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Various options for students to engage with 'The Bell Jar' by Sylvia Plath, including vocabulary lists, image analysis, poem creation, character and theme exploration, and literary device identification. Each option encourages critical thinking and personal reflection.
Typology: Lecture notes
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Note: I know these faces are comic in nature. They are in no way meant to make light the struggles of our protagonist. They come from the blog Hyperbole and a Half , whose author suffers from mental illness and uses humor as a way to handle dark times. Sometimes, it’s all you can do. (Ms. Prokott’s from last year)
Do all three:
a. As you read, make a list of at least five literary devices you see in the text and explain how they help your understanding of the text.
b. Identify any new themes that you encounter in the chapter or expand on themes you may have already seen. Express themes as full statements. (Remember that themes can be arrived at by answering the question “what is Plath saying about the human experience in this chapter”?)
c. Make a list of any significant character developments or conflicts in the chapter. (E.g., character vs. character—Esther vs. Buddy or character vs. society—Esther vs. female expectations)
d. Make note of any questions you’d like to pose to the class, big or small.
e. Make note of any predictions you have about the book. (Do you think you spotted some foreshadowing?)
f. What did this chapter make you think of? Are there any personal connections you’re having with the setting, plot, or characters?
Phil’s response:
Jean’s follow-up:
a. Choose a critical lens to track throughout the whole chapter, and offer very specific examples of how that lens reveals itself. Afterwards, write a paragraph explaining what you’ve learned. OR b. Choose a character (not Esther) and write a ½ page response from the point of view of that character. Then from your point of view, write a half page response to the chapter, making sure to include real- world connections and personal connections you have with the text. You could also do this as a letter to Esther. OR c. Find a way to annotate the text fluently. Buy your own copy and write all over it, or buy a million Post-Its, write on them, and stick them into the book. (When you hand in your journal, you’ll show the teacher your book.) OR d. Make a list of all of the characters in the chapter, including Esther, and write down: x A significant quote and explanation of why it matters x A paragraph response of the significance of that character to Esther in the text (e.g., is the character a foil, what are her conflicts with the character, how you predict her relationship with the character will develop, etc.) OR e. As you read, make a list of the most striking images/word choices you encounter in the chapter. Choose your top three images, and draw them, beautifully (no sticks) in your notebook, or find images online that depict the same image. Or, if you prefer, choose three of the meaningful words from the text and free associate denotations and connotations of the word. E.g.: The word Makes me think of Makes me think of Makes me think of
a. Choose one of the characters in the chapter (not Esther) and rewrite the significant events of
view—feel free to get into this new character’s head and let us hear their voice. OR b. Rewrite the chapter as though the setting is 2018. Choose key moments in the text and write them from 2018 Esther’s point of view. Think about clear contemporary issues that she would consider; that is, add “slang”, proper nouns, current events, etc.
