Hopefully more well formatted version of my comment. The semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is perhaps more well known because of the author’s tragic life, rather than the story itself. It follows the life of Esther Greenwood, an alias for Plath herself. Esther is a brilliant student from humble backgrounds who is plagued by indirection and her relationship with Buddy Willard, a handsome yet hypocritical young man studying to be a doctor. As her mind and plans unravel, Esther becomes suicidal and is taken to a mental institute.
There are several key aspects of the stories that, if the novel were to become a major motion picture, should be highlighted both by the actors and the soundtrack. The song Hey There Delilah by Plain White Tees illustrates Esther’s condition at the start of the novel: Longing for something more and hoping all of her work will pay off, as well as Buddy’s constant presence in the back of her mind. Hey there Delilah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoaT6WXUV_M
Throughout the story, Esther constantly sees herself or others as appearing foreign and unknown to her. Additionally, she is estranged from her mother and has few close friends. This can be represented through The Outsider by Marina and the Diamonds. The Outsider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1rtFnpz-uo (F-Bomb gets dropped halfway through)
Esther feels empowered and experienced around Buddy Willard, but when she realizes how hypocritical he is, she soon finds his presence both intriguing and infuriating. In some ways, the song Gives You Hell by All-American Rejects shows Esther’s disappointment and frustration at herself over not achieving her goals and her need to be around Buddy, despite her knowledge of his flaws. Hope it gives you hell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UWgRwVRbxc
Esther feels especially betrayed when Buddy reveals that he slept with a random waitress he met and feels like she’s lost power over him. Also, one of Buddy’s ex-girlfriends, Joan, commits suicide after being placed in the same asylum Esther is in. Afterwards, he asks Esther if there’s something about him the drives women to insanity, as seen in the man described in Christina Perri’s Jar of Hearts. Jar of Hearts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H21fj0hQRM
And for a more modern, popular song, Problem by Ariana Grande represents Esther’s longing for Buddy, despite the flaws she points out in him and her repulsion to marriage and family. Problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXb72U5HnMM
Finally, to show Esther’s descent into madness, the songs Breaking Down Again by Florence and the Machine and Madness by Muse would accentuate the scene. Breaking Down again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx0IMHco81I Madness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhvtRykqpQk
“Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield: Esther is repeatedly asked about her future and she tends to alternate between having no future plans and having these, grand and extravagant dreams. This song talks about “staring at the blank page before you” and how her story is unwritten, and hers to write, speaking to both sides of her: the side that has no plans and the side that has dreams “the rest is still unwritten” and she has the opportunity to write it. Sidenote: “Feel the rain on your skin” and she seems to have this love of rain and water in general. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7k0a5hYnSI
“Casual Sex” by My Darkest Days: This addresses two things actually. Firstly, the scene in which Buddy admits he’d been having a casual affair with some waitress and also when Esther had slept with the professor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwOchsxVuY0
“Run The World” by Beyoncé: Many times Esther talks about how she doesn’t want guys to control her and has very progressive thoughts for women and feminism. “What he secretly wanted… was for her to flatten out underneath his feet” (86) and she has no intention for that to happen. Run The World is about women taking over the world and just generally being fabulous. (Also, “King of Anything” totally works for this too, especially to touch on the skiing scene and the fact that he doesn’t own her). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBmMU_iwe6U
“I Dreamed A Dream” by Anne Hathaway: Back to the dreams thing, yes I know I already touched on this but this one’s important. This would be for around the time when she was rejected from the writing course. It was sort of her lastd dream for the future and was about the time she had her mental break down. This song touches on the fact that “dreams are made and used and wasted” and the fact that dreams don’t always work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmHcDWrMH-8
“Happy Little Pill” by Troye Silvan: When Esther is seriously suicidal she tries to commit suicide multiple ways, the most successful having been pills. This song promises, “My happy little pill, take me away” and that’s all Esther wants. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEWHF3E9YJQ
“Skyscraper” by Demi Lovato: When Sylvia is in the mental hospital she slowly begins to recover and although it takes a lot of effort, she manages to (presumably) find her way out. She’s stronger now than she was before, “I am. I am. I am” (243). And no matter what life throws at her she will “rise like a skyscraper.” (Also, “Girl On Fire” by Alicia Keys” would totally work for like, when she enters the room and is just fabulous). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_8ydghbGSg
Plath’s infamous novel, The Bell Jar, follows Esther a student at Smith College, as she travels to New York City, Boston, and a mental hospital. Esther’s confusion and dissatisfaction stems from her desire to become a woman and fear of not conforming to the domestic and submissive role of a 1960’s woman. Societal pressure tells Esther that she must be gleeful and a model housewife though her aspirations lie elsewhere. She puts on this façade but struggles with the expression of her individualism.
The first song for the cinematization of The Bell Jar would be :19th Nervous Breakdown popularized by The Rolling Stones. This song manages to capture Esther’s façade while in New York City for the summer. While in New York City, Esther struggles with her identity. She expects to have the experience of a lifetime but has trouble coping with her naivety compared to the other girls. When Frankie and Lenny invite Doreen and Esther to his ranch, Esther is mortified by Lenny’s attempt to seduce Doreen. Esther becomes dispirited stating, “There is something demoralizing about watching two people get more and more crazy about each other” (Plath 16). When Doreen latched on to Lenny’s earlobe after he attempts to grope her, panic ensues. Esther quickly flees, shocked at what just occurred. Esther tries to appear mature stating to herself, “even when they surprised me or made me sick I never let on, but pretended that’s the way I knew things were all the time” (Plath 13). 19th Nervous Breakdown by The Rolling Stone captures Esther’s actions very well. The song’s introduction talks about a person who tries to be the life of the party, full of exuberancy yet hiding their tears. This parallels Esther’s desire to be a vibrant woman like Doreen, yet fear and uncertainty about her own future. Irony exists between the two stories in that Esther’s pain comes from inexperience whereas the subject of the song comes from childhood struggles. The motif of concealing one’s feelings is still applicable. The 1960’s style is also contemporaneous to the setting.
The second song, Diary of A Madman by Ozzy Osbourne captures the manifestation of Esther’s illness through her writing as well as her difficulty with recognizing her own reflection in the mirror. After hearing about her rejection from the writing program Esther decides to write a novel. She attempts to illustrate the life of Elaine a protagonist waiting on her porch for a grown-up experience. As Esther continues to write she realizes she is plagued by inexperience. Regarding her trouble with her novel she states, “Then I knew what the trouble was. I needed experience” (Plath 121). Plath shows Esther’s struggle in a metaphor saying, “I counted one, two, three…nineteen telephone poles, and then the wires dangled into space, and try as I would, I couldn’t see a single pole beyond the nineteenth” (Plath 123). Through counting telephone poles Esther manages to view her life in perspective. She realizes her naivety stems from a lock of age and can’t materialize a way in which she can grow. She can’t write about the intangible. This moment of depression connects to Osbourne’s song in which he writes, “Enemies fill up the pages. Are they me?” (Osbourne). Esther’s enemy is inexperience represented by her inability to fill up a page. She starts to believe she is Elaine, the protagonist, simply waiting for something to happen. Diary of a Madman’s irregular tempo and loud nature would perfectly capture the state of mind of someone mentally ill.
Osbourne’s Diary of a Madman also captures Esther’s inability to identify herself in a mirror. After Esther’s suicide attempt she is startled by her bruised and discolored face. She can barley identify herself and doesn’t associate what she sees with herself. In Diary of a Madman, Osbourne sings, “The mirror tells me lies. Could I mistake myself for someone” (Osbourne). Here the singer expresses the same sentiment of an exterior not representing a person correctly. Esther sees a young woman but still feels like a beaten down and inexperienced child.
Love the stones... The song "Mother's Little Helper" could also apply to the situation in which Ester found herself (constricting 1950s housewife era). Perhaps part of her frustration stems from her gender and its contemporary challenges. "Mother's Little helper," or Valium, is one form of escape. Hiding in the basement and intentionally ODing is another...
Part 2: Say My Name by Destiny’s Child would successfully represent the contempt Esther has for Buddy Willard after he cheats on her. Plath’s portrayal of Buddy as a philanderer is also similar to Rodney Jenkin’s brief interlude. When Esther finds out that Buddy has cheated on her with a waitress in Cape Cod, she is absolutely disgusted. Buddy views Esther in the conventional role of a wife and mother. Esther longs for a “grownup” sexual experience, as shown when she asks him to undress in front of her. Instead of being intimate with her, he abandons her feelings and has an affair with a random woman. In Say My Name Beyoncé is speculative and disgusted at the actions of her boyfriend. She states, “Could it be that you are at the crib with another lady…When you can not say my name” (Destiny’s Child). Here Beyoncé expresses the same sentiment as Esther. They are both ashamed that their lovers would cheat on them, without them in mind. The last part of the song features Rodney Jenkins attempting to seduce his girlfriend and other woman. This portion of the song would be perfect to play during Buddy’s fling as it fits his portrayal as a womanizer. In the song Jenkins attempts to swoon other woman saying, “Where my ladies at. Can you say that, come on” (Destiny’s Child). Jenkins is shown as a heartless antagonist caring more about lust and quantity than true love for his partner.
The final song, 7861, by Beneath the Sky manages to express Esther’s experience with suicide in a more literal sense. Throughout, the novel Esther attempts to kill herself, going as far as swimming out to sea and attempting to drown herself. The introduction of the song starts with a crescendo, growing in energy and pace. This would be effective at accompanying the scene when Esther tries to drown herself. The first lyrics are, “They Found the body. Hanging from the ceiling” (Beneath the Sky). These lyrics could be played when she tries to drown herself. This could also be played when Esther finds out that Joan has hanged herself. The end of the song would be perfect when Esther goes into the meeting with the doctors to determine if she can be released. This moment juxtaposed with those of earlier chapters shows a drastic change in her wellbeing. The end of the song becomes quieter as the lead singer condemns suicide and offers a resolution: “Just cut your rope... You could have been saved... Just cut your rope (Beneath the Sky)”. In the literal sense this would prevent suicide but is also a metaphor for Esther releasing her inner demons and deterring her suicidal thoughts. 19th Nervous Breakdown, Diary of a Madman, 7861, and Say My Name would be ideal for a movie based on The Bell Jar.
Links to the songs: 19th Nervous Breakdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_sf8XFkmUg Diary of a Madman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5iOEWuIwbU 7861: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqC5x3H1oEE Say My Name: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_lmRg5jo0o
In the beginning of the novel, Esther was in New York for a guest editor job with 11 other girls. In New York, Esther spent time with the richer class. She went to expensive lunches and stayed at the Amazon. However, Esther was uncomfortable with money. She stated that her mother had to support the family alone after her father died, and she isn't used to spending money here and there. She doesn't see the glamorous New York as happy and fun. A song to express her consciousness when it comes to money is Glory&Gore by Lorde. Another thing that always lingers in Esther's mind is suicide. She is constantly thinking about commiting suicide. She is depressed and sad. She feels like she has nothing to live for. She believes she has no future because her opportunities/dreams are no longer in reach. She compares this to a fig tree. To express the sadness, the depression, the songs Bring me to Life by Evanescence should be on the soundtrack. Esther feels lonely, and this is one of the things that drives her crazy. There is no one that Esther really trusts. She thought she trusted Doreen, but decided she wanted nothing to do with her. She also has problems with her mother. The only person she really trusted was her father. She realizes that when he passed away, when she was 9, she stopped being happy. She only really has herself, and I believe that drove her a little crazy.Two songs that express her loneliness are My Immortal by Evanescence and The Lonely by Christina Perri. However, by the end of the book, I believe that Esther began to trust Dr.Nolan. Dr.Nolan never lied to Esther and she treated her with respect, as if she wasn't crazy. This may have been because it was her job or because she truly cared about Esther, but either way Esther trusted Dr.Nolan. A song to describe their relationship would be Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift. Esther also has a problem with men. She has this past with Buddy, who she used to like but now believes is untrustworthy. Also while in New York she was raped/sexually abused. She also states how she thinks that men make women stupid and thats why she doesn't want to marry one. A song to describe her distrust towards men is Hurt by Christina Aguilera. Esther was sort of crazy, as she went through some of the experiences she has been through. She was this girl from Boston who suddenly went through some traumatic events in New York, being raped, and seeing this whole new material world. She went crazy. She had a few weak points, in which she resulted in the thought of killing herself. Three songs that I believe express her craziness is Human by Christina Perri, The A team by Ed Sheeran and Demons by Imagine Dragons.
