Monday, November 7, 2022

English Model Question


Class: 10 Subject: C. English FM: 75
Time: 2:15 hrs PM:

Attempt all the questions
1. Read the poem carefully and do the activities that follow:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear, Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and, I I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost
Find the words from the poem that give similar meaning to the following words and phrases: 
i)  a deep and long breath ii) walked on iii) branched away iv) forest
B. Fill in the blanks using suitable words from the box. You may need to use one word twice.

less travelled road, roads, decision, difference, speaker, difficult, choices

The poem is about a dilemma that the .......... has faced. He has ..........
between two .......... He compares both the He takes a long time to
take the final .......... It is .......... for him. Finally, he chooses the that
has made a in his life.
C. Answer the following questions:
Who is the speaker in the poem?
Where is the speaker standing in this poem?
Why does he stop there for a long time?
Why is he in a dilemma?
2. Read the passage and answer the questions given below:
I suppose every family has a black sheep. Tom had been a sore trial to him for twenty years. He had begun life decently enough: he went into business, married, and had two children. The Ramsays were perfectly respectable people and there was every reason to suppose that Tom Ramsay would have a useful and honourable career. But one day, without warning, he announced that he didn’t like work and that he wasn’t suited for marriage. He wanted to enjoy himself. He would listen to no expostulations. He left his wife and his office. He had a little money and he spent two happy years in the various capitals of Europe. Rumours of his doings reached his relations from time to time and they were profoundly shocked. He certainly had a very good time. They shook their heads and asked what would happen when his money was spent. They soon found out: he borrowed. He was charming and unscrupulous. I have never met anyone to whom it was more difficult to refuse a loan. He made a steady income from his friends and he made friends easily. But he always said that the money you spent on necessities was boring; the money that was amusing to spend was the money you spent on luxuries. For this he depended on his brother George. He did not waste his charm on him. George was a serious man and insensible to such enticements. George was respectable. Once or twice he fell to Tom’s promises of amendment and gave him considerable sums in order that he might make a fresh start. On these Tom bought a motor–car and some very nice jewellery. But when circumstances forced George to realize that his brother would never settle down and he washed his hands of him, Tom, without a qualm, began to blackmail him. It was not very nice for a respectable lawyer to find his brother shaking cocktails behind the bar of his favourite restaurant or to see him waiting on the box–seat of a taxi outside his club. Tom said that to serve in a bar or to drive a taxi was a perfectly decent occupation, but if George could oblige him with a couple of hundred pounds he didn’t mind for the honour of the family giving it up. George paid.

State whether the following statements are True or False:
i) Tom was an unmarried man.
ii) He travelled in Europe for a couple of years.
iii) Nobody refused to give him loan.
iv) Tom's brother was a doctor.
Answer the following questions:
i) How was Tom's life in  the beginning ?
ii) What did he announce one day?
iii) What did he do after he spent all his money?
iv) What did he prefer to spend his money on?
v) How did he blackmail his brother, George?
vi) How much money did George give to Tom?
3. Read the following advertisement carefully and do the activities that follow:

VACANCY ANNOUCEMENT

A well renowned English medium school is seeking a dynamic, energetic and
qualified secondary level teacher for the following post:

Post: English (full time teacher)
Qualification: M.Ed. in English
Experiences: At least five years
Remuneration: Negotiable

Qualified and interested individuals are requested to send their applications to the
following address with a copy of their academic qualification, CV and a recent
passport size photograph with in 13th December 2021.

ABC Secondary School
Manara, Mahottari
Telephone no: 9876543210

A. Find the words, from the above advertisement, which have similar meaning to
the following:
a) looking for
b) active
c) invited
d) famed
B. Complete the following table with correct information:
The number of required post

