Short Story Questions and Literary Analysis of The Bell Jar

Answering Four Short Story Questions in Paragraph Format

Choose four of the following questions on the short stories we have studied and provide aparagraph answer for each question.You must directly answer the question in the first sentence of the paragraph.Each paragraph should follow the paragraph conventions that we have discussed in class(topic sentence, supporting points, concluding sentence, etc.).You need to explain why you believe that your answer is the right one. Remember, I amlooking for an analytical answer, not a description or summary of what happens in the story.Each paragraph should include at least ?five (5) sentences .Your paragraphs should be written in formal style, avoiding contractions, first person, secondperson, clichés, slang, etc.Please follow the formatting guidelines for the Literary Non-Fiction Assignment.1. What is the significance of the narrator's epiphany at the end of "Araby" by JamesJoyce? 2. Is the narrator in “Araby” by James Joyce overreacting to the events hedescribes?3. Why does the narrator decide not to buy a gift at the Araby bazaar in “Araby” by JamesJoyce?4. Why does the narrator become obsessed with the wallpaper in "The Yellow Wallpaper" byCharlotte Perkins Gilman?

II. Essay QuestionChoose one of the following topics on ?The Bell Jar ?by Sylvia Plath and write a formal essay.The essay must include an introductory paragraph, a thesis statement, body paragraphs,quotations from the text to support your claims, and a conclusion.The essay must maintain formal tone throughout: do not use contractions, clichés, slang, firstperson (I, we), or second person (you).Please follow the formatting guidelines for the other essays.You do not need to provide a title for your essay.1. At the beginning of Chapter Twenty, Esther describes the asylum grounds covered in snow:Massachusetts would be sunk in a marble calm. I pictured the snowflaky, GrandmaMoses villages, the reaches of swampland rattling with dried cattails, the ponds wherefrogs and hornpout dreamed in a sheath of ice, and the shivering woods.But under the deceptively clean and level slate the topography was the same, andinstead of San Francisco or Europe or Mars I would be learning the old landscape, brookand hill and tree.How does this description reflect Esther’s recovery?2. At the end of the novel, Doctor Nolan warns Esther that people will treat her “gingerly” or“like a leper with a warning bell” How does this statement reflect the negative attitudestowards mental illness Esther encounters in the novel?3. While Esther exhibits signs of depression throughout the novel, her symptoms significantlyworsen after returning home from the internship. Why do her symptoms take such a drasticturn for the worse? Is there a particular incident that causes this change, and why is itsignificant?4. At the beginning of the novel, Esther is devastated by small mistakes or slightly unpleasantsituations, which make others react negatively to her. For example, she is extremelyembarrassed for not knowing to tip the bellhop at the hotel. However, by the end of the novel,she is able to handle difficult situations, such as Joan’s death or Buddy’s hurtful commentsabout no one wanting to marry her after learning of her illness. How has Esther learned to dealwith situations so much better?5. Unlike Esther, Joan succeeds in killing herself. Because they are from the same town and goto the same church, Joan's funeral is very like what Esther's funeral would have been like if hersuicide attempt had been successful. What does Esther learn from this exp