I’ve Got a Dark Alley And a Bad Idea That Says Shut Your Mouth (Summer Song) – Fall Out Boy – (I know that’s a really long weird title that makes no sense}
Lyrics in this song describe Esther’s situation towards the beginning of the book when she was still in college. Even that early on in the book she shows signs about being depressed, but at that point, she is still leading up to the breaking point that happens in the middle of the book by trying to commit suicide. When the song says, “And the record won’t stop skipping/ And the lies just won’t stop slipping/ And besides my reputation’s on the line”, it reminds me of Esther figuring out her on set depression while still trying to fit in and have a normal life in college. She doesn’t want to stick out and be different and upfront with these thoughts, opinions, and views of life she has.
You Don’t Care About Me – Shakira Esther’s relationship with Buddy is something that is mentioned a lot in the text. We see Esther’s feelings about Buddy shift over time. The lyrics, “I listened sweetly to your sour tone,” relates to Esther’s opinion of Buddy’s actions and opinions. She doesn’t agree with what Buddy says about marriage, women, or sex, but she still puts up with him until later in the book where she can’t deal with the relationship anymore. Also, when Shakira sings: “You don’t care about me/…You don’t care if I die,” I see Esther relating to these lyrics. Through Esther’s eyes, it seems that Buddy does not care about her well being over all. Esther thinks Buddy would not care if she died because he didn’t help her when she was in the hospital, and he constantly twists and manipulates herself and her feelings.
Camisado - Panic at the Disco I think this song would fit well with Esther's situation after she first attempts to commit suicide. She gets admitted into a hospital and seems like everything starts to unravel quickly for her. "The I.V. and your hospital bed/ This was no accident/ This was a therapeutic chain of events" - Even within the first few lines, this song relates to Esther's situation quite well.
Disturbia - Rihanna This song, even though it seems like a 2000s popular pop song, is actually quite "disturbing" once you read the lyrics. "What's wrong with me?/Why do I feel like this?/I'm going crazy now" - In the book, Esther does feel like something is wrong with her and wants to fix it. When she says, " I would rather have anything wrong with my body than something wrong with my head, but the idea seemed so involved and wearisome," (180), ithe lyrics from Disturbia: ("What's wrong with me?/Why do I feel like this?/I'm going crazy now/...Out my life, out my head/Don't wanna think about it") come to mind.
Gasoline – Troye Sivan I personally do not think that the verses relate so well with the Bell Jar; however, the chorus relates to depression. Esther just wants to start over and fix her mental health issues. Troye Sivan sings about a similar issue when he says, “Please bathe me now, wash me clean/ Just set my heart on fire, like gasoline.” Esther wants to be washed clean of all her troubles, and stripped/burned of her feelings. Also, depression makes people feel disinterested in all activities and disconnects you from emotion for the most part. Perhaps she feels like her heart has already been doused in gasoline; as if she doesn’t have a heart to care about herself anymore.
The Bell Jar by Silvia Plath was probably the most memorable book I have read. Aside from the curiosity, and cruel interest we have in Esther's rather unfortunate situation, I think Esther is a character we should learn from. While reading the book, it became obvious that she had controversy in her life when it came to things like her career, sex, and boys in general.
There were many problems as well as accomplishments throughout the book that certain songs would accentuate. I believe that Esther was a fortunate girl in an unfortunate situation. At the beginning of the book, she told us how lucky she had been to be chosen for this fabulous Job in New York, but also how numb and indifference she felt toward her "dream". Although I have no doubt that her dream was to write, she spent a lot of the book not being motivated, which left her unfortunate in her very fortunate situation. The feeling of being stuck can best be represented by the song Stop and Stare by One Republic.
Esther had shown us how much Buddy has played her over the course of their relationship. It started with Buddy stopping by her house to drop hints that he may visit Esther at college. Then, when he comes to her college, he's their to pick up another girl for a date. A while later, she receives an invitation for Buddy's prom where he ignored her, kissed her, and then called it a night. When Esther finally has enough courage to break up with such a degrading man, he gets TB. After a few phone calls and letters, Esther clearly stated that she didn't want to be with Buddy. This relationship can best be described by Taylor Swift's song, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.
At a certain point in the book(around Ch.7), Esther was actually trying to decide what she wanted out of her life. Not just the obvious things like her job, but what she wanted to make out of herself. She contemplated being a wife, having kids, being an editor, or traveling. She compared many of her dreams to a fig tree, and how she had to chose which lifestyle she wanted. Although she got close, Esther pictured herself at the base of the tree not being able to make any decisions. If you were to be watching this scene in a movie, a motivational song like Stronger by Kelly Clarkson would probably shine some light on the hopeless situation Esther is in.
When Esther's mental condition seemed to have worsened, her doctor, Dr.Gordon, suggested shock therapy. I think she felt like she wasn't in control of her own situation by letting Dr.Gordon convince her to take these treatments. At the end, it felt dreadful to endure such unnecessary pain. This awful situation is best represented by the song I will survive by Gloria Gaynor.
A very sensitive subject is discussed by Esther and Dr. Nolan about the double standards, or just the difference between men and woman in general. Earlier in the book she talked about how she didn't think it was fair that men could lose their virginity but women should wait until marriage. She also told Dr. Nolan that one day becoming pregnant is something that is restricting her from living her life and being free like men. This aspect of the book could best be described by Pink's woman-empowement song called So What.
Throughout the book The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, the harsh reality of being an extremely depressed young woman with suicidal thoughts and no one to turn to in this riveting tale of loneliness and pessimism . Esther is an intelligent, talented college student who won a highly competitive competition to go to New York as an assistant to one of the top magazines. However, she is not satisfied with her life, and even the glamorous life of New York with all of the free shopping sprees and fancy dinners cannot satisfy her. Instead, she feels trapped, unable to breathe almost. As the story unfolds and more people enter her life, her depression turns her suicidal, and afterwards she is placed in a hospital. In the two hospitals she visits, she learns how to come to terms with the people around her, including her friends and mom.
I believe that the song “I Hate Everything About You” by Three Days Grace is a good piece to add the soundtrack of The Bell Jar if it ever became a movie because the song talks about how at first the singer loved someone immensely no matter what happened, but when the singer thought about the person they thought they loved, the singer’s love turned to hate. This is similar to how Esther thought that she loved Buddy, but once she learned more about Buddy and thought about who he really was, she realized that she hated him. Esther also ended up hating her mother as well, even though Esther used to love her mother and her mother continues to love her.
The song “Toys in the Attic” by Aerosmith would be a great addition to the soundtrack because it explains the feeling of going insane, of leaving everything one loved, everything one feared, behind, and how it feels like there are “toys” in the “attic”, or so much clutter and thoughts and ideas going on in the brain that nothing seems real anymore, it’s just all part of the clutter. This is similar to how Esther feels, how she is going through life whilst she is depressed. She feels like everything around her is not there or everything is annoying her, as if they are just toys strewn around and in her way. People that she loved no longer are loved by her, and her life seems hazy almost, as if it’s all of her actions aren’t really her doing.
“Armatage Shanks” by Green Day would also make a great addition to the soundtrack because it is about a person who is always self-loathing and pessimistic about everything around them and that they’re pessimism is pushing everyone away, even though they decide to be a pessimist. Although they are pushing everyone away, the person they are hurting most are themselves and they are so lonely that they are trapped in their minds. This is similar to Esther’s situation, for Esther has pushed everyone away by insisting on being alone, but by being alone she has driven herself into a further depression to the point of suicide, so the only person that is really hurt in the end is herself
I think I have a few toys in my attic, too, especially after reading this book... Great metaphor! My daughter leaves toys around all day, and when I break my legs on them its enough to send me straight to McLean in a straight jacket. Clutter is madness.
As a young woman who is constantly thinking about suicide, Esther's struggles and attempts at finding help could be described by the song "My Immortal" by Evanescence. A sad and haunting song, it's addressing someone who left, either by choice or by force and the narrator desperately wants that someone to come back. While Esther may not be longing for someone in particular, towards the end of the book she begins to long for her sanity and the routinely life she had before. The beginning of the chorus says "There's just too much that time cannot erase" and that fits well with Esther's last stretch at an asylum because she spends much time there but when she's released, she's not so sure she's completely whole and doesn't know how she's going to regain a normal life.
Another song for the soundtrack would be "Save Rock and Roll" by Fall Out Boy. Although they're singing about saving rock and roll, a situation very different from Esther's, the song and lyrics portray a desperation to see "more dreams and less life" and "that dark in a little more light". More of the lyrics and chorus talk about defying what's going on around you and standing for what you believe in, which Esther did when she was with Buddy and Doreen.
"Titanium" by David Guetta feat. Sia would be on the soundtrack because although Esther had tried to kill herself multiple times, whether by accident or on purpose she survived and failed to succumb to her suicidal thoughts. The narrator of the song is telling someone to "fire away" because she's indestructible, she won't stay down and even if Esther isn't trying to, she always manages to get back up again.
1. Throughout The Bell Jar Esther struggles with her depression and getting through to her family. Her mother often disregards how serious her condition is and just keeps telling her to get better, as though it was something she could that easily control. For this reason, I chose the song “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” by My Chemical Romance. This song contains lyrics such as “You said you read me like a book/ But the pages are all torn and frayed” suggesting that even though Esther’s mother pretended to understand, she really had no idea what was going on. 2. “I've Got a Dark Alley and a Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth (Summer Song)” by Fall Out Boy relates to The Bell Jar in two main ways. The lyrics of the song include lines such as “Please put the doctor on the phone/ Because I’m not making any sense” which was exactly what Esther did. As soon as her life started to down spiral she tried going to therapists and doctors, some, like Dr. Gordon, who didn’t even make any positive changes. In addition, this song talks about how “Poets are just kids who didn’t make it”. Esther wasn’t able to make it out of her depression easily, however she always seemed to find peace in her writing and poetry. 3. Although Esther attempted to commit suicide many times, what would be considered her most “successful” time was when she consumed all of the pills. In the song “Me, You, and My Medication” by Boys Like Girls, the lyrics “We’re all looking for something to take away the pain/ Me, and you, and my medication” directly address suicide by taking pills, making it a good fit for the occasion. 4. In the beginning of the novel, Esther’s lost all respect for Buddy, whom she claimed was a hypocrite for having an affair with someone other than her. Despite him saying that it was nothing serious, she still found herself disgusted by his hypocrisy on being “pure”. The song “Casual Affair” by Panic! At the Disco starts off with the lyrics, “Look’s innocent enough doesn’t it?/ But sometimes there are dangers involved that never meet the eye.” Buddy could have used this song as a sort of advice on his part because what he thought was a “casual affair” ruined his relationship. In addition, the lines “A lover on the left/ A sinner on the right” could be compared to Esther and Buddy’s relationship due to Esther being “pure” and Buddy not.
