“Perhaps when we find ourselves wanting everything, it is because we are dangerously close to wanting nothing.” ( http://thinkexist.com/quotes/sylvia_plath/)
The Bell Jar is a very complicated book that deals with very complex issues. There are numerous ways this book can be examined this paper will focus on analysis through the use of theories. There are a plethora of different theories that could be utilized to dissect this book this paper will focus on five.
The first theory to be discussed is structuralism, this theory is composed of many different branches. The branches that this paper will be looking into is archetypes. The definition of of archetype is typical images, characters, narrative designs and themes and other literary phenomena. Archetypes have their own form of criticism that is called archetypal criticism. Archetypal criticism means the generic, recurring and conventional elements in literature that cannot be explained through historical influence or tradition.
Some examples of archetypes are, the wounded child, the victim, the villain, the rebel, the savior, finding redemption, death, and the happy ending. Now that there is an understanding of what an archetype is we can look at four different archetypes in The Bell Jar.
The first archetype in The Bell Jar, is the character of Doreen, she would be seen as the bad-girl. She is very easy, not very smart but very pretty, she relates well to the character of Helen of troy who embodied all of the things aspects before.
The second example is the character of Esther, she can be seen as the victim and as the heroine. The reason she can be seen as the victim is because of the many injustices she faces. For example when she is subjec...
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3.) Example Archetypes, Rgsmedicalinsight.homestead.com, November 30/09
http://rgsmedicalinsight.homestead.com/archetypes1.html
4.) Margaret Anne Class Notes, Nov 30/09
5.) Dobbs, Jeannine. “Viciousness in the Kitchen” Modern Language Studies, Vol 7, No2
Modern Language Studies Autumn, 1977, pp.11-25
6.)The Bell Jar Literary Devices, Shmoop.com, December 2/09
http://www.shmoop.com/bell-jar/literary-devices.html
7.) The Bell Jar, Jandysbooks.com, December2/09
http://www.jandysbooks.com/genfic/belljar.html
8.)Sylvia Plath Quotes, Thinkexist.com December 4/09
http://thinkexist.com/quotes/sylvia_plath/
9.)Bell Jar Quotes Quotegarden.com, December 4/09
http://www.quotegarden.com/bk-bj.html
10.)Astell, Anne, W, Christianity and Literature Vo 48 spring 1999 December 2/09
The different archetypes are the shadow, the mandala, the great mother, the transformation, the hero, the spiritual father, and the trickster. All archetypes were drawn from a part of what makes us human and hidden in our subconscious. Many of the characters in the film often play more than one character. An example of this would be Ben Kenobi seems to play the archetype of Luke’s father, then he also plays the archetype as an old, wise man.
Generally you would have stories that usually have a character, situation or symbol that appears so often in a work that has a deep universal meaning or a response; like how the color red represents passion or blood, three would represent trinity or mind, body, spirit; and wilderness is danger. This literary device is called an archetype. Numerous stories have the same archetype such as Trifles by Susan Glasspell and El Santo Americano by Edward Bok Lee. Both these two play writers use the victim archetype in these two works. The victim archetype is when a character is hurt by someone or lives in fear that someone will hurt him or her.
archetype is very typical example of a person or a thing. Carlson’s most important characteristic
An archetype is a universal symbol. It is also a term from the criticism that accepts Jung’s idea of recurring patterns of situation, character, or symbol existing universally and instinctively in the collective unconscious of man. Archetypes come in three categories: images (symbols), characters, and situations. Feelings are provoked about a certain subject by archetypes. The use of the images of water, sunsets, and circles set the scene of the movie. Characters, including the temptress, the devil figure, and the trickster, contribute to the movie’s conflicts that the hero must overcome in order to reach his dream. However, to reach his dream, the hero must also go through many situations such as, the fall, dealing with the unhealable wound, and the task. By using archetypes in the movie, the viewer can obtain more than just the plot and better understand the true theme of the movie: to never give up on dreams.
