For this week, we’re starting to read Sylvia Plath’s novel, The Bell Jar. I’ve assigned Chapters 1-10. Please try to get through as much of that reading as you can. We’ll begin our discussion of the novel by examining the first few paragraphs very closely, so you should read with pencil in hand and mark up your text with as much information you can get from reading. Include definitions to words you needed to look up, observations you make, connections to other readings, or other aspects of the text you think are important. We’ll then continue our conversation beyond the first chapter as time permits.
I mentioned in my announcement post that you’ll write comments instead of posts this week. Write a comment–roughly 150-200 words–in which you consider one of the following issues related to The Bell Jar:
* Think about the style of narration. What kind of narrator does the novel have, and how does that shape what you know about the protagonist?
* What do you know about the setting? Remember, setting is time and place. How does the setting shape your understanding of the protagonist?
* We spoke about round and flat characters at the start of the semester. Identify a round or a flat character and consider what role he or she plays in the story.
* In what ways is the protagonist of The Bell Jar like Helga Crane in Quicksand? What does that comparison do for your understanding of the protagonist?
* In what ways is the protagonist of The Bell Jar like another character we encountered this semester. What does that comparison do for your understanding of the protagonist?
Then comment on one other comment, roughly 100-150 words.