5. A reoccurring struggle in the side effects of Esther’s depression was the inability to fall asleep. Although the nurse denied her staying awake all night at one point, she still had the feeling that she had been awake for weeks on end, at one point even claiming that it had been 21 days. The song “Sleep” by My Chemical Romance says, “So shut your eyes/ Kiss me goodnight/ And sleep/ Just sleep”. These lyrics represent what she was probably feeling during all of this. She was ready to say goodbye to everything and not just get some sleep, but fall asleep for good. 6. Esther went through many phases in which she was considered mentally unstable. For long periods of time she was locked away in mental asylums with very close supervision and care, and had basically gone crazy due to her depression. Therefore, the song “Where Is My Mind” by The Pixies asks the question that Esther was most likely asking herself during those apprehensive times. 7. Although Esther did make the final decision to kill herself (despite it luckily failing), she still sought out help before the depression reached the tipping point. In this way, her inner monologue would be very similar to the lyrics of “Still Breathing” by Mayday Parade, such as, “Tell me that it's worth it/ 'Cause I'm doing all I can to fight it/ And I've never been this scared/ And my moment's finally here”. 8. Finally, the looming fact that Esther was best at getting scholarships and awards and that was coming to an end helped to push her into depression. Whenever she was forced to think about where she was headed in life she would always claim she had no idea (despite having great talent in poetry). In the song, “Reinventing the Wheel to Run Myself Over” by Fall Out Boy, the lyrics say, “I can't wake up to these reminders of who I am:/ A failure at everything... 18 going on extinct.” This goes along with the theme that her time was running out to pick a direction in which she wanted to go after college, but was only able to think of what she couldn’t do rather than what she could.
through out the book, "The Bell Jar" by sylvia plath, the main character esther is often plagued by her seemingly unhelpful ability to think too much. often a time she finds herself struggling to enjoy her life as the other people she meets can. her apparent depression is brought to light after her trip to new york. however coming from humble beginnings Esther has always tried her hardest and done very well in school. her chance to shine comes after she is accepted for the internship in new york. this experience would be highlighted by the song, "Blackbird" by the Beetles. the lyrics, "Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these broken wings and learn to fly All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arrive", relates to Esther's big chance at being happy and breaking out. she must come from being unheard and finally take her chance at a big opportunity. When Esther firsts speaks about her intimate relationship with Buddy, she is very happy, she describes herself as being head over heels, and being very happy. as young love often seems the purest to those it concerns, Esther is ecstatic about buddy and her being together. these times of happiness and bliss can be described by the song, "young love" by Sonny James. the song says,"They say for every boy and girl There's just one love in this whole world And I know I've found mine". these lyrics can represent the way that Esther feels about buddy and their feelings towards each other. When Esther asks Buddy if he has ever had another woman and he replies yes, their relationship that could best be described by the lyrics of "True love" by pink comes crashing down. Pink says,"sometimes i hate every single stupid word you say sometimes i wanna punch you in your whole face, it must be true love" this describes how Esther felt, because she felt that Buddy often times tried to keep her down and suppress her emotions. even though she did not feel confident about the relationship as a whole, she is still crushed when Buddy tells her she has cheated on her. when Esther comes to her darkest hour, she attempts to kill herself using her sleeping pills. her life seemed unfit to live, and she wished to end it all before it got worse. despite her efforts, she was found and saved. "So close" by John Mclaughlin best describes this feeling when it reads,"So close So close to reaching that famous happy end". she had wanted to kill herself and was happy doing so, but was brought back to life and was forced to keep living. when Esther is checked into the insane asylum, she feels mixed emotions, life for her has essentially been reduced to a chore, because no matter what she does, she will always be "sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own filth". she has given up, and all hope is lost. the song that best describes this is "Band on the Run" by the wings. the song says,"trapped inside these four walls, stuck inside forever, never seeing noone". this relates to how esther feels because her life has been reduced to a spectacle for others, shoe all want to know how "such a nice girl could go crazy". she is simply going through the motions and has lost all meaning in her life. although she may have interactions with humans, she will never truly be herself, rather a shell of the girl she once was. these are a few other songs i would choose for the sound track in addition, because they all represent a feeling of being trapped, in ones own world, when one simply cannot see a way out. without hope, one is left with nothing, and a meaningless life.
Broken Wings by Martina Mcbride Chains by Tina Arena Linkin Park- Runaway can't even breathe-the deft ones pulling teeth-green day
The first song I would choose for the soundtrack for the Bell Jar would be “Mad World” by Gary Jules. Esther isn’t happy and cheery like the rest of the girls. This song represents the disconnection feels from not only New York but from others too in the beginning of the novel. This song also shows how Esther wants to kill herself to escape from reality, just like in the song, “The dreams in which I’m dying/ Are the best I’ve ever had”.
The second song I would choose would be “Bleeding Out” by Imagine Dragons. While this song is about missing someone you love, it is also about loneliness and pain, both of which Esther feels a lot of and as a result of, tries to self-harm.
The third song is “Everybody’s Fool” by Evanescence. This song is about a girl who pretends to be perfect, however the narrator of the song sees past the fakeness. This describes Esther and Buddy’s relationship. Esther thought Buddy was pure and innocent on the inside just like he appeared to be. However when Esther found out he had slept with a waitress many times during the summer, she was upset that he had portrayed himself as something else. Esther could now see that Buddy was a fake and a hypocrite.
The fourth song is “I’m Just a Girl” by No Doubt. This song is about expectations of women and girls. In the first verse, “this world is forcing me to hold your hand”, meaning that woman can’t be fully independent. Esther recognizes these stereotypes that women aren’t supposed to be fully independent without a man. She often questions her path in life and is confused.by the pressure of these stereotypes. She wants to challenge the expectation for women to stay pure for their husbands by trying to have sex.
The fifth song is “King of Anything” by Sara Bareilles. This song represents how Esther doesn’t need Buddy. She doesn’t need him to rescue her or make her better when she is in the insane asylum. Esther is very advanced for her time and feels like she doesn’t need a man and doesn’t want to conform to the convention.
The sixth song is “Stay High” by Tove lo. This song is about just going through the actions of life, feeling disconnected from reality and abusing substances to hide true feelings of pain. While the narrator of the song is hiding feelings of missing someone, Esther is hiding pains of rejection from the writing camp, betrayal by Buddy and pressure and confusion about her future.
In many ways, I believe that Esther was not a 100% fictional character. Sylvia Plath experienced a very difficult life, one that she thought was worth ending. Her short lifetime ended suddenly after she committed suicide. I believe that the Bell Jar not only portrays the lost hopes and despair of the character Esther Greenwood, but I felt as though Sylvia connected to her own creation on a very intimate and personal level.
If I were to create a soundtrack to the motion picture of the Bell Jar, I would include the song ‘The a Team’ by Ed Sheeran because Ed solely describes the struggles of young women. Esther was a prosperous, bright young Lady, who let the world crumble around her. Her attitude became quite pessimistic, and her ability to think positively withered. For example, when she hit ‘rock bottom’ she turned to intimacy, thinking it would somehow make her ‘pure’. As Ed says in his song, Esther “Sells love to another man.”
Another song I would include in the soundtrack is ‘Clouds’ By Zach Sobiech. The first line of the song says, “I fell down down down to this dark and lonely hole. There was no one there to care about me anymore.” Esther did fall into a dark and lonely hole, and she fell hard. Negativity filled all the voids and she felt she had no one to console in. The fact that she didn’t make it into the writing program only contributed to her sadness and depression.
Esther did have her run in with men, in particular Buddy Willard. Buddy was the role-model man. He was the kind of man that was every mother’s idea of perfection. Buddy was so perfect, that there must have been at least one thing wrong with him. Esther was in fact the one to point out his flaw. Esther noticed how Buddy found himself superior over others, and his sexual affair with the waitress in Cape Cod had proven the fact that he was a ‘tool’. Although he was stricken with tuberculosis, his willingness to keep Esther in his life was strong. A song that describes Buddy’s feelings towards Esther is ‘Gotta Be You’ by One Direction. The heartfelt lyrics only begin to describe a man’s love and regret for his mistakes. “No woman in the world deserves this, but here I am asking you for one more chance.”
Lastly, the smooth yet somber melody of the song ‘Stay’ By Rihanna and Mikky Ekko helps me to picture the heartbreaking moments Esther Greenwood experienced while in her state of depression. The First Line of the song states, “All along it was a fever, a cold sweat hot headed believer.” This Line Describes Esther’s condition perfectly because Esther eventually overcame her sadness, and although a fever can be long-lasting and painful, they eventually go away over time, just like Esther’s depression began to lessen, and she became herself again.
Silvia Plath’s The Bell Jar tells the story of Esther and her struggle for who she is and who she is meant to be in this world. Searching for the answers to these questions leads her into states of depression and suicidal tendencies. As the story moves forward, we watch the painful process she goes through to get help for her depression. This isn’t just a story of loneliness and self deprecation, it is also the story of Esther’s resilience.
Esther is living at an all women’s hotel because she is in a summer editor job. Her days are filled with fancy events and many new experiences. All of these experiences are challenging her insight into who she really is as a person. Early in the novel Ester becomes infatuated with another summer editor, named Doreen. Esther sees Doreen as fun, outgoing, frivolous and appealing to males. This is all the complete opposite of Esther who is too tall, puritan-like and not very appealing to men. The song Cool Kids by Ecosmith would be a great song to express Esther’s desire to be like Doreen, one of the cool kids.
Esther’s continuous conflict with self-identity is seen throughout the novel whenever she looks at a mirror. In chapter 10, when Esther looks into the mirror she does not see herself, she instead sees “the face in the mirror looked like a sick Indian”. Esther is not sure of who she truly is and the mirrors are representing this. A song that expresses this is The Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson because it is a song about struggling with self-image and personal identity.
Esther is conflicted with her ongoing relationship with Buddy. At first she thinks it’s everything she wants in the world. He is the type of young man that any mother would want there daughter to marry - he goes to Yale, he’s going to be a doctor. Esther eventually sees beyond his falseness. Esther learns about Buddy’s summer affair with another women and comes to see him as a hypocrite. Also, Buddy doesn’t respect Esther’s desire to become a literary writer. He just wants her to be a wife and mother, which fits societies view of women in the 1950’s. The song King of Anything by Sarah Bareilles fits Esther’s response to Buddy perfectly. Buddy wants to be Esther’s “king,” but Esther knows better.
Esther goes through depression and attempts many times to kill herself, from swallowing the bottle of pills to trying to drown herself. For Esther, suicide is the answer to the pain she is experiencing everyday. Her internal conflicts with identity and the external requirements from society are too great. Sarah McLachlan’s Angel and the lyrics “In the arms of the angel; Fly away form here” reflects perfectly on Esther’s emotional state.
As Esther’s deep loneliness pushes her into depression and suicide attempts. She really does not have anyone to go to for help. She does not have a good relationship with her mom, her brother doesn’t seem to be in her family much at all, her dad died when she was a child and she has no best friend to be there for her.Before there was Doreen, but she wants nothing to do with her now. A song that can relate to Esther’s loneliness is “Heartbreak Hotel” by Elvis Presley, with the important lyric of “I get so lonely I could die”.
