Future Plans

Esther Greenwood in The Bell Jar has been one of the most relatable narrators for me. She reminds me of the typical Uni student in several ways. Like many Uni students, she excels at the “game” of school—she gets good grades, all the teachers love her, she’s won many scholarships, and has an internship at a famous magazine. The school system provides a structure for Esther’s life such that she knows exactly what she is supposed to be doing and what her next step will be. Esther knows that she is supposed to get good grades during the school year and then apply for scholarships/ internships for the summer.
But, Esther also realizes that her schooling is coming to an end and, therefore, has only a short time to figure out what she wants to do with her life. Esther thinks she knows what she wants to do. She’s thought about getting a scholarship in order to attend graduate school, then becoming either a professor or an editor. However, when Jay Cee asks her about her future plans, Esther answers by saying that she doesn’t actually know.
Here, Esther realizes that her old plans aren’t actually what she wants to do with her life. She’s been giving this answer about becoming a professor to adults for a long time, but she has only recently realized that it is not true. I think that she came up with this answer just as a way to reassure any adults (like Jay Cee) who are concerned about her future. But, Esther’s been giving this answer for long, she’s convinced herself that this is what she wants. So, when she admits that she doesn’t really know, it comes as a shock to her.
I think this part of Esther’s situation is very relatable for a lot of high school students, such as ourselves, who are going through a similar phase. By this time in our lives, a lot of people expect us to know exactly what we want to study in college. When I’m asked a similar question I tend to give an answer that I know will please the questioner, even if it isn’t completely true. A lot of young adults have been in similar situations and because of this, I feel like Esther is a character that many people can relate to.

Comments

  1. Ethan English BlogMarch 5, 2017 at 5:55 PM

    I think that this situation also goes beyond high school and may also relate to college students who don't really know what job they want. I definitely think this book can relate to multiple age groups and different stages in life.

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  2. SophiaMarch 6, 2017 at 7:53 PM

    This is definitely something that I related to in Esther as well. Two of the first questions that people ask when they find out that I'm a junior in high school is where I want to go to college and what I will major in. No matter how many times I get asked, it's still difficult to admit that I don't know.

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  3. MichelleMarch 10, 2017 at 10:50 PM

    I totally agree with you, Shreya, and I also agree with Ethan that this idea can apply to other people as well, especially college students since they may have an idea of what they want to do coming in only to find out that they actually don't.

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  4. HadleyMarch 11, 2017 at 12:02 PM

    I agree that this is relatable. In the beginning of the book when Esther talked about her academic past, I felt like a lot of it was similar. As the book progressed, it got less familar obviously but this is a good post.

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  5. Anna DingMarch 11, 2017 at 2:17 PM

    I agree, and yet it's interesting how Plath doesn't try to make Esther a very likable character. Esther seems unbothered by how the people around her think of her, and some of her actions actually alienate her from the reader (he treatment of the black hospital worker, her indifference towards Joan's plight, etc.) and yet we can relate to her _experiences_.

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  6. UnknownMarch 15, 2017 at 11:02 AM

    I never really thought of her in relation to the culture of grades at Uni but I definitely agree a lot of Uni students fall into the "Esther" category of following what others around you deem as "success" for your future. I love the image of the telephone poles/boxes just coming to an end after 19 years of her life: she cannot image *her* future, for she has only ever imagined the future her society *wants* of her.

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