Things I Learned (so far) Reading The Bell Jar

I haven’t finished it yet, but I don’t have much more.

1. Sylvia Plath was an unshy, blatant, unapologetic racist. Twain was racist, Dr. Seuss I had heard as well, but Plath shows her work without any qualms.
2. I need to expand my vocabulary. I am unabashedly in love (I know, she’s RACIST) with her writing. I wish I could write as well as she sans RACISM.
3. According to Sylvia Plath/Esther Greenwood, hypocrites are the worst. Also, women-haters. One may think she ought to have reflected a bit on that.
4. I relate to the thoughts that cross her mind when she begins cracking up. I can remember going through my own crises and believing or thinking things were connected that were not, and reading about it from a book published in 1963 is oddly comforting.
5. I also relate to the lost feeling. She has a way of describing it much better, but just being so tired with life and not really feeling that you will ever be enthused with it or there is any future for you. Running through all the things she could do and trying to find the easiest path to normalcy… until she begins researching the best ways to off herself and experimenting with those.
6. I am sure this book, if one can look beyond her racist remarks and views, is relatable to a lot of people who suffer from mental illness.

This is a lousy list, but it’s what I got so far. I wish she had written more books as I am not that into poetry. Which is a bit odd and maybe I should reflect on that because I love music and lyrics. So maybe I just haven’t engaged with it enough.