Good Paragraph: The Bell Jar (10/31)

Esther's ordeal is marked clearly by the suicide of her dear friend Joan. The reward with which she leaves this ordeal is much less clear. It is very much a psychological lesson she learns but it is not clear that she in fact draws a healthy conclusion about her life. After Esther chooses to sleep with Irwin, an intelligent man she comes to know, her family is upset and ashamed of her actions. Esther's family then expects her to pick up where she left off and move on. While Esther very well should find a way to move on, she will not simply be able to "pick up where she left off." Her experiences have left her a changed woman. Her efforts to take the Road Back are shown in her call to Irwin in which she asks him to pay the hospital bill for her injury from their encounter and refuses to see or speak to him ever again. It is Esther's strength in this respect that makes her a valuable Hero in her own personal quest for self-understanding.