By the end of the novel, Esther represents a woman who fought through an identity crisis, loneliness and excessive demands from society. From the continuous help of Dr. Nolan, a trustworthy companion she found, Esther is nursed back to help. Esther worked to minimize her internal conflict by gaining more control over her own life. The song Roar by Katy Perry shows Esther’s strength to get back up, brush off the dust and hear her own voice.
1. The first song I would chose for the soundtrack for The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath would be “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd. I feel that this song represents Esther in both the guitar melody and the lyrics. The guitar melody sounds very sad and longing for something better, which is similar to how Esther feels throughout the novel. The lyrics are symbolic of things being routine and a lack of positive change in one’s life. Esther feels as though she is stuck in her “bell jar,” and she cannot change and grow better. The lyric that I think fits the most with Esther’s situation is “we’re just two lost souls living in a fishbowl, year after year.” The fishbowl is a lot like the bell jar that Esther is stuck in year after year. 2. The second song I would chose for the soundtrack would be “Fix You” by Coldplay. This song is about depression, which fits with Esther. A lyric that represents her situation is “when you feel so tired, but you can’t sleep, stuck in reverse.” This obviously is symbolic of Esther’s insomnia, which is making her depression worse. However, the chorus of the song is giving hope to help the person who is depressed, which can be foreshadowing of the ending where her condition improves and she begins to feel happier. 3. The third song I would chose would be “You Found Me” by the Fray, which would go when she attempts to overdose on sleeping pills. The chorus of the song goes “lost and insecure, you found me, you found me, lying on the floor.” This represents when she is found in her house passed out after many days. She is very vulnerable at this point, because she has just tried to kill herself due to the depression that has taken over her mind and body, but her attempt fails and she is found alive and still is miserable in the world that she lives in. Other lyrics in the song talk about being alone, which is how Esther feels because she isn’t able to rely on her mother, and doesn’t really have anyone to love. 4. The fourth song I would chose would be “Keep Your Head Up” by Ben Howard. This song would be towards the end when Esther is recovering and becoming better and happier. The chorus “keep your head up, keep your heart strong,” is symbolic of Esther’s attitude as she leaves the asylum and is able to reenter the world. If she doesn’t keep her head up and heart strong, she will become trapped in the bell jar again. The song begins talking about a darkness that they were trapped in before, and the song progresses into the feeling that it will be better now and it is time to look on the bright side and find warmth and happiness.
If I were to make a major motion picture out of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, the first song to the sound track I would pick is Adam’s Song by Blink 182. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MRdtXWcgIw) This song describes Esther fairly well, at least from our point of view. At first, Esther seems relatively normal and you would not guess that she was suffering from depression and later on in the book she would try to kill herself. However, Esther’s life quickly turns into a downward spiral with her continually thinking about death and attempting to commit suicide. The song is similar to this because at first the song is normal (not depressing or sad) saying how they (the person singing) never would commit suicide, in fact they would laugh about how crazy it is. But, by the end of the song, they (the person singing) have become more and more depressed and eventually commit suicide. Also, in this song it says, “I’d never thought I’d die alone”. In the beginning of the book I think that this line held true to Esther’s thoughts. I don’t think she had expected (at that point) that she would try to commit suicide. The song also says “ I’m too depressed to go on”. Esther also feels this way and that is why she decides to attempt to end her life. She is struggling to fit in with the expectation of what a girl is supposed to be like in that time period but she cannot ‘fit in’. She also finds out that she was not accepted into the class she applied for and that just pushes her over the edge. In the song it also says “Days when I still felt alive.” This would apply to the part of the book where Esther cannot sleep and seems to be slowly losing life. This is most likely what Esther is thinking/feeling at this part of the book.
Another song that I would add is Love Stinks by the J. Geils band.(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0LAs7X5ybE) Esther throughout the book has trouble with finding love and she at times wonders if she will ever get married at all. In the beginning of the book Esther goes out with her friend Doreen and Doreen ends up hanging out with a guy named Lenny. This makes Esther the third wheel and that is what usually happens to her. The line “This thing they call love is gonna make you cry” describes Esther’s experience with love. Even with Buddy Willard, she is conflicted because he had slept with someone else so she was upset and decided she was done with Buddy. Esther did not like how there was a double standard for men and women and she especially did not like that Buddy was so casual about it. “Love stinks” would also describe how Esther felt about this whole situation.
Although this seems like a kids song, one of the lines from the song Let it Go by Idina Menzel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moSFlvxnbgk) explains Esther’s internal conflict. In the song it says “The wind is howling like the swirling storm inside.” Esther is struggling with her depression and the depression is like the storm inside of her that is trying to destroy her. It is a constant struggle and when she attempts to commit suicide it is almost like the storm won. But, when she receives help, she is able to calm the storm inside and return to her normal self. However, this song would also fit at the end of the book when Esther is going for her ‘exit interview’ to see if she was ready to leave the private institution where she was staying. The lyrics “Let it go” and “I’m never going back, the past is in the past” explain how Esther is ready to move on with her life and put her depression behind her.
Lastly, the song New York by Alicia Keys (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMX1sc3eOTE) describes Esther at the beginning of the book. The lyrics “Concrete jungle where dreams are made of / there’s nothing you can’t do / Now your in New York” I think would represent Esther coming to New York on a scholarship for the program that she was accepted to. She goes to try to persue her dreams of writing and that is exactly what the lyrics are saying. The song says, dreams come true in New York and that is what Esther is trying to make happen.
The Bell Jar follows Esther Greenwood, a small town girl caught up in the big city after she won an internship in New York City at a magazine publishing company. While in the city, she sets herself into a downward spiral with, the loss of friends, boyfriends and overall support. She then turns to professional help, in her hometown. While there she thinks her case is incurable and then attempts to end her life several times. Afterwards she is placed into a mental hospital and starts to appreciate the small things about the people around her.
My first song I picked to become part of my sound track is “No Light, No Light” by Florence and the Machine. This song deals with the lies people tell, and what happens when one realizes that everything they trusted comes crashing down into oblivion. Esther sees lies in people everywhere and is very hesitant to trust people, because its easier to find flaws in people, the way they act and the things they say than to always see the light in people. She is also ruins her relationship with Buddy Willard because he wasn’t as “pure” as she was. That one hit home for her, she was devastated and called him a hypocrite. She doesn’t take to lying well and this song really emphasizes this.
The next song is “By the Grace of God” by Katy Perry. The song is focused on the theme of picking one’s self up from rock bottom and getting through tough times. Esther in the end, after hitting rock bottom and spending sometime in a mental hospital is able to pick herself up. Even after believing she was incurable. Her story, though very dark, is also a story of survival and the will to go on.
Another song I picked was “You Found Me” by The Frey. In the song, it talks about waiting for god to help him get over his problems, but he never came. From this you can conclude that everyone hurts and feels lonely. In the beginning of The Bell Jar when Esther was very isolated, and when anyone made their way into her life she would retreat further into herself. She went out with Doreen a few times for drinks in the city, but after a run in with some men, Esther found herself leaving Doreen behind with them.
“Asleep” by The Smiths is a song about suicide, the lyrics talking about singing me to sleep, but don’t come back in the morning because I will be gone. Esther struggles with multiple suicide attempts and during that same low point could only read the suicide columns in the newspaper. After her many attempts, including drowning, cutting an artery and over dosing, she looked in the mirror in the hospital and that was the end of her suicidal rampage. She saw what she had become as if she was looking at a picture. She stepped outside of herself and saw how bad she was and after that turned her life around.
No matter how successful someone is, if they feel isolated from the world because of the noise inside their head, they are never going to be happy. This concept is closely related to Esther Greenwoods problems in the Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.
From an outside perspective, it would seem as if Esther has it all going on. She is a very bright student, had an amazing internship for the summer in New York, and is on her way to being very successful. However, Esther is not happy. Esther points out in chapter 7 that she had not truly ever been happy since her father died. It had never occurred to her that before she was “only purely happy until [she] was nine years old,” (75).
While Esther is very smart, she starts to doubt herself, which is the beginning of a downhill path for her. Even though she has a great education, Esther finds that she is “dreadfully inadequate,” (77). Although she won many scholarships and did extremely well in college, this was not enough for her. “I felt like a racehorse in a world without racetracks or a champion college footballer suddenly confronted by Wall street and a business suit, his days of glory shrunk to a little gold cup on his mantel with a date engraved on it like the date on a tombstone,” (77). Therefore, the first song would be Ain’t it Fun by Paramore. Now that college is ending for Esther, she feels the skills and education she got is not enough for the real world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtHbzR93ags
Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield would also be on the soundtrack. Esther’s future is unwritten, and she has trouble deciding what she wants to do. Esther can’t decide what she actually wants, which ends up hurting her in the end. Esther uses the green fig tree as a metaphor for where her life will end up. Each tip of every branch on the fig tree had some sort of life for Esther. For example, there was a husband with a happy home and children, a famous poet, Ee Gee the amazing editor, and a brilliant professor. Instead of ending up with one of these branches, Esther finds herself “sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn’t make up my mind which of the figs I would chose,” (77). Esther wanted an aspect of each life the fig tree branches offered; however, choosing one meant losing the others so Esther could not come to a conclusion of what she wanted. Because Esther wanted all of the options, and therefore did not make a decision, most opportunities for the lives she wanted started to close. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtGY4G7II6s
Esther never wanted to just settle down, she craved the excitements and vicissitudes of life much more than getting married. Really Don’t Care by Demi Lovato is another song in the soundtrack. Esther never wants to get married because she fears infinite security. Furthermore, when Buddy asks if she would prefer to live in the country or city, Esther says both. Buddy tells her this is the perfect set up for a neurotic person; however, Esther does not care because she sees no problem in wanted “two mutually exclusive things at one and the same time,” (94). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJGUbwVMBeA
With many attempts of suicide, pills are the only things that actually come close to killing Esther. Human by Christina Perri describes the breaking point in Esther’s life, which eventually pushes her to overdose on pills. Notice that Esther “tried” other ways of suicide before she took to many pills. Esther fully knew that her other attempts of suicide would not work, which shows she was not truly at her breaking point yet. For example, Esther tries to drown herself while swimming. Esther “dived, and dived again, and each time popped up like a cork,” (161). Over dosing on pills was closure to her life, and a legitimate way to commit suicide. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5yaoMjaAmE
You’ll Be in My Heart by Phil Collins is the final song I would end in the soundtrack. This song applies for the end of the book while Esther is at the private mental hospital. While their, Esther truly does grow as a person, and overcomes not all, but some of her original problems. Dr. Nolan is patient and caring for Esther, which greatly helps with Esther’s improvement. The first verse, “Go stop your crying it will be alright, just take my hand hold it tight, I will protect you from all around you, I will be here don’t you cry,” describes the relationship between Dr. Nolan and Esther. Dr. Nolan is the first person to actually listen to Esther and comfort her. Esther’s grows to trust and confide in Dr. Nolan, as Dr. Nolan has proved to be a good friend and mentor for her. Dr. Nolan plays a huge role in the recovery of Esther, and You’ll Be in My Heart is a positive and meaningful song that displays this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=git6DCXSqjE
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ReplyDeleteThe semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is perhaps more well known because of the author’s tragic life, rather than the story itself. It follows the life of Esther Greenwood, an alias for Plath herself. Esther is a brilliant student from humble backgrounds who is plagued by indirection and her relationship with Buddy Willard, a handsome yet hypocritical young man studying to be a doctor. As her mind and plans unravel, Esther becomes suicidal and is taken to a mental institute.