An archetype in literature is defined as a typical example of a certain type of person. A character in a poem or play can be placed into many different archetype categories. Archetypes help a reader to gain a better understanding of who a character in the work is on the inside. This deeper insight into the character allows the reader to follow the flow of the story easier and more effectively. There are many different archetypes that can help advance the story.
The women's movement was in full swing in America in the sixties. These were the women who were escaping from their kitchens, burning their bras, and working in careers that were traditionally male-oriented, while at the same time demanding payment equal to men's salaries. In her essay: What Would It Be Like if Women Win, Gloria Steinem has many thoughts on the ways feminism could change this country and what the society would be like if her changes were made. An interesting change she is looking to make involves sexual hypocrisy: "No more sex arranged on the barter system, with women pretending interest, and men never sure whether they are loved for themselves or for the security few women can get any other way" (Steinem, Takin' it to the Streets, 476). This new attitude can be found in much of the literature of the sixties. Specifically, in two of the books we have read, women authors have projected this concept of a "new sexual women" into their characters.
Archetypes refer to the persistently recurring symbols or motifs in literature. The term itself has its origins in ancient Greek and continues to play a prominent role in analyzing literature. Archetypal images and story patterns encourage readers to participate ritualistically in basic beliefs, fears, and anxieties of their age. These archetypal features not only constitute the eloquence of the text but also tap into a level of desires and concerns of civilization. The Anglo-Saxon poem, Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, integrates many of the common archetypes that still exist today. The outcast archetype is one that particularly expressed the desires, anxieties and values of the people who lived during the Beowulf era. Grendel, a character of monstrous appearance and hazily human emotion, is portrayed as the principal outsider in Beowulf. The incorporation of a banished character against his fellow society effectively expressed the anxiety and fears that the Anglo-Saxon culture felt towards seclusion and abnormality, caused by a societal absorption in family lineage and traditionalism.
Michael W. McConnell, “The Forgotten Constitutional Moment,” Constitutional Commentary, No. 1. 1 (Winter 1994): 121-22. 21. What is the difference between a'smart' and a'smart'?
... typical archetype. These characters are obviously supposed to mirror the archetypes that are common in fairy tales, but their flaws are contradictions to the archetypes that they are supposed to represent; through this Goldman mocks typical and standard fairy tales.
The Bell Jar is occupied with several female characters that all represent an assortment of female stereotypes. There are college students who wish to fully experience the city of New York, patients in a mental institution, and psychiatrists who could potentially serve as role models throughout the novel. Esther often finds herself lacking self-confidence due to the fact that she is constantly comparing herself to these individuals. Esther is shown as being stubborn because she rejects the womanhood that is presented to her. Instead, she spends her time worrying about what she thinks it is to be a woman. Sylvia Plath’s novel, The Bell Jar, diagrams the repressed role women endured due to the restrictions and expectations of societal norms.
An archetypal story is one which follows the archetypal theory, having hidden symbols and roles which must be played, for example, a scapegoat, an outcast and a villain. In the novel The Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, the main characters can have more than one of these roles, for example Piggy who is the sage as well as the scapegoat.
First of all, archetypal characters are important people. They all have a purpose and make the story original. While the villain tries to defeat, capture, or take over something, the hero saves the day. In “Gravity Falls” the heroes and villains are important, because if they didn’t exist there wouldn’t be any story to tell. They create a purpose for every piece of literature.
Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar (1971) is a thinly veiled autobiography. Having been riddled by depression herself, Plath has us follow her protagonist Esther’s journey of self-discovery in order to assert her views on the intersection of mental illness and traditional femininity. In the novel, blood serves to mark transitions in Esther’s life. Time after time, blood intersects with largely feminine milestones and the shifts in her mental health as she witnesses births, is sexually exploited, and must confront her own sexuality. Esther struggles to fit in to the narrow feminine role and views the world through a predisposition for depressive thoughts. The “traditional” era in which she exists enforces very binary gender roles and places her purity
of the book. Vol. 24. What is the difference between a'smart' and a'smart'? Berkeley, CA: University of California, 1984.
Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. The Web. The Web.