Salary

Deadline to apply


C. Answer these questions:
a. Where is the school located?
b. What is the post advertised?
c. Who can apply for the post advertised?
d. Write the list of things that are to be submitted for the post?
4. Read the following text and do the activities given below:
One of the reasons why so many children start smoking is that they see adults
smoking: they think that it's a "grown- up" thing to do. They smoke in order to
impress their friends and also because they don't really believe that cigarettes
will do them any harm. Quite reasonably, they are not impressed when adults
warn them about the dangers of smoking: if smoking is so dangerous, why do
so many adults do it?
Smoking can cause cancer, bronchitis and heart diseases. The nicotine inhaled
from cigarettes makes the heart beat faster, and makes the arteries contract:
this can lead to blockage in the arteries, particularly in the legs. Cancer and
bronchitis are caused by the tar and carbon monoxide taken into the lungs.
Although these harmful effects are well known, people continue to smoke.
Some people carry on even after having a heart attack or leg amputated
Action on smoking and Health exists in order to make the public more aware
of dangers of smoking. It tries to make people give up the habit by organizing
anti smoking campaigns, and it especially concerned with limiting cigarette
advertising. So far, it has succeeded in persuading the government to ban
cigarette advertising on television.
A. Find the words, from the above text, which have opposite meaning to the
following :
a. followed
b. given
c. expands
d. enters
B. Write 'True' or 'False' against the following statements:
i. They smoke in order to impress their friends.
ii. Government has banned cigarette advertising on television.
iii. Smoking can cause cancer, bronchitis and heart diseases and many more.
iv. Although harmful effects are well known, people continue to smoke.
C. Answer these questions:
a. Why do small children smoke in their early age?
b. What are the causes of smoking?
c. What should government do to discourage smoking?
5. Write a readable story using the given clues. 
A bee falls into a river - a dove flies past - drops a large leaf into the water - the
bee climbs on to the leaf - flies away-a hunter takes aim at the dove-the bee stings
him - the dove is saved – moral.
6.  Develop the given outlines into complete news report.
Kathmandu, a bus from Pokhara___ accident___ break failure___ near Devagat,
Chitawan___ three killed___ 12 injured, five serious___ hospitalized in
Kathmandu___ rescue operation by police and army___ driver under custody___
investigation going on.
7. Write si rules and regulation that should be followed in school library. 
8. Write an essay on 'The Role of Youths towards Senior Citizens".
9. Rewrite the following sentences as indicated in brackets:
a. Come back early in the morning, ……………….. ? (Supply the correct tag)
b. He studies hard. (Into negative)
c. She has been studying English for 10 years. (Into 'How long' question)
d. Listen! Someone ...................... (cry). (Put the verb in the bracket in correct
tense)
e. Kalpana said to him, "I never drink tea." (Into indirect speech)
f. No one could solve the problem. (Into passive voice) 
10. Choose the correct word from the brackets to complete the text
below.
Having eaten some delicious food in……1…..(a, an, the, none) Indian restaurant, Dorje discovered that his wallet ………2…………(stole, had stolen, was stolen). He could easily sense the problem he was going to
have. Just then a businessman got a call …3……. (for, at, on) his cell phone. He hanged up, grinning from ear to ear and ordered a round of drinks and food for everybody in the bar………4………… (although, to,
because), he announced, his wife had just produced a baby boy. Dorje became relaxed and congratulated the businessman. Luckily he got his bill ………5….…… (to pay, paid, pay). Congratulations showered him from all around and many exclamations of “WOW!” ……6……… (was, are, were) heard. Two weeks later the businessman………7………(has returned, returned, had returned) to the bar. One of the waiter asked, “Your son is all right…..…8….(isn’t he, aren’t you, wasn’t you)?” the businessman replied that …………9………(my son is okay, my son was okay, his son was okay). The waiter requested the man, “if you …10………… (will celebrate, celebrate, celebrated) your son’s birthday, please order birthday cake from here.” The businessman smiled and said “Sure!"
 
The End

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Micro-teaching Lesson Plan


Lesson Plan no: 2
Level: Higher Sec.                                          Grade: 11                   Date: 24th Kartik 2068
Unit:12
Title: Events in sequence
Objectives:
1.       To relate past events to their circumstances
2.       To talk about the consequences of past events
           
Materials: Hand-out, Teacher’s note

Content in detail ( Classroom activities)
11.1 When………..
Ø  When(After)+v2………,sub+v2+ob.     (two events took place at the same time)
            e.g. When I opened the door , I saw two boys fighting.
Ø  When(After)+had-v3………,sub+v2+ob.         (one event took place after another)
            e.g. When he had read the letter, I threw it into the dustbin.
11.2 As soon as……..
Ø  As soon as + 1st action in Past simple(v2),  2nd action in Past simple(v2), (two events took place at the same time)
            e.g. As soon as the telephone rang, he answered it.
Ø  As soon as + 1st action in Past perfect(had+v3),  2nd action in Past simple(v2), (one event took place after another)
            e.g. As soon as he had eaten his food, he went to his office.
Evaluation

           Join the following events and Circumstances using while and when
1. He fell off the ladder.       He was painting the ceiling.
2. His jeans split.                   He was climbing over the fence.


