The Bell Jar And Water For Elephants

Literary elements are what gives the work of an writer meaning, complexity as well as character. In the case of Sylvia Plath and Sara Gruen, the respective authors of novels The Bell Jar and Water for Elephants, three particular literary elements stood out for their success in strengthening the impact of each story; mood, symbolism as well as theme.

Firstly, stirring up some of the most sensitive and desolate topics known to man as well as exposing a side of the human race hidden in the hopes of being forgotten, these two novels both take on a dark and perturbing mood. Sylvia Plath, an American poet, published The Bell Jar in 1963. Shortly after, during the winter of that year, she committed suicide by suffocating herself in her gas oven.

Her novel follows the story of a woman, Esther Greenwood, who is living in New York City during the 1950s and battling lethal mental illness. Topics such as suicide, the environment of a mental asylum as well as loneliness are raised, contributing to the dark mood of Esther’s narration. Furthermore, considering the historical aspect of this novel is crucial due to the insight it presents on the character’s situation in the novel. As is known, Esther Greenwood’s reality is set in the 1950s, and this time period is not the golden age of mental health awareness or treatment. As a woman living with depression, she is not taken seriously by her family and friends, as well as facing brutal shock treatments, a technique much improved upon for continued use today, in a mental institution. Similarly, Water for Elephants has a very dark mood as well as many dark subjects that are mentioned throughout the story. The main disturbing idea mentioned in this novel is animal abuse. Rosie, the elephant that acts as a large part of the circus, is beaten countless times by the antagonist of the story. The presence of Rosie’s abuse and the vivid images one pictures of August

In the case of The Bell Jar, the main theme is not knowing how something feels until you have experienced it. Esther feels completely separated from the rest of the world because of her mental illness. She feels like she is alienated and abnormal compared to everyone else. “I felt very still and empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo.” Esther feels like she is staying still under her bell jar, while the rest of the population is living their lives without a care. Esther’s expression of these emotions show the reader that people dealing with depression feel like they do not belong to the category that everyone else belongs to and no one can truly understand them unless they are going through the same thing. Similarly, tying into the symbolism of the circus in Water for Elephants, the theme of this novel is that up close, not everything truly is as it appears to be from the outside. The circus bring out the theme because as the reader gains knowledge from the narrator, they begin to see that even though a circus appears to be amazing and fun from the outside, from the inside it is twisted and abusive. “Tell me, do you honestly think this is the most spectacular show on earth? No. It's nowhere near. It's probably not even the