There are several key aspects of the stories that, if the novel were to become a major motion picture, should be highlighted both by the actors and the soundtrack. The song Hey There Delilah by Plain White Tees illustrates Esther’s condition at the start of the novel: Longing for something more and hoping all of her work will pay off, as well as Buddy’s constant presence in the back of her mind.
Hey there Delilah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoaT6WXUV_M
Throughout the story, Esther constantly sees herself or others as appearing foreign and unknown to her. Additionally, she is estranged from her mother and has few close friends. This can be represented through The Outsider by Marina and the Diamonds.
The Outsider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1rtFnpz-uo (F-Bomb gets dropped halfway through)
Esther feels empowered and experienced around Buddy Willard, but when she realizes how hypocritical he is, she soon finds his presence both intriguing and infuriating. In some ways, the song Gives You Hell by All-American Rejects shows Esther’s disappointment and frustration at herself over not achieving her goals and her need to be around Buddy, despite her knowledge of his flaws.
Hope it gives you hell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UWgRwVRbxc
Esther feels especially betrayed when Buddy reveals that he slept with a random waitress he met and feels like she’s lost power over him. Also, one of Buddy’s ex-girlfriends, Joan, commits suicide after being placed in the same asylum Esther is in. Afterwards, he asks Esther if there’s something about him the drives women to insanity, as seen in the man described in Christina Perri’s Jar of Hearts.
Jar of Hearts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H21fj0hQRM
And for a more modern, popular song, Problem by Ariana Grande represents Esther’s longing for Buddy, despite the flaws she points out in him and her repulsion to marriage and family.
Problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXb72U5HnMM
Finally, to show Esther’s descent into madness, the songs Breaking Down Again by Florence and the Machine and Madness by Muse would accentuate the scene.
Breaking Down again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx0IMHco81I
Madness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhvtRykqpQk
“Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield: Esther is repeatedly asked about her future and she tends to alternate between having no future plans and having these, grand and extravagant dreams. This song talks about “staring at the blank page before you” and how her story is unwritten, and hers to write, speaking to both sides of her: the side that has no plans and the side that has dreams “the rest is still unwritten” and she has the opportunity to write it. Sidenote: “Feel the rain on your skin” and she seems to have this love of rain and water in general. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7k0a5hYnSI
ReplyDelete“Casual Sex” by My Darkest Days: This addresses two things actually. Firstly, the scene in which Buddy admits he’d been having a casual affair with some waitress and also when Esther had slept with the professor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwOchsxVuY0
“Run The World” by Beyoncé: Many times Esther talks about how she doesn’t want guys to control her and has very progressive thoughts for women and feminism. “What he secretly wanted… was for her to flatten out underneath his feet” (86) and she has no intention for that to happen. Run The World is about women taking over the world and just generally being fabulous. (Also, “King of Anything” totally works for this too, especially to touch on the skiing scene and the fact that he doesn’t own her). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBmMU_iwe6U
“I Dreamed A Dream” by Anne Hathaway: Back to the dreams thing, yes I know I already touched on this but this one’s important. This would be for around the time when she was rejected from the writing course. It was sort of her lastd dream for the future and was about the time she had her mental break down. This song touches on the fact that “dreams are made and used and wasted” and the fact that dreams don’t always work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmHcDWrMH-8
“Happy Little Pill” by Troye Silvan: When Esther is seriously suicidal she tries to commit suicide multiple ways, the most successful having been pills. This song promises, “My happy little pill, take me away” and that’s all Esther wants. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEWHF3E9YJQ
“Skyscraper” by Demi Lovato: When Sylvia is in the mental hospital she slowly begins to recover and although it takes a lot of effort, she manages to (presumably) find her way out. She’s stronger now than she was before, “I am. I am. I am” (243). And no matter what life throws at her she will “rise like a skyscraper.” (Also, “Girl On Fire” by Alicia Keys” would totally work for like, when she enters the room and is just fabulous). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_8ydghbGSg
Plath’s infamous novel, The Bell Jar, follows Esther a student at Smith College, as she travels to New York City, Boston, and a mental hospital. Esther’s confusion and dissatisfaction stems from her desire to become a woman and fear of not conforming to the domestic and submissive role of a 1960’s woman. Societal pressure tells Esther that she must be gleeful and a model housewife though her aspirations lie elsewhere. She puts on this façade but struggles with the expression of her individualism.
ReplyDeleteThe first song for the cinematization of The Bell Jar would be :19th Nervous Breakdown popularized by The Rolling Stones. This song manages to capture Esther’s façade while in New York City for the summer. While in New York City, Esther struggles with her identity. She expects to have the experience of a lifetime but has trouble coping with her naivety compared to the other girls. When Frankie and Lenny invite Doreen and Esther to his ranch, Esther is mortified by Lenny’s attempt to seduce Doreen. Esther becomes dispirited stating, “There is something demoralizing about watching two people get more and more crazy about each other” (Plath 16). When Doreen latched on to Lenny’s earlobe after he attempts to grope her, panic ensues. Esther quickly flees, shocked at what just occurred. Esther tries to appear mature stating to herself, “even when they surprised me or made me sick I never let on, but pretended that’s the way I knew things were all the time” (Plath 13). 19th Nervous Breakdown by The Rolling Stone captures Esther’s actions very well. The song’s introduction talks about a person who tries to be the life of the party, full of exuberancy yet hiding their tears. This parallels Esther’s desire to be a vibrant woman like Doreen, yet fear and uncertainty about her own future. Irony exists between the two stories in that Esther’s pain comes from inexperience whereas the subject of the song comes from childhood struggles. The motif of concealing one’s feelings is still applicable. The 1960’s style is also contemporaneous to the setting.
The second song, Diary of A Madman by Ozzy Osbourne captures the manifestation of Esther’s illness through her writing as well as her difficulty with recognizing her own reflection in the mirror. After hearing about her rejection from the writing program Esther decides to write a novel. She attempts to illustrate the life of Elaine a protagonist waiting on her porch for a grown-up experience. As Esther continues to write she realizes she is plagued by inexperience. Regarding her trouble with her novel she states, “Then I knew what the trouble was. I needed experience” (Plath 121). Plath shows Esther’s struggle in a metaphor saying, “I counted one, two, three…nineteen telephone poles, and then the wires dangled into space, and try as I would, I couldn’t see a single pole beyond the nineteenth” (Plath 123). Through counting telephone poles Esther manages to view her life in perspective. She realizes her naivety stems from a lock of age and can’t materialize a way in which she can grow. She can’t write about the intangible. This moment of depression connects to Osbourne’s song in which he writes, “Enemies fill up the pages. Are they me?” (Osbourne). Esther’s enemy is inexperience represented by her inability to fill up a page. She starts to believe she is Elaine, the protagonist, simply waiting for something to happen. Diary of a Madman’s irregular tempo and loud nature would perfectly capture the state of mind of someone mentally ill.
Osbourne’s Diary of a Madman also captures Esther’s inability to identify herself in a mirror. After Esther’s suicide attempt she is startled by her bruised and discolored face. She can barley identify herself and doesn’t associate what she sees with herself. In Diary of a Madman, Osbourne sings, “The mirror tells me lies. Could I mistake myself for someone” (Osbourne). Here the singer expresses the same sentiment of an exterior not representing a person correctly. Esther sees a young woman but still feels like a beaten down and inexperienced child.
Love the stones... The song "Mother's Little Helper" could also apply to the situation in which Ester found herself (constricting 1950s housewife era). Perhaps part of her frustration stems from her gender and its contemporary challenges. "Mother's Little helper," or Valium, is one form of escape. Hiding in the basement and intentionally ODing is another...
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ReplyDeleteSay My Name by Destiny’s Child would successfully represent the contempt Esther has for Buddy Willard after he cheats on her. Plath’s portrayal of Buddy as a philanderer is also similar to Rodney Jenkin’s brief interlude. When Esther finds out that Buddy has cheated on her with a waitress in Cape Cod, she is absolutely disgusted. Buddy views Esther in the conventional role of a wife and mother. Esther longs for a “grownup” sexual experience, as shown when she asks him to undress in front of her. Instead of being intimate with her, he abandons her feelings and has an affair with a random woman. In Say My Name Beyoncé is speculative and disgusted at the actions of her boyfriend. She states, “Could it be that you are at the crib with another lady…When you can not say my name” (Destiny’s Child). Here Beyoncé expresses the same sentiment as Esther. They are both ashamed that their lovers would cheat on them, without them in mind.
The last part of the song features Rodney Jenkins attempting to seduce his girlfriend and other woman. This portion of the song would be perfect to play during Buddy’s fling as it fits his portrayal as a womanizer. In the song Jenkins attempts to swoon other woman saying, “Where my ladies at. Can you say that, come on” (Destiny’s Child). Jenkins is shown as a heartless antagonist caring more about lust and quantity than true love for his partner.
The final song, 7861, by Beneath the Sky manages to express Esther’s experience with suicide in a more literal sense. Throughout, the novel Esther attempts to kill herself, going as far as swimming out to sea and attempting to drown herself. The introduction of the song starts with a crescendo, growing in energy and pace. This would be effective at accompanying the scene when Esther tries to drown herself. The first lyrics are, “They Found the body. Hanging from the ceiling” (Beneath the Sky). These lyrics could be played when she tries to drown herself. This could also be played when Esther finds out that Joan has hanged herself.
The end of the song would be perfect when Esther goes into the meeting with the doctors to determine if she can be released. This moment juxtaposed with those of earlier chapters shows a drastic change in her wellbeing. The end of the song becomes quieter as the lead singer condemns suicide and offers a resolution: “Just cut your rope... You could have been saved... Just cut your rope (Beneath the Sky)”. In the literal sense this would prevent suicide but is also a metaphor for Esther releasing her inner demons and deterring her suicidal thoughts.
19th Nervous Breakdown, Diary of a Madman, 7861, and Say My Name would be ideal for a movie based on The Bell Jar.
Links to the songs:
19th Nervous Breakdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_sf8XFkmUg
Diary of a Madman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5iOEWuIwbU
7861: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqC5x3H1oEE
Say My Name: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_lmRg5jo0o
Yes! Loved how you imagined where in the plot you would put the songs and how it would like up in terms of phrasing. What an imagination!
DeleteIn the beginning of the novel, Esther was in New York for a guest editor job with 11 other girls. In New York, Esther spent time with the richer class. She went to expensive lunches and stayed at the Amazon. However, Esther was uncomfortable with money. She stated that her mother had to support the family alone after her father died, and she isn't used to spending money here and there. She doesn't see the glamorous New York as happy and fun. A song to express her consciousness when it comes to money is Glory&Gore by Lorde.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that always lingers in Esther's mind is suicide. She is constantly thinking about commiting suicide. She is depressed and sad. She feels like she has nothing to live for. She believes she has no future because her opportunities/dreams are no longer in reach. She compares this to a fig tree. To express the sadness, the depression, the songs Bring me to Life by Evanescence should be on the soundtrack.
Esther feels lonely, and this is one of the things that drives her crazy. There is no one that Esther really trusts. She thought she trusted Doreen, but decided she wanted nothing to do with her. She also has problems with her mother. The only person she really trusted was her father. She realizes that when he passed away, when she was 9, she stopped being happy. She only really has herself, and I believe that drove her a little crazy.Two songs that express her loneliness are My Immortal by Evanescence and The Lonely by Christina Perri.
