The Bell Jar: #2, #10

The Bell Jar was pretty good. I liked it a lot better than Catcher in the Rye, even though both focused on the mental changes a person goes through as they become depressed and suicidal. I like how the ending is hopeful, and she has come out a more knowledgeable and confident person in the end. Even though I still don't feel like she knows what she wants to do with her life, that question doesn't confuse her and depress her like it used to. Catcher, on the other hand, does not leave the reader feeling like Holden will be okay again. The idea of a Bell Jar containing her and looming over her, was a good extended metaphor too, and the image makes a lot of sense, from a figurative sense though. I admit, that I actually did not know what a bell jar was at first.

I really like Doctor Nolan. Sometimes, her methods seem a little strange for me, but she seems to be a good confidante for Esther, which was crucial to her improvement. For example, I was surprised when Doctor Nolan seemed sort of happy with Esther saying that she hated her mother. At that time, I questioned whether Nolan was a better doctor than Doctor Gordon, who did not help Esther, and actually made Esther more untrusting of others. When he gave her shock treatment, it only made her feel more hostile towards Doctor Gordon, and more determined to fake well-being in order to avoid shock treatment. I think Esther really needed someone to talk to, and explain some of her personal thoughts to. Like how Esther told no one else about her hatred of male power.