A PEER OBSERVATION REPORT

A PEER OBSERVATION REPORT
OF
Mr. Rajendra Shrestha

 





Submitted to
The Department of English Education
In Partial Fulfillment for the Master of
Education in English


 





Submitted by

Ranjit Kumar Singh



T.U. Regd. No: 9-2-229-54-2003
Campus Roll No: 97/065
Second Year Exam Roll No: 290320








Observer: Ranjit Kumar Singh                   Student-teacher: Mr. Rajendra Shrestha
Dates of Observation: 14th & 18 th Mangsir and 1st Poush          Class/Time: 6:55-7:30

The first class I observed on 14th Mangsir 2068 was the Level Higher Secondary Literature class at Manglodaya Campus Thankot. There were 26-32 students in a big classroom. The reason why the number of the students varied was that some students came late and others left early. As the teacher and I entered the classroom, the first thing I noticed was that the students were all quietly waiting for the teacher to come in and start class. My peer introduced me and told the students to focus on t he class. The students were genuinely interested and asked questions such as: Where do you come from? Where do you live and so on?
The class is taught by Mr. Hari Prsad Paudel. The students in the class are fro multicultural group of same age group. The first class I observed was a poem named Concrete Cat by Dorthi Charles …………………..from The Magic of Words grade XI.
The lesson began with the teacher inquiring if all the students had brought their text book or not. He repeatedly stressed the importance of bringing books in class because the poem he was going to teach was based on how words are arranged to form a cat which student could not understand without the textbook. This poem is a unique poem in its form being a visual poetry, also being a visual viewing of a cat. But not only are these words arranged to look like a cat, the words define the cat. There is alot of repetition in this poem, "stripestipestripestripe." The visual image appears to be in picture form, because the cat is not moving, and especially the mouse being behind the cat. The poem basically shows a cat and its survival necessity of day to day life.
 The teacher asked those who have one now to put it in front of them. If they haven't they can see in their friends’ books.
Thereafter he showed the Material he had brought drawing the concrete cat and described the form of the foem. He gave some other example of concrete poem. One of them is given below.




Student could easily understand what that poem was about. Further he described some alphabets which are used in the poem e.g. A, U and Y for different parts of the cat. As he made the students clear that ‘A’ represents the pointed eAr of the cat, ‘U’ represents the moUth and in the similar vein ‘Y’ represents the eYe of the cat. In the "Concrete Cat" by Dorthi Charles is a beautiful image of a cat. In this concrete poetry the writer give the appearance of a happy cat.  With the capital A in the ears, the capital Y in the eyes and the capital U in the mouth and the happy bouncing spaced letters in the tail, the cat appears to be very happy and content.  It has food indicated by the words, dishdish.  A literbox, and a dead mouse, that is why the poet spelled the word mouse upside down.  This concrete poetry can be painted and really form a cat.
I was so fascinated by his sight in this poem. He left no stone unturned to make each and every concept clear to the students.

The second class I observed on 18th Mangsir 2068. It was General Advice from MEANINGs INTO WORDS. The lesson was not based on the previous unit so he did not focus on the previous unit or subject matters. The materials he used were sample letter and other cutout which he used very effectively in classroom.
 The teacher began the class with some small talk, commenting on the weather, and on some news headlines while introducing new vocabulary. I noticed that all students were listening attentively, but that only a few were brave enough to participate actively. Initially, I thought I would just observe and see what emerged, but after 10 minutes I decided it would be more useful to observe the verbal and non-verbal behaviors of just two students.
I picked two people with apparently opposite personalities as the objects of my observation: one of them was boy and the other was girl. I observed how they are interacting with the teacher time and again to get some gist of the unit.
He read out the sample letter he had with him and made student guess what he was going to teach them. That was related to GENERAL ADVICE to relative through letter.
He did his job so effectively and I was sure enough that students achieved the desired goal.

The third class observed was on 1st Poush of the same friend Mr. Hari Bahadur Paudel was a poem named Poplar Field written by William Cowper an English poet and hymnodist. One of the most popular poets of his time. This poem was from The Magic of Words, the literature book prescribed for grade XI.
He discussed the burning issues of natural degradation. He pleads for the conservation of environment. He gave illustration from our surrounding to make the concept the poem clear.

Overall I found his lesson so effective and fruitful. Despite a few missteps, he maintains a professional behavior in the classroom and is to be encouraged. I wish his bright future.

