Young adults in high school and college face a constant bombardment of questions and opinions about their future plans, which only makes it more difficult to choice between several possibilities. Sylvia Plath weaves these confused and lost feelings into her autobiographical fiction novel The Bell Jar. Esther Greenwood, the highly motivated main character, wins a scholarship to work at a magazine for the summer, but during the internship she realizes that she no longer knows who she wants to be. Quickly sinking into a suicidal depression, an empty Esther checks herself into a psychiatric hospital and eventually recovers, reborn as a confident and independent woman. Esther initially plays many roles for others; However, her identity collapses when these contrasting lifestyles collide, as she cannot achieve individuality until she realizes that she can only be herself. All her life, Esther has juggled different versions of herself that she adopts to please others; this leaves his inner self lost and confused. Esther Greenwood is a young girl who has known one thing in her life: winning prizes and scholarships. The summer after her first year of college, she won a fashion magazine competition for a month-long internship in New York. Aware that she should have an unforgettable time, Esther only feels numb and disappointed. It is located deep in the “granite canyons” of New York, considering them inaccessible (Plath 1). Their height deters her from even trying to climb them, and the dust blows into her face, muffling her words and her vision. Like a leech, Esther clings to various people in her life to feel like she is living. For her magazine friend Doreen, she acts with strength and boldness when she allows it...... middle of paper ......the signs of an "open door" and the "ability to breathe" of Esther augur a positive result. future (Wagner). Esther escapes from her bell under the guidance of Dr. Nolan, as she realizes that her only true identity is her own. Esther maintains several contradictory false identities based on societal expectations that cause her true self to crumble under the pressure. Fractured, she cannot reform until she realizes that the only identity she must maintain should be her own. Patriarchal norms conflict with Esther's true identity, but she no longer cares about maintaining a false, passive appearance. As his story demonstrates, while it can be difficult to be unique or outside the norm, basing one's beliefs and lifestyle on things that society considers "normal" causes greater harm. External approval will never completely exist, so we must instead approve and love our own identity..