A Realistic Depiction of Mental Illness
Esther’s experiences with her mental health felt real, despite being extreme. In many coming-of-age narratives, the main character struggles with their mental health. For example, at the beginning of the semester I wrote my essay about The Perks of Being a Wallflower. In this book, Charlie struggles with anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Similarly, in Catcher in the Rye, Holden is definitely also struggling with his mental health in some way. However, reading The Bell Jar was a different experience for me because her pain is more intense and real than many other coming-of-age novels that I have read. In many coming-of-age novels, movies, and shows, mental illness is often glorified, possibly for the sake of entertainment. But while reading The Bell Jar, it showed the darkest parts of her mental illness, which made it feel more real. In many coming-of-age stories, there is usually a lesson to be learned, or a message that they are trying to get across. However, this novel is simply abo...