An Internship Report

 MANGLODAYA MULTIPLE CAMPUS
Thankot, Kathmandu
Introduction
Manglodaya campus is situated at VDC Thankot-3 is one of the leading campuses in the western part of ktm valley .The main an objective of this campus is to provide qualitative education. It is a public campus which was established in 2045 B.S. conducting intermediate programme under TU and higher secondary programme was added in 2058 .it has been promoted by an efficient team of reputed lectures, social workers and well known academic experts .

Objectives
·         to provide quality education through practical ways
·         to serve society by producing skilled manpower
·         to insure the feeling of social well fair, peace and harmony in the society
Present and future progremme
Higher secondary programme
Management: Com.Eng, Com. Nepali, Economics, computer science, business study, account, Travel and tourism, Hotel manage ment. and others.

Humanities: In the faculty of humanities the cources are Com. Eng., com. napali ,major. Eng, sociology, maths and others are taught

Bachelor degree Programme
Under this programme BBS classes are running in affiliation to TU. The campus has aimed to run BA and B.ED classes in future.

At present there are 3 sections in class 11and12 and no section in BBS level. The total number of students benifited there are around 450 and around 25 teaching and non-teaching staffs.
Regarding the infrastructure of the campus, it has its own campus building, library, enough classrooms and others .All the classes of the campus begin at 6:15.The result of higher secondary is shown good enough as the percentage of passed students is 70 each year. Besides academic activities, the campus conducts extracurricular activities as well
Every students studying in the campus must concentrate his/her mind in education to accomplish the pre planned educational programme .The motto of the campus is that the educational programme can be made and only in the collaboration of students ,teachers and guardians .
Some rules and regulations for students:
Ø  All the students must obey the rules and regulations of the campus.
Ø  They all should come to campus regularly.
Ø  Each students should maintain discipline
Ø  College uniform is a must
Ø  Students should get admitted in time

Each and every institution requires management committee to run the programme smoothly. The members of management committee are:
            Chairman:        Mr. Om Krishna Amatya
            Members:        Mr.  Ghana Shyam Giri
                                    Mr. Bishnu Pd Shrestha
                                    Mr. Puranjan Shrestha
                                    Mr. Surendra Lal Shrestah
                                    Mr. Rameshwar Pathak
                                    Mr. Indra Pd. Rijal
            Member Secretary Mr. Gokul Pd. Sigdel
           
            Teaching and Non-teaching staff
1.      Mr. Gokul Pd. Sigdel                          Campus chief
2.      Mr. ShivaRam Sigdel                          Asst. ampus chief
3.      Mr. Raju Thakur                                  Humanities Co-ordinator
4.      Mr. Binay Lamichhane                       Management Co-ordinator
5.      Mr. Indara Pd. Rijal
6.      Mr. Madhusudan Adhikari
7.      Mr. Hariram Nepal
8.      Mr. Uddhav Adhikari
9.      Mr. Laxman Pd. Bidhan
10.  Mrs. Yamuna Khatri
11.  Mr. Kashi Ram Sharma
12.  Mr. Ram sharan Tripathi
13.  Mr. Bhanu Pradhan Dhakal
14.  Ms. Roshna K.C.
15.  Mr. Dinesh Sigdel
16.  Mr. Krishna Lamichhane
17.  Mr. Shree Hari Rupakheti
18.  Mr. Bhim Br. Upreti
19.  Mr. Bishnu Maharjan
20.  Mr. Karan Br Shrestha
21.  Mr. Dil Br. Shrestha                            Accountant
22.  Mr. Om Prakash Shrestha                   Librarian
23.  Ms. Laxmi Regmi                               Computer Operator
24.  Mrs. Gita Devkota                              Peon
25.  Mr.  Dipendra Thapa                           Security Guard
Finally, we are very thankful to all the members of the campus giving us chance to conduct our practice teaching. We found them very co-operative and supportive in every step. They never deny for help whenever we ask for and they guide us in each and every tasks. We wish for bright future of the campus.


Thursday, November 10, 2011

Micro-Teaching Lesson Plan-M.Ed.


