The Bell Jar: Post 2

After finishing the novel, The Bell Jar, I was very happy with it. I loved the way that one second Esther is a happy woman living in New York City and then the next second she is being sent to various asylums. Though I was expecting that Esther was going be insane because of the summary in the back of the book, the way it happened still caught me by surprise. I found it very interesting that no matter how many times Esther tried to commit suicide, she was never able to go through with it. From drowning, to cutting herself, to trying to hang herself.. it seemed as though it was never meant to be. It was almost as though there was some unknown force holding Esther back, and keeping her alive.
One thing I didn't completely like about the novel, was how the author changed from past to present. It usually took me until I was reading for 2 or 3 paragraphs of the part of the novel to understand when the event was taking place. There was no definite show of when the story was taking place at any time.
In relation to the name of the novel, The Bell Jar, it took until the last couple of chapters to learn what the title meant. Esther was trapped in a "bell jar" during the time of her life in the asylums. In this bell jar, Esther was kept in her own world, with no new air to breath. The bell jar was making Esther suicidal because she had no way of escaping the boundaries of the jar. I really enjoyed the way the author used the title in the story.
In conclusion I am very happy with the whole novel. I was constantly captivated and wanting to read more. Even though there is no definite ending, I predict that Esther finally goes back to the life that she used to have. It makes the book more interesting when the reader has to make up their own ending in their head.