However, by the end of the book, I believe that Esther began to trust Dr.Nolan. Dr.Nolan never lied to Esther and she treated her with respect, as if she wasn't crazy. This may have been because it was her job or because she truly cared about Esther, but either way Esther trusted Dr.Nolan. A song to describe their relationship would be Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift.
Esther also has a problem with men. She has this past with Buddy, who she used to like but now believes is untrustworthy. Also while in New York she was raped/sexually abused. She also states how she thinks that men make women stupid and thats why she doesn't want to marry one. A song to describe her distrust towards men is Hurt by Christina Aguilera.
Esther was sort of crazy, as she went through some of the experiences she has been through. She was this girl from Boston who suddenly went through some traumatic events in New York, being raped, and seeing this whole new material world. She went crazy. She had a few weak points, in which she resulted in the thought of killing herself. Three songs that I believe express her craziness is Human by Christina Perri, The A team by Ed Sheeran and Demons by Imagine Dragons.
I’ve Got a Dark Alley And a Bad Idea That Says Shut Your Mouth (Summer Song) – Fall Out Boy – (I know that’s a really long weird title that makes no sense}
ReplyDeleteLyrics in this song describe Esther’s situation towards the beginning of the book when she was still in college. Even that early on in the book she shows signs about being depressed, but at that point, she is still leading up to the breaking point that happens in the middle of the book by trying to commit suicide. When the song says, “And the record won’t stop skipping/ And the lies just won’t stop slipping/ And besides my reputation’s on the line”, it reminds me of Esther figuring out her on set depression while still trying to fit in and have a normal life in college. She doesn’t want to stick out and be different and upfront with these thoughts, opinions, and views of life she has.
You Don’t Care About Me – Shakira
Esther’s relationship with Buddy is something that is mentioned a lot in the text. We see Esther’s feelings about Buddy shift over time. The lyrics, “I listened sweetly to your sour tone,” relates to Esther’s opinion of Buddy’s actions and opinions. She doesn’t agree with what Buddy says about marriage, women, or sex, but she still puts up with him until later in the book where she can’t deal with the relationship anymore. Also, when Shakira sings: “You don’t care about me/…You don’t care if I die,” I see Esther relating to these lyrics. Through Esther’s eyes, it seems that Buddy does not care about her well being over all. Esther thinks Buddy would not care if she died because he didn’t help her when she was in the hospital, and he constantly twists and manipulates herself and her feelings.
Camisado - Panic at the Disco
I think this song would fit well with Esther's situation after she first attempts to commit suicide. She gets admitted into a hospital and seems like everything starts to unravel quickly for her. "The I.V. and your hospital bed/ This was no accident/ This was a therapeutic chain of events" - Even within the first few lines, this song relates to Esther's situation quite well.
Disturbia - Rihanna
This song, even though it seems like a 2000s popular pop song, is actually quite "disturbing" once you read the lyrics. "What's wrong with me?/Why do I feel like this?/I'm going crazy now" - In the book, Esther does feel like something is wrong with her and wants to fix it. When she says, " I would rather have anything wrong with my body than something wrong with my head, but the idea seemed so involved and wearisome," (180), ithe lyrics from Disturbia: ("What's wrong with me?/Why do I feel like this?/I'm going crazy now/...Out my life, out my head/Don't wanna think about it") come to mind.
Gasoline – Troye Sivan
I personally do not think that the verses relate so well with the Bell Jar; however, the chorus relates to depression.
Esther just wants to start over and fix her mental health issues. Troye Sivan sings about a similar issue when he says, “Please bathe me now, wash me clean/ Just set my heart on fire, like gasoline.” Esther wants to be washed clean of all her troubles, and stripped/burned of her feelings. Also, depression makes people feel disinterested in all activities and disconnects you from emotion for the most part. Perhaps she feels like her heart has already been doused in gasoline; as if she doesn’t have a heart to care about herself anymore.
Nice use of the lyrics!
DeleteThe Bell Jar by Silvia Plath was probably the most memorable book I have read. Aside from the curiosity, and cruel interest we have in Esther's rather unfortunate situation, I think Esther is a character we should learn from. While reading the book, it became obvious that she had controversy in her life when it came to things like her career, sex, and boys in general.
ReplyDeleteThere were many problems as well as accomplishments throughout the book that certain songs would accentuate. I believe that Esther was a fortunate girl in an unfortunate situation. At the beginning of the book, she told us how lucky she had been to be chosen for this fabulous Job in New York, but also how numb and indifference she felt toward her "dream". Although I have no doubt that her dream was to write, she spent a lot of the book not being motivated, which left her unfortunate in her very fortunate situation. The feeling of being stuck can best be represented by the song Stop and Stare by One Republic.
Esther had shown us how much Buddy has played her over the course of their relationship. It started with Buddy stopping by her house to drop hints that he may visit Esther at college. Then, when he comes to her college, he's their to pick up another girl for a date. A while later, she receives an invitation for Buddy's prom where he ignored her, kissed her, and then called it a night. When Esther finally has enough courage to break up with such a degrading man, he gets TB. After a few phone calls and letters, Esther clearly stated that she didn't want to be with Buddy. This relationship can best be described by Taylor Swift's song, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.
At a certain point in the book(around Ch.7), Esther was actually trying to decide what she wanted out of her life. Not just the obvious things like her job, but what she wanted to make out of herself. She contemplated being a wife, having kids, being an editor, or traveling. She compared many of her dreams to a fig tree, and how she had to chose which lifestyle she wanted. Although she got close, Esther pictured herself at the base of the tree not being able to make any decisions. If you were to be watching this scene in a movie, a motivational song like Stronger by Kelly Clarkson would probably shine some light on the hopeless situation Esther is in.
When Esther's mental condition seemed to have worsened, her doctor, Dr.Gordon, suggested shock therapy. I think she felt like she wasn't in control of her own situation by letting Dr.Gordon convince her to take these treatments. At the end, it felt dreadful to endure such unnecessary pain. This awful situation is best represented by the song I will survive by Gloria Gaynor.
A very sensitive subject is discussed by Esther and Dr. Nolan about the double standards, or just the difference between men and woman in general. Earlier in the book she talked about how she didn't think it was fair that men could lose their virginity but women should wait until marriage. She also told Dr. Nolan that one day becoming pregnant is something that is restricting her from living her life and being free like men. This aspect of the book could best be described by
Pink's woman-empowement song called So What.
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ReplyDeleteThroughout the book The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, the harsh reality of being an extremely depressed young woman with suicidal thoughts and no one to turn to in this riveting tale of loneliness and pessimism . Esther is an intelligent, talented college student who won a highly competitive competition to go to New York as an assistant to one of the top magazines. However, she is not satisfied with her life, and even the glamorous life of New York with all of the free shopping sprees and fancy dinners cannot satisfy her. Instead, she feels trapped, unable to breathe almost. As the story unfolds and more people enter her life, her depression turns her suicidal, and afterwards she is placed in a hospital. In the two hospitals she visits, she learns how to come to terms with the people around her, including her friends and mom.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the song “I Hate Everything About You” by Three Days Grace is a good piece to add the soundtrack of The Bell Jar if it ever became a movie because the song talks about how at first the singer loved someone immensely no matter what happened, but when the singer thought about the person they thought they loved, the singer’s love turned to hate. This is similar to how Esther thought that she loved Buddy, but once she learned more about Buddy and thought about who he really was, she realized that she hated him. Esther also ended up hating her mother as well, even though Esther used to love her mother and her mother continues to love her.
The song “Toys in the Attic” by Aerosmith would be a great addition to the soundtrack because it explains the feeling of going insane, of leaving everything one loved, everything one feared, behind, and how it feels like there are “toys” in the “attic”, or so much clutter and thoughts and ideas going on in the brain that nothing seems real anymore, it’s just all part of the clutter. This is similar to how Esther feels, how she is going through life whilst she is depressed. She feels like everything around her is not there or everything is annoying her, as if they are just toys strewn around and in her way. People that she loved no longer are loved by her, and her life seems hazy almost, as if it’s all of her actions aren’t really her doing.
“Armatage Shanks” by Green Day would also make a great addition to the soundtrack because it is about a person who is always self-loathing and pessimistic about everything around them and that they’re pessimism is pushing everyone away, even though they decide to be a pessimist. Although they are pushing everyone away, the person they are hurting most are themselves and they are so lonely that they are trapped in their minds. This is similar to Esther’s situation, for Esther has pushed everyone away by insisting on being alone, but by being alone she has driven herself into a further depression to the point of suicide, so the only person that is really hurt in the end is herself
I think I have a few toys in my attic, too, especially after reading this book... Great metaphor! My daughter leaves toys around all day, and when I break my legs on them its enough to send me straight to McLean in a straight jacket. Clutter is madness.
DeleteAs a young woman who is constantly thinking about suicide, Esther's struggles and attempts at finding help could be described by the song "My Immortal" by Evanescence. A sad and haunting song, it's addressing someone who left, either by choice or by force and the narrator desperately wants that someone to come back. While Esther may not be longing for someone in particular, towards the end of the book she begins to long for her sanity and the routinely life she had before. The beginning of the chorus says "There's just too much that time cannot erase" and that fits well with Esther's last stretch at an asylum because she spends much time there but when she's released, she's not so sure she's completely whole and doesn't know how she's going to regain a normal life.
ReplyDeleteAnother song for the soundtrack would be "Save Rock and Roll" by Fall Out Boy. Although they're singing about saving rock and roll, a situation very different from Esther's, the song and lyrics portray a desperation to see "more dreams and less life" and "that dark in a little more light". More of the lyrics and chorus talk about defying what's going on around you and standing for what you believe in, which Esther did when she was with Buddy and Doreen.
"Titanium" by David Guetta feat. Sia would be on the soundtrack because although Esther had tried to kill herself multiple times, whether by accident or on purpose she survived and failed to succumb to her suicidal thoughts. The narrator of the song is telling someone to "fire away" because she's indestructible, she won't stay down and even if Esther isn't trying to, she always manages to get back up again.
1. Throughout The Bell Jar Esther struggles with her depression and getting through to her family. Her mother often disregards how serious her condition is and just keeps telling her to get better, as though it was something she could that easily control. For this reason, I chose the song “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” by My Chemical Romance. This song contains lyrics such as “You said you read me like a book/ But the pages are all torn and frayed” suggesting that even though Esther’s mother pretended to understand, she really had no idea what was going on.
ReplyDelete2. “I've Got a Dark Alley and a Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth (Summer Song)” by Fall Out Boy relates to The Bell Jar in two main ways. The lyrics of the song include lines such as “Please put the doctor on the phone/ Because I’m not making any sense” which was exactly what Esther did. As soon as her life started to down spiral she tried going to therapists and doctors, some, like Dr. Gordon, who didn’t even make any positive changes. In addition, this song talks about how “Poets are just kids who didn’t make it”. Esther wasn’t able to make it out of her depression easily, however she always seemed to find peace in her writing and poetry.
3. Although Esther attempted to commit suicide many times, what would be considered her most “successful” time was when she consumed all of the pills. In the song “Me, You, and My Medication” by Boys Like Girls, the lyrics “We’re all looking for something to take away the pain/ Me, and you, and my medication” directly address suicide by taking pills, making it a good fit for the occasion.