Lesson Plan no: 1
Level: B.Ed. III Year                                                                                                                         Date: 24th Kartik 2068
Title: Translation equivalence
Objectives:
1.       To define, classify and exemplify translation equivalence
2.       To find out problems in search of Tran  equivalence
3.       To manage the problems of Tran  equivalence
Materials: Hand-out, Teacher’s note
Content: Equivalence in Tran
1. Definition:
·         The extreme possible correspondence between SL text and TL text on various linguistic levels such as morphemes, words, phrases, clauses, idiom and proverbs.
·         emerges during 1950s and 60s (Hatim, 2001:14)
2. Types:
·         Nida (1964)
                                i) Formal Equivalence                     ii) Dynamic Equivalence
·         Catford (1964)
                                i) Textual Equivalence                    ii) Pragmatics Equivalence
·         Newmark (1981)
                                i) Semantic Equivalence                ii) Communicative Equivalence
3. Problems: Krishnaswami says:
“Translation is like a Woman if beautiful, it cannot be faithful and if faithful, it cannot be beautiful.”
                                                                                                                (Cited in Das, 2008, p.1)

Cicero (First century BC) who forwards his viewpoint on word -for-word and sense-for-sense translation has put forward the following words:
“If I tender for word, the result will sound uncouth and if compelled by necessity I alter anything in the order or wording. I shall seem to have departed from the function of a translator.”                             (Cited in Das, 2008, p.37)

·         Lgs are different on lingu. features and cultural feature
·         No sameness betn two lgs cause loss or gain in Tran
eg.          SL: Kathmandu ma dosro Pashupatinath mileko jasto bhan parna thaleko thiyo
                TL: ………………some felt a living Apollo.    (The Wake of the White Tiger: 247)
·         Metaphore
                SL: kalo bhut jasto Madhya raat thiyo
                TL: The midnight was pitch-dark like a ghost.
                                                                                (The Stories of Conflict and War: 110 in Adhikari, 2009)
·         Same words have different meaning in different culture
        When we translate Shakespeare’s “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s Day” literally may not fit for the country where the summer is unpleasant (Bassnett, 2002.p30). Bhuja for rice is not acceptable in the culture where they prefer ‘bhat ’for the same; and they mean something else by ‘bhuja’.
·         Socio-cultural matrix i.e. culture-bound words
        Gundruk- fermented and dried vegetable
        Dhoti- loin cloth
4. Solution:
·         Transference
·         Notes & Paraphrasing
·         Naturalization
·         Glossary
·         Addition & deletion
5. Conclusion:……………………………..
6. References:
                Adhikari, Bal Ram (2009). Theoretical and Practical Consideration about Aesthetic Approach to Literary Translation,                   30th Annual Conference of the Linguistic Society of Nepal
                        Baker, Mona (1992). In Other Words: A Course-book on Translation, London: Routledge
                        Das, B.K. (2008) A Handbook of Translation Studies, India: Atlantic Publishers & Distributers
                        Hatim, Basil (2001) Teaching and Researching Translation, London: Pearson Education
                        Newmark, Peter (1988)  A Coursebook of Translation, New York: Prentice Hall
                                                                                                                                                By: Ranjit Kr Singh
                                                                                                                                                M.R.C Tahachal
                                                                                                                                                ranjitks658@gmail.com

