Cicada (noun): any of a family (Cicadidae) of homopterous insects which have a stout body, wide blunt head, and large transparent wings and the males of which produce a loud buzzing noise usually by stridulation

Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar: “As my mother and I approached the summer heat bore down on us, and a cicada started up… The sound of the cicada only served to underline the enormous silence”

The purpose of Esther mentioning the Cicada was to reveal how she noticed how loud the bug was in the silence of her and her mother as they were driving to the hospital to see Dr. Gordon.

-”Cicada.” Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 20 May 2014.

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