AD 2014

Novel Study: The Bell Jar Theme of Survival

Honors Assignment (Quarter 4)
Projected Length: 5-6 pages in length; Due ON or BEFORE May 28th (no
exceptions)

Assignment:
Choose one of the following to discuss:
As The Bell Jar develops, so does the main characters mental illness. In your essay:
a) describe the progression of her illness
b) describe and explain the red flags that showed she was getting increasingly
worse
c) comment on the role that the other characters played in her deterioration

In The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath provides a commentary on American women. Choose
three major scenes or characters from the novel and:
a) describe the scenes as they relate to women and how women survive
moments in time
b) explain what you think Plath was trying to say about women through this
scene/character
c) be sure to cite specific examples from the novel to support your ideas

KEEP IN MIND:
All essays should at a minimum conform to the composition standards set for a
student to move on to the collegiate level as an Honors student. A student must by
the end of such a class have shown reasonable competence in the following skills:
1. organizing an essay on a set topic, developing ideas logically and
systematically, and supporting these ideas with the necessary evidence,
quotations, or examples;
2. organizing a paragraph;
3. documenting essay using the Modern Language Association (MLA) style-- in
text and works cited
4. writing grammatical sentences, avoiding such common mistakes as
comma splices, run-on sentences, and sentence fragments
faulty agreement of subject and verb or pronoun and antecedent
faulty or vague reference (e.g., vague use of this, that, or which)
shifts in person and number, tense, or mood
dangling modifiers
5. spelling correctly; and
6. punctuating correctly.