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Teaching The Bell Jar

Plath made easy.

  • Activities: 13
  • Quiz Questions: 60

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Do you ever feel like you're trapped under a bell jar in the classroom, stuck using the same old activities with your students? That's where Shmoop comes in.

In this guide you'll find 

  • reading quizzes to check that students are all on the same page.
  • an activity that maps out Esther's ups and downs throughout the book.
  • resources to help make Plath's works more accessible for today's students.

With this guide by your side, you can break free from your old routine and rule the classroom.

What's Inside Shmoop's Literature Teaching Guides

Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring literature to life.

Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 13-18 Common Core-aligned activities to complete in class with your students, including detailed instructions for you and your students.
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students.
  • Reading quizzes for every chapter, act, or part of the text.
  • Resources to help make the book feel more relevant to your 21st-century students.
  • A note from Shmoop’s teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the text and how you can overcome the hurdles.

Want more help teaching Teaching The Bell Jar?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.



Instructions for You

Objective: Ever heard the old adage that you should write what you know? It's a commonly held maxim of writing, though it's certainly not the end all be all. After all, we're pretty sure J.K. Rowling has never been a boy wizard… As much as we're in full support of examining texts on their own, with no concern for whether the author has culled from their own experiences, in the case of The Bell Jar, there are some similarities between Esther and Ms. Plath that are too big to ignore. Which is where this activity comes in.

For this activity examining just how autobiographical The Bell Jar is, we recommend waiting until everyone's finished the book, then setting aside two to three periods to complete this work. Yes, even if you're teaching at Hogwarts.

Materials Needed: Copies of The Bell Jar; computers with Internet access

Step 1: To get your kids excited about this activity, have them do a little pre-writing about a work of fiction they have read/seen/heard that closely resembles their own life in some way. Tell them to be sure to explain how this piece from somebody else's imagination resembled their very real lives.

After about five minutes, ask students to share their answers. They don't have to go into the gritty details—some kids might write about something private—but ask them to at least share the work of fiction they identify with.

Let your class know that they'll be doing an assignment that examines the relationship between Sylvia Plath and The Bell Jar, particularly when it comes to Esther. Just how autobiographical is this book?

Step 2: Hook students up with computers and task them with researching Plath's life. Here are some good places for them to start:

As students read up on Plath, have them compare and contrast her to Esther Greenwood in Venn diagrams.

Step 3: It's essay time. Working with their Venn diagrams and referencing the text (in addition to their biographical research), your students will now construct 500-word essays, using the similarities and differences between Plath and Esther to defend one of the following four theses:

  • Biographical information plays no important role in the interpretation of The Bell Jar. The text can, and does, stand apart from its author.
  • Plath is woven into The Bell Jar and impossible to separate from the text. Her biography forms part of the work.
  • Cultural forces and Plath's mental state at the time of writing can and should be reconstructed from her work. 
  • Biographical information and intent are something readers impose onto The Bell Jar.

Remind students that some people/places/events may be metaphorical and not direct references to Plath's life. Because of this, they may find they need to take some creative leaps as they write. If they want to compare Dr. Gordon to Plath's father, that's fine; they'd best back this claim up with evidence, though.

Instructions for Your Students

Objective: Ever heard the old adage that you should write what you know? It's a commonly held maxim of writing, though it's certainly not the end all be all. After all, we're pretty sure J.K. Rowling has never been a boy wizard… As much as we're in full support of examining texts on their own, with no concern for whether the author pulls from their own experiences, in the case of The Bell Jar, there are some similarities between Esther and Ms. Plath that are too big to ignore. Which is where this activity comes in—get ready to do some sleuthing.

Step 1: Free write about a work of fiction you have read/seen/heard that closely resembles you own life in some way. Be sure to explain how this piece from somebody else's imagination resembles your own very real life. Warning: You'll be asked to share, though you definitely don't have to dig into the gritty details.

Step 2: On a computer, starts researching Plath's life. Here are some good places to start:

As you read up on Plath, compare and contrast her to Esther Greenwood in a Venn diagram. Yay circles.

Step 3: It's essay time. Working with your Venn diagram and referencing the text (in addition to your biographical research), construct a 500-word essay using the similarities and differences between Plath and Esther to defend one of the following four theses:

  • Biographical information plays no important role in the interpretation of The Bell Jar. The text can, and does, stand apart from its author.
  • Plath is woven into The Bell Jar and impossible to separate from the text. Her biography forms part of the work.
  • Cultural forces and Plath's mental state at the time of writing can and should be reconstructed from her work. 
  • Biographical information and intent are something readers impose onto The Bell Jar.

Remember: Some people/places/events may be metaphorical and not direct references to Plath's life. Because of this, you may find you need to take some creative leaps as you write. If you want to compare Dr. Gordon to Plath's father, that's fine; you'd best back this claim up with evidence, though. Now get going.