Intro to Lit Blog

The Bell Jar, Chapters 1-6

It's very refreshing to read a novel written in first person after reading so many with a third person narrative. Not that the previous books were bad, I've liked almost all of them. Reading the first six chapters of The Bell Jar was a very different experience though. I was immediately engaged in the story and I never once found it boring. I may have found it so interesting because it's a new perspective, but I also enjoy how first person limits the reader by staying within the character's mind. For example, I still don't have a good grasp on Esther's character, despite the fact that the story is told from her perspective. Esther does odd, surprising things and we are given no explanation as to why. For example, Esther leaves Doreen out in the hallway after she vomits, but Esther doesn't think twice about doing it. She just goes back inside and we never hear about it again – as if it were completely normal to leave friends in a puddle of their own vomit. Scenes like this remind me a lot of Catcher in the Rye. I don't remember details from that book, but I remember finding Holden's behavior odd. The odd behavior isn't necessarily shocking, it's that the character doesn't it find it odd that surprises me. Another good example of being confined in the character's mind is her situation with Buddy. Throughout the first few chapters we are made to believe that Buddy has done something despicable to Esther – something so horrible, that she doesn't even want to speak to him. When we learn it is because he's had sex before, I couldn't believe that was the only reason. Yet Esther goes on and on about how he's a hypocrite and a liar. I found this to be very interesting because it shows just how misleading first person can be.

This book also has moments that remind me a bit of Saturday (which is a good thing). There are moments where Esther has a flashback based on something she is doing in the present. For example, when she is at the banquet and she remembers the story about her grandfather and the caviar. I think I enjoy events like this because they realistically mimic human thought. It's interesting to see how Esther's mind jumps from subject to subject based on what she's doing.

Out of all the books we've read so far, I find this the easiest to get in to. The unpredictability of the character and the level of intimacy achieved with first person is and odd combination and one that keeps me wanting to read just to see how Esther handles the next situation she comes across.

posted by rcunning @ 3:50 PM