Sunday, September 11, 2011

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath


The Bell Jar
For the 1979 film, see The Bell Jar (film).
The Bell Jar is American writer and poet Sylvia Plath's only novel, which was originally published under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas" in 1963. The novel is semi-autobiographical with the names of places and people changed. The book is often regarded as a roman à clef, with the protagonist's descent into mental illness paralleling Plath's own experiences with what may have been clinical depression. Plath committed suicide a month after its first UK publication. The novel was published under Plath's name for the first time in 1967 and was not published in the United States until 1971, pursuant to the wishes of Plath's husband Ted Hughes and her mother.
Plot summary
Esther Greenwood, a young woman from the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts, gains a summer internship at a prominent magazine in New York City under editor Jay Cee. At the time of the Rosenbergs' execution, Esther is neither stimulated nor excited by the big city and glamorous culture and lifestyle that girls her age are expected to idolize and emulate. Instead her experiences frighten and disorient her. She appreciates the witty sarcasm and adventurousness of her friend Doreen, but also identifies with the piety of Betsy (dubbed "Pollyanna Cowgirl" by Doreen, because she's from Kansas), a 'goody-goody' sorority girl who always does the right thing. She has a benefactress in Philomena Guinea, a formerly successful fiction writer (based on Olive Higgins Prouty), who will, later during Esther's hospitalization, pay for some of her treatments.
Esther describes in detail several seriocomic incidents that occur during her internship, kicked off by an unfortunate but amusing experience at a banquet for the girls given by the staff of Ladies' Day magazine. She reminisces about her friend Buddy, whom she has dated more or less seriously and who considers himself her de facto fiancé. She also muses about Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who are scheduled for execution. She returns to her Massachusetts home in low spirits. During her stay in New York City, she had hoped to return to another scholarly opportunity, a writing course taught by a world-famous author. Upon her return home, her mother immediately tells her she was not accepted for the course. She decides to spend the summer potentially writing a novel, although she feels she doesn't have enough life experience to write convincingly. All of her identity has been centered around doing well academically; she is unsure of what to make of her life once she leaves school, and the choices presented to her (motherhood, as exemplified by the prolific child-bearer and vacuous Dodo Conway, or stereotypical female careers such as stenography) do not appeal to her.
Esther becomes increasingly depressed, and finds herself unable to sleep. Her mother encourages, or perhaps forces, her to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Gordon, whom Esther mistrusts because he is attractive and seems to be showing off pictures of his charming family rather than listening to her. He hastily diagnoses her with a mental illness and has her hospitalized. She receives electroconvulsive therapy, improperly administered, and feels she's being electrocuted like the Rosenbergs. When she tells her mother she refuses to go back, her mother smugly and callously announces, "I knew you'd decide to be all right."
Esther's mental state worsens. She describes her depression as a feeling of being trapped under a bell jar, struggling for breath. She makes several half-hearted attempts at suicide, including swimming far out to sea, before making a serious attempt. She leaves a note that says she is taking a long walk, then crawls into the cellar and swallows almost 50 sleeping pills that have been prescribed for her insomnia. She is discovered under her house after a rather dramatic episode in the newspapers has presumed her kidnapping and death, all taking place over an indeterminate amount of time. She survives and is sent to a different mental hospital, where she meets Dr. Nolan, a female therapist. Along with regular sessions of psychotherapy Esther is given huge amounts of insulin to produce a "reaction," and again receives shock treatments, with Dr. Nolan ensuring that they are properly administered. Esther describes the ECT as beneficial in that it has a sort of antidepressant effect, lifting the metaphorical bell jar in which she has felt trapped and stifled. Her stay at the private institution is funded by her benefactress, Philomena Guinea.
Esther tells Dr. Nolan how she envies the freedom that men have, but as a woman, worries about getting pregnant. Dr. Nolan refers her to a doctor who fits her for a diaphragm. Esther now feels free from her fears about the consequences of sex. She feels free from previous pressures to get married, potentially to the wrong man. Under Dr. Nolan, Esther improves and various life-changing events help her regain her sanity. The novel ends with her entering the room for her interview which will decide whether she can leave the hospital.
Parallels of Plath's life to the novel
The book contains many references to real people and events in Plath's life. Plath's real-life magazine scholarship was at Mademoiselle magazine beginning in 1953.[2] Furthermore, Philomena Guinea is based on Plath's own patron, Olive Higgins Prouty, author of Stella Dallas and Now, Voyager, who funded Plath's scholarship to study at Smith College. Plath was rejected from a Harvard course taught by Frank O'Connor.[3] Dr. Nolan is thought to be based on Plath's own therapist, Ruth Beuscher, whom she continued seeing into adulthood. A good portion of this part of the novel closely resembles the experiences chronicled by Mary Jane Ward in her autobiographical novel The Snake Pit; Plath later stated that she'd seen reviews of The Snake Pit and believed the public wanted to see "mental health stuff," so she deliberately based details of Esther's hospitalization on the procedures and methods outlined in Ward's book. Plath was a patient at McLean Hospital, an upscale facility which resembled the "snake pit" much less than certain wards in Metropolitan State Hospital, which may have been where Mary Jane Ward was actually hospitalized.
In a 2006 interview, Joanne Greenberg revealed that she had been interviewed in 1986 by one of the women who had worked on Mademoiselle with Plath in the college guest editors group. The woman claimed that Plath had put so many details of the students' real lives into The Bell Jar that "they could never look at each other again", and that it had caused the breakup of her marriage and possibly others.[4][5]
Film adaptations
Larry Peerce's The Bell Jar (1979) starred Marilyn Hassett as Esther Greenwood, the protagonist and featured the tagline: "Sometimes just being a woman is an act of courage." After the movie came out, Jane Anderson claimed she was portrayed as the character "Joan" in the movie and filed a lawsuit. She felt that her character was ill-represented, which resulted in her subsequent emotional trauma. In 2008 Plum Pictures announced plans for a Hollywood version of the novel, the movie to be written by playwright and screenwriter Tristine Skyler and Julia Stiles to star as the novel's protagonist[6], with Rose McGowan as Doreen. As of January 2011, the film remains in development.[7]