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The Bell Jar Study Guide

by Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar study guide contains a biography of Sylvia Plath, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

The Bell Jar takes place during the early fifties and begins in New York City, during a sultry summer in which the narrator, Esther Greenwood, is an intern at a fashion magazine after winning a scholarship. She soon befriends Doreen, a fellow scholarship winner who is perpetually cynical and bemused. Doreen takes Esther out for drinks, where they meet several men, including Lenny Shepherd, a disc jockey. Esther and Doreen go back to Lenny's apartment, where Doreen and Lenny progressively become more intimate and even somewhat violent with each other. Esther flees the apartment to return to her hotel, where she only wishes to forget the experience that night. Later that night, Lenny brings the inebriated Doreen back to the hotel, where…

Read the full The Bell Jar Summary

• The Bell Jar Summary
• About The Bell Jar
• Character List
• Major Themes
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 1-4
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 5-8
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 9-12
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 13-16
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 17-20
• Related Links on The Bell Jar
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 1
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 2
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources

• The Bell Jar: Major Themes
• The Bell Jar: Essays
• The Bell Jar: Questions
• The Bell Jar: Purchase the Novel and Related Material
• Sylvia Plath: Biography