However he does not pick up on the seriousness of this question and
never recognizes the danger that Esther is in, no one does, because they only
one she talks to, is the darkness inside of her. The only thing she thinks
about is how much of an utter mess she is, slowly undoing herself. By the end
of the novel, to Esther, darkness is no stranger; in fact it is more a friend
that she revisits time after time. For months she examines the
possibility of her death again and again, considering outcomes and ways to
finally end it. She eventually gives in to her temptations and attempts suicide
multiple times. However, she after months of physiological help she is able to
rid herself of the darkness and returns to her normal life on a more hopeful
note. Yet it is doubtless that the demons inside her never truly left and she
will inevitably have to revisit the darkness for a final time.
The Middle
"The Middle" - Jimmy Eat World
"It just takes some time, little girl you're in the middle of the ride. Everything (everything) will be just fine, everything (everything) will be alright (alright)."
"The Middle" is a song about a girl who is going through some rough depression, and the artist is telling her that in time everything will be alright, she's just in a bad place at the moment. This relates to The Bell Jar, because of Esther's situation. Esther begins in New York City, going to parties, wearing nice clothes, she even says, "I was supposed to be having the time of my life." (Plath, 2), implying that she had everything a girl her age would want. Yet, she tries to kill herself after going through a shock treatment. When she goes through this phase, she is in the "middle". Soon enough, through various treatments, Esther is able to recuperate, at least as much as ridding herself of her suicidal thoughts, thus out of the "middle" and that everything will soon be alright.
"It just takes some time, little girl you're in the middle of the ride. Everything (everything) will be just fine, everything (everything) will be alright (alright)."
"The Middle" is a song about a girl who is going through some rough depression, and the artist is telling her that in time everything will be alright, she's just in a bad place at the moment. This relates to The Bell Jar, because of Esther's situation. Esther begins in New York City, going to parties, wearing nice clothes, she even says, "I was supposed to be having the time of my life." (Plath, 2), implying that she had everything a girl her age would want. Yet, she tries to kill herself after going through a shock treatment. When she goes through this phase, she is in the "middle". Soon enough, through various treatments, Esther is able to recuperate, at least as much as ridding herself of her suicidal thoughts, thus out of the "middle" and that everything will soon be alright.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Welcome to the blogosphere!
Welcome! This is the digital hub for our class--a place where you will posts and comment throughout the year as a way of keeping up the conversation outside of the boundaries of the physical classroom.
Your first assignment is below:
Your first assignment is below:
Bohjalian prefaces The Buffalo Soldier with Bob Marley’s lyrics. Now, it’s your turn to imagine a musical epigraph for The Bell Jar. Pick some lyrics from a song (can be from any era) that you think best introduce a central them, motif, setting, idea, or character in the novel. Be selective with the lyrics (don’t quote more than 6 lines) and be sure to include them in your post. Then, write a well-developed post (think of this as a journal—I’ll be grading you on your ideas mostly) that proves why your lyrics are the most appropriate musical epigraph for the novel.
Extra Credit: Embed a YouTube video of your song (Go to YouTube, click on "Share" under the video, click on "Embed," copy the embed code, and in your blog post, click on HTML in the upper left hand corner of the taskbar. Paste the video into the HTML box and then click back on compose and write the rest of your post.)
An embedded video should look like this:
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