It could be said that Plath’s use of a simile to portray incongruity foreshadows Esther’s growing fear of “the bell-jar”. At the start of the novel, “The cadaver’s head, floated up behind my eggs and bacon at breakfast”. The reader is shocked due to the tragic inappropriateness of the cadaver’s head being connected to the mundane image of eggs and bacon. This dark humour, which arises from the absurdity of the two objects, could be perceived as foreshadowing the tragedy to come, due to Esther’s dysfunctional view of life. The humorous tone of the simile is increased as the narrator does not seem traumatized by such a shocking image being associated with an everyday object. It could therefore be argued that this reduces the tragic effect from the situation. However, the cadaver’s head is always following her “on a
It could be said that Plath’s use of a simile to portray incongruity foreshadows Esther’s growing fear of “the bell-jar”. At the start of the novel, “The cadaver’s head, floated up behind my eggs and bacon at breakfast”. The reader is shocked due to the tragic inappropriateness of the cadaver’s head being connected to the mundane image of eggs and bacon. This dark humour, which arises from the absurdity of the two objects, could be perceived as foreshadowing the tragedy to come, due to Esther’s dysfunctional view of life. The humorous tone of the simile is increased as the narrator does not seem traumatized by such a shocking image being associated with an everyday object. It could therefore be argued that this reduces the tragic effect from the situation. However, the cadaver’s head is always following her “on a