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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. Who is Esther's doctor at the private hospital?

2. Why does Buddy Willard visit Esther in the asylum?

3. How do the women in Belsize know they will be having shock treatments?

4. What does Esther do that gets her transferred to another hospital?

5. Who is Joan planning on living with when she leaves the asylum?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Esther do at Deer Island?

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

3. What does Dr. Nolan tell Esther about shock treatments in this chapter?

4. How is Esther's shock treatment experience at the private hospital different than the one she had with Dr. Gordon?

5. What thoughts consume Esther after finding out she must have shock treatments?

6. Describe the scene at the cemetery.

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

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

9. What news does Esther expect Dr. Nolan to give her after her insulin reaction? What news does she actually give her?

10. Describe Esther's encounter with the sailor

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

In The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath provides a commentary on American women. Choose three major scenes or characters from the novel and:

1) describe them as they relate to women

2) explain what you think Plath was trying to say about women through this scene/character.

Be sure to cite specific examples from the novel to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

The Bell Jar is written from Esther's first person point of view. Write an essay examining the novel's point of view focusing on:

1) the narrator's bias

2) the amount of information given based on this point of view

3) comment on how the novel would be different if it was told from a different point of view.

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

(see the answer keys)

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