4. In the beginning of the novel, Esther’s lost all respect for Buddy, whom she claimed was a hypocrite for having an affair with someone other than her. Despite him saying that it was nothing serious, she still found herself disgusted by his hypocrisy on being “pure”. The song “Casual Affair” by Panic! At the Disco starts off with the lyrics, “Look’s innocent enough doesn’t it?/ But sometimes there are dangers involved that never meet the eye.” Buddy could have used this song as a sort of advice on his part because what he thought was a “casual affair” ruined his relationship. In addition, the lines “A lover on the left/ A sinner on the right” could be compared to Esther and Buddy’s relationship due to Esther being “pure” and Buddy not.
Love the use of lyrics, and the titles to the songs you picked. You clearly have experience with the emotional insanity; you'll fit right in!
Delete5. A reoccurring struggle in the side effects of Esther’s depression was the inability to fall asleep. Although the nurse denied her staying awake all night at one point, she still had the feeling that she had been awake for weeks on end, at one point even claiming that it had been 21 days. The song “Sleep” by My Chemical Romance says, “So shut your eyes/ Kiss me goodnight/ And sleep/ Just sleep”. These lyrics represent what she was probably feeling during all of this. She was ready to say goodbye to everything and not just get some sleep, but fall asleep for good.
ReplyDelete6. Esther went through many phases in which she was considered mentally unstable. For long periods of time she was locked away in mental asylums with very close supervision and care, and had basically gone crazy due to her depression. Therefore, the song “Where Is My Mind” by The Pixies asks the question that Esther was most likely asking herself during those apprehensive times.
7. Although Esther did make the final decision to kill herself (despite it luckily failing), she still sought out help before the depression reached the tipping point. In this way, her inner monologue would be very similar to the lyrics of “Still Breathing” by Mayday Parade, such as, “Tell me that it's worth it/ 'Cause I'm doing all I can to fight it/ And I've never been this scared/ And my moment's finally here”.
8. Finally, the looming fact that Esther was best at getting scholarships and awards and that was coming to an end helped to push her into depression. Whenever she was forced to think about where she was headed in life she would always claim she had no idea (despite having great talent in poetry). In the song, “Reinventing the Wheel to Run Myself Over” by Fall Out Boy, the lyrics say, “I can't wake up to these reminders of who I am:/ A failure at everything... 18 going on extinct.” This goes along with the theme that her time was running out to pick a direction in which she wanted to go after college, but was only able to think of what she couldn’t do rather than what she could.
through out the book, "The Bell Jar" by sylvia plath, the main character esther is often plagued by her seemingly unhelpful ability to think too much. often a time she finds herself struggling to enjoy her life as the other people she meets can. her apparent depression is brought to light after her trip to new york. however coming from humble beginnings Esther has always tried her hardest and done very well in school. her chance to shine comes after she is accepted for the internship in new york. this experience would be highlighted by the song, "Blackbird" by the Beetles. the lyrics, "Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these broken wings and learn to fly All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arrive", relates to Esther's big chance at being happy and breaking out. she must come from being unheard and finally take her chance at a big opportunity.
ReplyDeleteWhen Esther firsts speaks about her intimate relationship with Buddy, she is very happy, she describes herself as being head over heels, and being very happy. as young love often seems the purest to those it concerns, Esther is ecstatic about buddy and her being together. these times of happiness and bliss can be described by the song, "young love" by Sonny James. the song says,"They say for every boy and girl There's just one love in this whole world And I know I've found mine". these lyrics can represent the way that Esther feels about buddy and their feelings towards each other.
When Esther asks Buddy if he has ever had another woman and he replies yes, their relationship that could best be described by the lyrics of "True love" by pink comes crashing down. Pink says,"sometimes i hate every single stupid word you say sometimes i wanna punch you in your whole face, it must be true love" this describes how Esther felt, because she felt that Buddy often times tried to keep her down and suppress her emotions. even though she did not feel confident about the relationship as a whole, she is still crushed when Buddy tells her she has cheated on her.
when Esther comes to her darkest hour, she attempts to kill herself using her sleeping pills. her life seemed unfit to live, and she wished to end it all before it got worse. despite her efforts, she was found and saved. "So close" by John Mclaughlin best describes this feeling when it reads,"So close So close to reaching that famous happy end". she had wanted to kill herself and was happy doing so, but was brought back to life and was forced to keep living.
when Esther is checked into the insane asylum, she feels mixed emotions, life for her has essentially been reduced to a chore, because no matter what she does, she will always be "sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own filth". she has given up, and all hope is lost. the song that best describes this is "Band on the Run" by the wings. the song says,"trapped inside these four walls, stuck inside forever, never seeing noone". this relates to how esther feels because her life has been reduced to a spectacle for others, shoe all want to know how "such a nice girl could go crazy". she is simply going through the motions and has lost all meaning in her life. although she may have interactions with humans, she will never truly be herself, rather a shell of the girl she once was.
these are a few other songs i would choose for the sound track in addition, because they all represent a feeling of being trapped, in ones own world, when one simply cannot see a way out. without hope, one is left with nothing, and a meaningless life.
Broken Wings by Martina Mcbride
Chains by Tina Arena
Linkin Park- Runaway
can't even breathe-the deft ones
pulling teeth-green day
The first song I would choose for the soundtrack for the Bell Jar would be “Mad World” by Gary Jules. Esther isn’t happy and cheery like the rest of the girls. This song represents the disconnection feels from not only New York but from others too in the beginning of the novel. This song also shows how Esther wants to kill herself to escape from reality, just like in the song, “The dreams in which I’m dying/ Are the best I’ve ever had”.
ReplyDeleteThe second song I would choose would be “Bleeding Out” by Imagine Dragons. While this song is about missing someone you love, it is also about loneliness and pain, both of which Esther feels a lot of and as a result of, tries to self-harm.
The third song is “Everybody’s Fool” by Evanescence. This song is about a girl who pretends to be perfect, however the narrator of the song sees past the fakeness. This describes Esther and Buddy’s relationship. Esther thought Buddy was pure and innocent on the inside just like he appeared to be. However when Esther found out he had slept with a waitress many times during the summer, she was upset that he had portrayed himself as something else. Esther could now see that Buddy was a fake and a hypocrite.
The fourth song is “I’m Just a Girl” by No Doubt. This song is about expectations of women and girls. In the first verse, “this world is forcing me to hold your hand”, meaning that woman can’t be fully independent. Esther recognizes these stereotypes that women aren’t supposed to be fully independent without a man. She often questions her path in life and is confused.by the pressure of these stereotypes.
She wants to challenge the expectation for women to stay pure for their husbands by trying to have sex.
The fifth song is “King of Anything” by Sara Bareilles. This song represents how Esther doesn’t need Buddy. She doesn’t need him to rescue her or make her better when she is in the insane asylum. Esther is very advanced for her time and feels like she doesn’t need a man and doesn’t want to conform to the convention.
The sixth song is “Stay High” by Tove lo. This song is about just going through the actions of life, feeling disconnected from reality and abusing substances to hide true feelings of pain. While the narrator of the song is hiding feelings of missing someone, Esther is hiding pains of rejection from the writing camp, betrayal by Buddy and pressure and confusion about her future.
In many ways, I believe that Esther was not a 100% fictional character. Sylvia Plath experienced a very difficult life, one that she thought was worth ending. Her short lifetime ended suddenly after she committed suicide. I believe that the Bell Jar not only portrays the lost hopes and despair of the character Esther Greenwood, but I felt as though Sylvia connected to her own creation on a very intimate and personal level.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to create a soundtrack to the motion picture of the Bell Jar, I would include the song ‘The a Team’ by Ed Sheeran because Ed solely describes the struggles of young women. Esther was a prosperous, bright young Lady, who let the world crumble around her. Her attitude became quite pessimistic, and her ability to think positively withered. For example, when she hit ‘rock bottom’ she turned to intimacy, thinking it would somehow make her ‘pure’. As Ed says in his song, Esther “Sells love to another man.”
Another song I would include in the soundtrack is ‘Clouds’ By Zach Sobiech. The first line of the song says, “I fell down down down to this dark and lonely hole. There was no one there to care about me anymore.” Esther did fall into a dark and lonely hole, and she fell hard. Negativity filled all the voids and she felt she had no one to console in. The fact that she didn’t make it into the writing program only contributed to her sadness and depression.
Esther did have her run in with men, in particular Buddy Willard. Buddy was the role-model man. He was the kind of man that was every mother’s idea of perfection. Buddy was so perfect, that there must have been at least one thing wrong with him. Esther was in fact the one to point out his flaw. Esther noticed how Buddy found himself superior over others, and his sexual affair with the waitress in Cape Cod had proven the fact that he was a ‘tool’. Although he was stricken with tuberculosis, his willingness to keep Esther in his life was strong. A song that describes Buddy’s feelings towards Esther is ‘Gotta Be You’ by One Direction. The heartfelt lyrics only begin to describe a man’s love and regret for his mistakes. “No woman in the world deserves this, but here I am asking you for one more chance.”
Lastly, the smooth yet somber melody of the song ‘Stay’ By Rihanna and Mikky Ekko helps me to picture the heartbreaking moments Esther Greenwood experienced while in her state of depression. The First Line of the song states, “All along it was a fever, a cold sweat hot headed believer.” This Line Describes Esther’s condition perfectly because Esther eventually overcame her sadness, and although a fever can be long-lasting and painful, they eventually go away over time, just like Esther’s depression began to lessen, and she became herself again.
Silvia Plath’s The Bell Jar tells the story of Esther and her struggle for who she is and who she is meant to be in this world. Searching for the answers to these questions leads her into states of depression and suicidal tendencies. As the story moves forward, we watch the painful process she goes through to get help for her depression. This isn’t just a story of loneliness and self deprecation, it is also the story of Esther’s resilience.
ReplyDeleteEsther is living at an all women’s hotel because she is in a summer editor job. Her days are filled with fancy events and many new experiences. All of these experiences are challenging her insight into who she really is as a person. Early in the novel Ester becomes infatuated with another summer editor, named Doreen. Esther sees Doreen as fun, outgoing, frivolous and appealing to males. This is all the complete opposite of Esther who is too tall, puritan-like and not very appealing to men. The song Cool Kids by Ecosmith would be a great song to express Esther’s desire to be like Doreen, one of the cool kids.
Esther’s continuous conflict with self-identity is seen throughout the novel whenever she looks at a mirror. In chapter 10, when Esther looks into the mirror she does not see herself, she instead sees “the face in the mirror looked like a sick Indian”. Esther is not sure of who she truly is and the mirrors are representing this. A song that expresses this is The Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson because it is a song about struggling with self-image and personal identity.
Esther is conflicted with her ongoing relationship with Buddy. At first she thinks it’s everything she wants in the world. He is the type of young man that any mother would want there daughter to marry - he goes to Yale, he’s going to be a doctor. Esther eventually sees beyond his falseness. Esther learns about Buddy’s summer affair with another women and comes to see him as a hypocrite. Also, Buddy doesn’t respect Esther’s desire to become a literary writer. He just wants her to be a wife and mother, which fits societies view of women in the 1950’s. The song King of Anything by Sarah Bareilles fits Esther’s response to Buddy perfectly. Buddy wants to be Esther’s “king,” but Esther knows better.
Esther goes through depression and attempts many times to kill herself, from swallowing the bottle of pills to trying to drown herself. For Esther, suicide is the answer to the pain she is experiencing everyday. Her internal conflicts with identity and the external requirements from society are too great. Sarah McLachlan’s Angel and the lyrics “In the arms of the angel; Fly away form here” reflects perfectly on Esther’s emotional state.
