TBJ10

Why does Esther feel such a need to sleep with Irwin?  Does she feel better or different after it has happened?

 Esther feels the need to sleep with Irwin because throughout this whole book she has been feening for sex. She wants to have “sexperience” because she has been through situations where sex was involved before and she couldn’t or didn’t want to do it then. Irwin was also a decent man who was well educated. Apparently he was equipped also because Esther was complaining that it hurt a lot, and after she couldn’t stop bleeding because of a hemorrhage. She feels somewhat better that she finally had sex, but has to go to the hospital again right after because of the bleeding. 

BJ9

What does Esther mean when she says she feels trapped under a bell jar?

Esther feels confused, and is depressed because of her mental conditions. She seems to be the delicate object enclosed in the bell jar. She is under the control and pressure of people at the hospital, which could represent the bell jar. Doctors and nurses didn’t treat her well at Gordons hospital, and should couldn’t do anything about their control over her and her treatments. Esthers condition makes her feel like she is failing at something because she doesn’t feel right with what has previously happened in her life. 

TBJ 8

Describe the new asylum Esther goes to? What might life have been like had she been forced to stay where she was?

Esthers new asylum is Caplan, which is much nicer than the one she just transferred from. One thing that is substantially different is her doctor is Nolan, who’s a woman. I think this is nice because Esther absolutely hated Doctor Gordon, and Dr. Nolan is more flexible with her privileges. I think Esther would have ended up in a worse condition at the older hospital because they didn’t treat her respectfully at all. In the end I think that this is definitely better for her.

TBJ 7

What is wrong with Esther? Why does she try to kill herself?

Esther is so shocked by what happened with Marco on her last night out in New York. He tries to rape her, and she ends up having an unfortunate evening. This makes her want to attempt suicide again, by trying to OD on sleeping pills. When she comes home the next day she finds out that she wasn’t accepted into the Honors Writing course at Cambridge. All of these events put her through so much stress that she doesn’t want to go through the obstacles of life to face her problems.

TBJ 6

Why doesn’t Esther like Dr. Gordon? Is he hurting or helping her?

Esther doesn’t like Dr. Gordon conceited, and didn’t seem like he was concerned to help her out. When she came into his office he saw a picture of his family. The picture was turned to he could show off his family to people. This made her jealous and mad that she didn’t have the perfect family that he did. HE also didn’t really seem to care about her condition, and was just in it for the money. This put a conceited perspective on him through Esthers eyes. Also I think that the shock treatment was a bad thing to do because it made her crazier.

TBJ 5

How does Esther act when she returns to Boston? How might her night with Marco have influenced her actions?

In her last night in New York she goes out with Marco, who is basically in it for sex. We see this when he tries to rape her. When she returns back to Boston the next morning she acts very strange, and doesn’t leave the house. She tries to occupy her self by doing different things throughout the house so she doesn’t have to think about Marco. When Esther threw her clothes out the window she was trying to get rid of what was left of him.

TBJ 4

What does Esther want from Constantin? How does he react? What do you think of his reaction?

Esther meets Constantin through Mrs. Willard. Since Buddy had sex many times, Esther wanted to find a good relationship. After dinner they went back to Constantins apartment and Esther tried to get a little comfortable to seduce Constantin. It was strange because he didn’t make a move and kept the first date down to a minimum. I think he did a good thing because it shows a woman that your not in a relationship for sex.

TBJ 3

What does Esther think of Buddy? What does she want from him? What does she want him to think of her?

Buddy made an impression that he was straightedge, and not experienced. He wanted to look like he hadn’t been around with women, but we later find out that he slept with this woman numerous times over the summer. This made Esther think of him differently because he put on a different personality for her at first. When Esther finds out Buddy has tuberculosis, she uses this against her friends and tells them that they’re together but he is sick. Esther does this so they will leave her alone so she doesn’t have to go out at night.

TBJ 2

How does Esther avoid Chemistry in college? Why might she find science so overwhelming?

She avoids Chemistry by asking the dean if she could sit in the chemistry class and listen but not actually take the tests and do the work. The dean accepts because he thinks that her taking chemistry to learn the skills is a good idea. She liked this because it looked as if she was taking notes and being productive about chemistry but actually she was writing poems for her Shakespeare class. Science could be overwhelming because it is really complex. Esther isn’t that type of woman she likes simpler things. This could also be another reason why she feels lost in New York, because there is so much going on in “the big Apple”.

TBJ 1

• Explain the first line of the novel. What does it show about Esther and her experience in New York.

Judging by the first line in the novel, it seems that Esther doesn’t know what she is doing in New York, the Rosenbergs were electrocuted, and she’s in a “queer sultry summer”. So far her experience in New York hasn’t been pleasant, she seems to feel out of place. She also talks about the Rosenbergs and how she keeps seeing their faces, which also tells us about the era Esther is living in. This is the time of the cold war, and high tensions for communism. The weather was also incredibly hot in the city, which frustrated her.

MLS 2

Comment on a decision made by a character that reflects or revokes a value from the 1950s.

Miss Watson decided to reject Paul’s offer to not marry him. This is a strange thing because during this era it was in the norm to have a husband and live a happy “nuclear family” life. Miss Watson doesn’t believe that women should just go to college and get married and become a housewife all her life, she believes that women should look outside the box and find an occupation. She does this to one of her students Joan. She realizes that Joan has the potential and desire to become a lawyer and attend law school at Yale, so she helps her out with her application and acceptance. This is also another strange thing because Miss Watson is going against the word of Wellesley, and is trying to change things for the future of women.

MLS 1

Comment on how the film is portraying the time period of the 1950s.

The film is portraying the 1950’s in a very well manner in my opinion. It shows that women in college want to get married and start a “nuclear family”. The role of women in this time was basically to cook, take care of the kids and husband, and clean. The women at Wellesley are strictly taught to follow these rules, or they will be seen differently. Another thing the film shows is that men are favored over women. This is exemplified by Dunbar who has sex with the students, even though the faculty is aware of it. When the nurse tries to help the women from getting pregnant she is fired from Wellesley, but Dunbar isn’t for having sex with them.