essay

Faria Riaz

ICLT 331

Analytical Essay Rough Draft

Comparison of ‘The Bell Jar’ and ‘Generation Why’

In ‘The Bell Jar’ by Sylvia Plath and ‘Generation Why’ by Zadie Smith we come to see the exploration of how the society in general is changing and how the world is viewed pessimistically. In ‘The Bell Jar’, we can clearly see how Esther depicts pessimistic views regarding the world and the people that live in that world. In the ‘Generation Why’ essay, Smith uses Facebook to highlight how people are slowly becoming regardless of what is actually going on in the world as they are so busy being wrapped up around their lives in social media.

In both these pieces of literature, the writers depict how people have become emotionless, with no feelings. In ‘The Bell Jar’, from the very beginning of the novel we are introduced to Esther, who shows how ungrateful she is, despite the fact she was so lucky. This is seen when she uses the words “New York was bad enough”(Chapter 1). Although New York is regarded as the city where dreams come true, Esther shows how ungrateful she is when she uses such negative words to describe a glamorous city like New York. Another aspect of her pessimism can be further seen through the words she uses for her college which she regards to be “fizzled to nothing” (Chapter 1). Since only the luckiest people gain a college degree, Esther is just finding ways to complain about her life. Similarly, many people nowadays would regard Facebook as a platform where people from all around the world can meet and stay connected with each other. However, Smith has a different regard for Facebook as she considers it to be an obstacle for the development of having stronger connections. In her essay, she argues that “When a human being becomes a set of data on a website like Facebook, he or she is reduced.” Here, the word “reduced” implies how people are losing their own emotional state or their very own logical thinking by using social media. The word “reduced” could also suggest how people are becoming negative in their perceptions regarding life as when we use social media we tend to ignore how lucky we are to be in the surroundings we live in just like the way Esther is regardless of being lucky in New York or being well educated, people who use social media also tend to ignore what is happening around the world; they are just concerned about updating their own profile on social media. Here, we also see the way Smith is making possible predictions regarding the future, where if people continue to use social media, they will become just like a machine that has no feelings.

Moreover, Plath describes the ways many people start criticizing others as a result of having a negative personality like the way Esther has as can be seen in the beginning chapter where Esther is seen to be criticizing other girls by considering herself to be perfect. This can be seen through the line “I was supposed to be the envy of thousands of other college girls just like me all over America”(Chapter 1). These words clearly indicate a sense of arrogance which creates a pessimistic mind as one with arrogance like Esther tends to look down upon others by considering themselves to be the perfect example that anyone could think of. Esther, even criticizes her Yale classmates for being “so stoopit!”(Chapter 1) which highlights how rude she could be for criticizing her classmates.

In contrast, unlike Esther, Smith does not consider herself to be perfect as she states that “ We have different ideas about things. Specifically we have different ideas about what a person is, or should be. I often worry that my idea of personhood is nostalgic, irrational, inaccurate.” Through these words, Smith represents herself as someone who is down to earth and is open to the opinions of others. Unlike Esther, these words show Smith as someone who is not adamant regarding her perception. However, like Esther, Smith highlights the negative aspects that are present in the world. She makes statements like “ something is not right with this young man: his eye contact is patchy; he doesn’t seem to understand common turns of phrase or ambiguities of language”. Through these words, we do get an idea as to how society in general tends to criticize each and every point of a person.

Therefore, giving a bird’s eye view, both Plath and Smith highlight how the world is pursuing pessimism. Plath shows the growing pessimism of the society in the form of her character Esther who with her views represents those who are always criticizing. Smith, on the otherhand shows how people are slowly becoming inconsiderate due to the idea that they are giving their mere attention and time to social media.

Work Cited

Smith, Zadie. “Generation Why?”.2010, The New York Review of Books

Plath, Sylvia. “The Bell Jar”, HarperCollins, 2005. Amazon Kindle.