As Esther’s deep loneliness pushes her into depression and suicide attempts. She really does not have anyone to go to for help. She does not have a good relationship with her mom, her brother doesn’t seem to be in her family much at all, her dad died when she was a child and she has no best friend to be there for her.Before there was Doreen, but she wants nothing to do with her now. A song that can relate to Esther’s loneliness is “Heartbreak Hotel” by Elvis Presley, with the important lyric of “I get so lonely I could die”.
By the end of the novel, Esther represents a woman who fought through an identity crisis, loneliness and excessive demands from society. From the continuous help of Dr. Nolan, a trustworthy companion she found, Esther is nursed back to help. Esther worked to minimize her internal conflict by gaining more control over her own life. The song Roar by Katy Perry shows Esther’s strength to get back up, brush off the dust and hear her own voice.
1. The first song I would chose for the soundtrack for The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath would be “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd. I feel that this song represents Esther in both the guitar melody and the lyrics. The guitar melody sounds very sad and longing for something better, which is similar to how Esther feels throughout the novel. The lyrics are symbolic of things being routine and a lack of positive change in one’s life. Esther feels as though she is stuck in her “bell jar,” and she cannot change and grow better. The lyric that I think fits the most with Esther’s situation is “we’re just two lost souls living in a fishbowl, year after year.” The fishbowl is a lot like the bell jar that Esther is stuck in year after year.
ReplyDelete2. The second song I would chose for the soundtrack would be “Fix You” by Coldplay. This song is about depression, which fits with Esther. A lyric that represents her situation is “when you feel so tired, but you can’t sleep, stuck in reverse.” This obviously is symbolic of Esther’s insomnia, which is making her depression worse. However, the chorus of the song is giving hope to help the person who is depressed, which can be foreshadowing of the ending where her condition improves and she begins to feel happier.
3. The third song I would chose would be “You Found Me” by the Fray, which would go when she attempts to overdose on sleeping pills. The chorus of the song goes “lost and insecure, you found me, you found me, lying on the floor.” This represents when she is found in her house passed out after many days. She is very vulnerable at this point, because she has just tried to kill herself due to the depression that has taken over her mind and body, but her attempt fails and she is found alive and still is miserable in the world that she lives in. Other lyrics in the song talk about being alone, which is how Esther feels because she isn’t able to rely on her mother, and doesn’t really have anyone to love.
4. The fourth song I would chose would be “Keep Your Head Up” by Ben Howard. This song would be towards the end when Esther is recovering and becoming better and happier. The chorus “keep your head up, keep your heart strong,” is symbolic of Esther’s attitude as she leaves the asylum and is able to reenter the world. If she doesn’t keep her head up and heart strong, she will become trapped in the bell jar again. The song begins talking about a darkness that they were trapped in before, and the song progresses into the feeling that it will be better now and it is time to look on the bright side and find warmth and happiness.
If I were to make a major motion picture out of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, the first song to the sound track I would pick is Adam’s Song by Blink 182. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MRdtXWcgIw) This song describes Esther fairly well, at least from our point of view. At first, Esther seems relatively normal and you would not guess that she was suffering from depression and later on in the book she would try to kill herself. However, Esther’s life quickly turns into a downward spiral with her continually thinking about death and attempting to commit suicide. The song is similar to this because at first the song is normal (not depressing or sad) saying how they (the person singing) never would commit suicide, in fact they would laugh about how crazy it is. But, by the end of the song, they (the person singing) have become more and more depressed and eventually commit suicide. Also, in this song it says, “I’d never thought I’d die alone”. In the beginning of the book I think that this line held true to Esther’s thoughts. I don’t think she had expected (at that point) that she would try to commit suicide. The song also says “ I’m too depressed to go on”. Esther also feels this way and that is why she decides to attempt to end her life. She is struggling to fit in with the expectation of what a girl is supposed to be like in that time period but she cannot ‘fit in’. She also finds out that she was not accepted into the class she applied for and that just pushes her over the edge. In the song it also says “Days when I still felt alive.” This would apply to the part of the book where Esther cannot sleep and seems to be slowly losing life. This is most likely what Esther is thinking/feeling at this part of the book.
ReplyDeleteAnother song that I would add is Love Stinks by the J. Geils band.(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0LAs7X5ybE) Esther throughout the book has trouble with finding love and she at times wonders if she will ever get married at all. In the beginning of the book Esther goes out with her friend Doreen and Doreen ends up hanging out with a guy named Lenny. This makes Esther the third wheel and that is what usually happens to her. The line “This thing they call love is gonna make you cry” describes Esther’s experience with love. Even with Buddy Willard, she is conflicted because he had slept with someone else so she was upset and decided she was done with Buddy. Esther did not like how there was a double standard for men and women and she especially did not like that Buddy was so casual about it. “Love stinks” would also describe how Esther felt about this whole situation.
Although this seems like a kids song, one of the lines from the song Let it Go by Idina Menzel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moSFlvxnbgk) explains Esther’s internal conflict. In the song it says “The wind is howling like the swirling storm inside.” Esther is struggling with her depression and the depression is like the storm inside of her that is trying to destroy her. It is a constant struggle and when she attempts to commit suicide it is almost like the storm won. But, when she receives help, she is able to calm the storm inside and return to her normal self. However, this song would also fit at the end of the book when Esther is going for her ‘exit interview’ to see if she was ready to leave the private institution where she was staying. The lyrics “Let it go” and “I’m never going back, the past is in the past” explain how Esther is ready to move on with her life and put her depression behind her.
Lastly, the song New York by Alicia Keys (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMX1sc3eOTE) describes Esther at the beginning of the book. The lyrics “Concrete jungle where dreams are made of / there’s nothing you can’t do / Now your in New York” I think would represent Esther coming to New York on a scholarship for the program that she was accepted to. She goes to try to persue her dreams of writing and that is exactly what the lyrics are saying. The song says, dreams come true in New York and that is what Esther is trying to make happen.
The Bell Jar follows Esther Greenwood, a small town girl caught up in the big city after she won an internship in New York City at a magazine publishing company. While in the city, she sets herself into a downward spiral with, the loss of friends, boyfriends and overall support. She then turns to professional help, in her hometown. While there she thinks her case is incurable and then attempts to end her life several times. Afterwards she is placed into a mental hospital and starts to appreciate the small things about the people around her.
ReplyDeleteMy first song I picked to become part of my sound track is “No Light, No Light” by Florence and the Machine. This song deals with the lies people tell, and what happens when one realizes that everything they trusted comes crashing down into oblivion. Esther sees lies in people everywhere and is very hesitant to trust people, because its easier to find flaws in people, the way they act and the things they say than to always see the light in people. She is also ruins her relationship with Buddy Willard because he wasn’t as “pure” as she was. That one hit home for her, she was devastated and called him a hypocrite. She doesn’t take to lying well and this song really emphasizes this.
The next song is “By the Grace of God” by Katy Perry. The song is focused on the theme of picking one’s self up from rock bottom and getting through tough times. Esther in the end, after hitting rock bottom and spending sometime in a mental hospital is able to pick herself up. Even after believing she was incurable. Her story, though very dark, is also a story of survival and the will to go on.
Another song I picked was “You Found Me” by The Frey. In the song, it talks about waiting for god to help him get over his problems, but he never came. From this you can conclude that everyone hurts and feels lonely. In the beginning of The Bell Jar when Esther was very isolated, and when anyone made their way into her life she would retreat further into herself. She went out with Doreen a few times for drinks in the city, but after a run in with some men, Esther found herself leaving Doreen behind with them.
“Asleep” by The Smiths is a song about suicide, the lyrics talking about singing me to sleep, but don’t come back in the morning because I will be gone. Esther struggles with multiple suicide attempts and during that same low point could only read the suicide columns in the newspaper. After her many attempts, including drowning, cutting an artery and over dosing, she looked in the mirror in the hospital and that was the end of her suicidal rampage. She saw what she had become as if she was looking at a picture. She stepped outside of herself and saw how bad she was and after that turned her life around.
No matter how successful someone is, if they feel isolated from the world because of the noise inside their head, they are never going to be happy. This concept is closely related to Esther Greenwoods problems in the Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.
ReplyDeleteFrom an outside perspective, it would seem as if Esther has it all going on. She is a very bright student, had an amazing internship for the summer in New York, and is on her way to being very successful. However, Esther is not happy. Esther points out in chapter 7 that she had not truly ever been happy since her father died. It had never occurred to her that before she was “only purely happy until [she] was nine years old,” (75).
While Esther is very smart, she starts to doubt herself, which is the beginning of a downhill path for her. Even though she has a great education, Esther finds that she is “dreadfully inadequate,” (77). Although she won many scholarships and did extremely well in college, this was not enough for her. “I felt like a racehorse in a world without racetracks or a champion college footballer suddenly confronted by Wall street and a business suit, his days of glory shrunk to a little gold cup on his mantel with a date engraved on it like the date on a tombstone,” (77). Therefore, the first song would be Ain’t it Fun by Paramore. Now that college is ending for Esther, she feels the skills and education she got is not enough for the real world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtHbzR93ags
Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield would also be on the soundtrack. Esther’s future is unwritten, and she has trouble deciding what she wants to do. Esther can’t decide what she actually wants, which ends up hurting her in the end. Esther uses the green fig tree as a metaphor for where her life will end up. Each tip of every branch on the fig tree had some sort of life for Esther. For example, there was a husband with a happy home and children, a famous poet, Ee Gee the amazing editor, and a brilliant professor. Instead of ending up with one of these branches, Esther finds herself “sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn’t make up my mind which of the figs I would chose,” (77). Esther wanted an aspect of each life the fig tree branches offered; however, choosing one meant losing the others so Esther could not come to a conclusion of what she wanted. Because Esther wanted all of the options, and therefore did not make a decision, most opportunities for the lives she wanted started to close.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtGY4G7II6s
Esther never wanted to just settle down, she craved the excitements and vicissitudes of life much more than getting married. Really Don’t Care by Demi Lovato is another song in the soundtrack. Esther never wants to get married because she fears infinite security. Furthermore, when Buddy asks if she would prefer to live in the country or city, Esther says both. Buddy tells her this is the perfect set up for a neurotic person; however, Esther does not care because she sees no problem in wanted “two mutually exclusive things at one and the same time,” (94).
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJGUbwVMBeA
With many attempts of suicide, pills are the only things that actually come close to killing Esther. Human by Christina Perri describes the breaking point in Esther’s life, which eventually pushes her to overdose on pills. Notice that Esther “tried” other ways of suicide before she took to many pills. Esther fully knew that her other attempts of suicide would not work, which shows she was not truly at her breaking point yet. For example, Esther tries to drown herself while swimming. Esther “dived, and dived again, and each time popped up like a cork,” (161). Over dosing on pills was closure to her life, and a legitimate way to commit suicide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5yaoMjaAmE
You’ll Be in My Heart by Phil Collins is the final song I would end in the soundtrack. This song applies for the end of the book while Esther is at the private mental hospital. While their, Esther truly does grow as a person, and overcomes not all, but some of her original problems. Dr. Nolan is patient and caring for Esther, which greatly helps with Esther’s improvement. The first verse, “Go stop your crying it will be alright, just take my hand hold it tight, I will protect you from all around you, I will be here don’t you cry,” describes the relationship between Dr. Nolan and Esther. Dr. Nolan is the first person to actually listen to Esther and comfort her. Esther’s grows to trust and confide in Dr. Nolan, as Dr. Nolan has proved to be a good friend and mentor for her. Dr. Nolan plays a huge role in the recovery of Esther, and You’ll Be in My Heart is a positive and meaningful song that displays this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=git6DCXSqjE
(this was part two)