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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 does Esther tell her mother after the treatment that makes her feel relieved?

2. Why does Esther visit the cemetery?

3. How does the shock treatment make Esther feel?

4. How does Dr. Gordon respond to Esther's torn letter to Doreen?

5. What course of treatment does Joan's first psychiatrist recommend for her?

Short Essay Questions

1. What keeps Esther from drowning herself at the beach?

2. How does Esther feel as she is waiting to enter her exit hearing?

3. How does the private hospital staff compare to those at the public hospital?

4. Describe Esther's feelings about the women living in Belsize

5. What does Esther do at Deer Island?

6. What do the voices in Esther's head tell her as she sits in the park contemplating suicide?

7. What is the only item that gives Esther pleasure in the hospital? Why?

8. Describe Irwin

9. Describe Esther's encounter with the sailor

10. Describe Esther's feelings as she visits the gynecologist.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout The Bell Jar, Esther moves between the present and the past. Select three of the flashback scenes and:

1) describe what happens in each of these scenes

2) discuss the significance of each scene in Esther's life

3) discuss how the flashback scene relates to the "present" time scene it is embedded in.

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

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the significance of the novel's title. Be sure to include:

1) a definition of "bell jar"

2) the relationship between the bell jar and Esther

3) what the bell jar represents about Esther's character.

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

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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