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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What surprises Esther the most about Marco?

2. What does Esther do when she returns to the Amazon the night that Marco attacks her?

3. Where do Buddy and Esther go after the Yale Junior Prom?

4. What does Buddy tell Esther she should get used to seeing?

5. What marks the end of Esther's relationship with Eric?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the movie that the girls go to see from Esther's point of view

2. Compare Constantin and Buddy.

3. Describe the article that Esther's mother gives her from Reader's Digest ("In Defense of Chastity").

4. Describe what runs through Esther's head when she and Constantin are visiting the UN.

5. Why does Mr. Willard leave Esther alone with Buddy at the sanatorium?

6. What is Eric's philosophy on sexual relationships?

7. Describe the situation that leads Esther to leave Lenny's apartment

8. What is Esther's opinion of Betsy?

9. Who are Frankie and Lenny?

10. Contrast Esther's and Buddy's feelings about his diagnosis

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

As The Bell Jar develops, so does the main character's mental illness. In your essay:

1) describe the progression of her illness

2) describe and explain the "red flags" that showed she was getting increasingly worse

3) comment on the role that the other characters played in her deterioration.

Cite several specific examples from the novel to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 2

The Bell Jar is a commentary on the mental health system in the US. In your essay:

1) describe how the mental health system appears in the novel

2) discuss what Plath is saying about the system.

Cite several specific examples from the novel to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

What would you have done if you had developed depression as Esther had? Would you have taken the same actions as her? Why? How would your personal experience be different or the same as Esther's?

(see the answer keys)

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