Jordan Blaszkow

1
Sylvia Plath

• Jordan Blaszkow

2
Thesis Statement

• Sylvia Plath was one of the most unique writers
  ever to come to my attention. She had a writing
  style unmatched by any other. Her one novel, the
  Bell Jar, was essentially an auto-biography, with
  some variations

3
Early Life

• Born October 27th 1932, into a middle class
  family in Jamaica Plain Massachusetts
• Parents were Otto and Aurelia Plath
• Interested in poetry as a child
• First poem Circus In Three Rings published
  when she was 8 years of age

4
More life.

• Sylvias father died of Diabetes shortly after
  her 8th birthday leading Sylvia to her initial
  phase of depression
• Sylvia excelled in English and writing in grade
  school and obtained a scholarship to Smith
  College
• Attempted suicide in 1953, by consuming a mass
  amount of sleep-aid pills

5
..

• Met the renowned poet named Ted Hughes and
  married him a year later while attending
  Cambridge University
• they ended up divorced soon after, Sylvia felt
  that Ted was unfaithful with her

6
Plath Dies

• Sylvia committed suicide on February 11th 1963
• She stuck her head in the oven, but didnt forget
  to leave cookies and milk on the kitchen table
  for her children
• It was questioned whether or not her suicide was
  intentional or just a cry for attention because a
  nanny and a friend of the family were fixed to
  arrive at the Plath residence early that morning

7
The Bell Jar

• The Bell Jar is Sylvia Plaths only novel and it
  exhibits similarities to Sylvia Plaths life.

8
The bell Jar

• Main Character Esther green receives guest
  editorship for a magazine in new York city
• Esther meets people who would become her lifelong
  friends, one named Doreen
• Experiences a mental breakdown, is admitted to a
  private institution

9
Parallels of the Bell Jar

• Sylvia Plath was a guest intern for mademoiselle
  magazine in NYC in 1953
• Her first suicide attempt was swallowing sleeping
  pills and crawling under her house
• Sylvia was admitted to McLean hospital until she
  showed signs of sanity
• Sylvia has troubles with relationships, she could
  never trust men
• Attendance of Smith College

• The main character had a guest internship in NYC
• The main character attempted suicide by
  swallowing pills and going under her house
• The Bell Jar ends with the main character
  stepping into an interrogation room of an insane
  asylum
• The main Character struggles with trust issues
  after seeing her friend being taken advantage of
  on a night out

10
clips

• http//www.biography.com/broadband/main.do?videob
  io-top250-sylviaplath-depression
• http//www.biography.com/broadband/main.do?videob
  io-top250-sylviaplath-demons

11
I think

• The subject matter of Sylvias work revolved
  around what happened in her life.
• Her depression, suicide attempts, and family all
  played roles in her writing
• She basically wrote an autobiography
• Not too impressed