In Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, we are faced with Esther Greenwood's continuing downfall as her mind sinks deeper into depression; however, Esther's single most constant source of pleasure is found in food. Esther's New York City experience is highlighted by rich foods like stuffed avocados and caviar bowls. Not only do these indulgences serve as an escape for Esther, but food also represents the choices Esther faces in her life. The difference between his life choices and his food choices is that when he chooses to eat two plates of chicken and caviar, the stuffed avocados don't disappear from the table. However, once she chooses to marry Buddy Willard, she can no longer go to Europe and fall in love. Food offers Esther the ability to make one choice without eliminating others, something life doesn't allow her. This simple fact gives her an escape from the decisions she is forced to make. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay At the beginning of chapter three, Esther clearly states, “I'm not quite sure why, but I love food more than pretty much anything else” (24). Esther is stating that food gives her something that nothing else 'more can satisfy, something that satisfies more than just hunger. Although she says she can't say specifically what she loves so much about food, it's easy to see that food offers her countless choices that never cancel each other out; they even satisfy a sense of nostalgia. Esther states that she can eat as much food as she wants without gaining weight, which further illustrates the fact that Esther can indulge in anything without having consequences. The limitless possibilities of food attract Esther and distance her from complications and finality of the decision-making process she faces. One of the great metaphors of The Bell Jar is how Esther compares her life to a fig tree. “I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree of the story. From the tip of each branch, like a large purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked at me…I saw myself sitting in the fork of this fig tree, starving, just because I couldn't decide which of the figs I would choose” (77). The image this brings to the reader is very beautiful at first, but then we see Esther wither into indecision. The fact that his possible future is “fat purple figs” demonstrates, once again, the importance of food in his life and how it can represent decisions. However, Esther is only allowed to choose one of these beautiful fruits, unlike the abundant selection she has when choosing what to eat. Shortly after his “vision of the fig tree and all the fat figs that dried up and fell to the ground” (78) he was able to eat and consequently felt “immensely better” (78), demonstrating once again the comforting qualities that food gives Esther. Mrs. Greenwood essentially uses food in a way of escape that comforts her and eases her otherwise unavoidable problems. Not only does food represent all the choices she isn't able to make, but it also gives her a way to experience some of the things she felt she was missing out on. In particular, when Constantin takes her to his restaurant that “smelled of herbs, spices, and sour cream” (77) she is effectively transported to a place she has never been. The restaurant was hidden in a sort of cellar and the walls were covered with travel posters that transport the mind to distant destinations. Not only does this environment take her away, but the food that follows consoles her to the point that she decides to let herself be seduced by Constantin (77), something she certainly would not have done without the intoxicating andcomfort food. Avocados are something else. comforting food for Esther and having a special place in her heart. They recall memories of her grandfather and her childhood, apparently the only time she remembers being truly happy. “Avocados are my favorite fruit…He [his grandfather] taught me to eat avocados by dissolving grape jelly and French dressing together in a saucepan and filling the cup of pears with pomegranate sauce. I was nostalgic for that sauce. Crabmeat tasted bland in comparison” (28). This section takes the reader back to Esther's humble childhood, especially when she announces that she is "longing for that sauce" because you can really feel her longing. Furthermore, his comparison of crabmeat to plain sauce shows that although he appreciates the haute couture life of New York City, he will always appreciate the simplicity of his childhood. Doreen's parting gift to Esther was two dozen avocados. The fact that Doreen knew of Esther's affection for these fruits shows how Esther is almost defined by her strong love of food. These 24 avocados took up Esther's entire suitcase, leaving room only for the thirty best stories of the year, a white plastic case for sunglasses, and no clothes. If we looked at Esther's suitcase as a commensurate metaphor for what she feels is most important in her life, food would be considered number one. Esther also seems to have a strange fondness for the avocados in her suitcase as she describes their shifting weight as "cannonballing from one end to the other with a special little thunder of their own" (113). She almost seems to admire the power of the fruits she carries with her and seems proud to have them. Esther's emotional connections to food are especially clear when she evaluates her relationship with avocados. When Esther returns home from her internship in New York City, she almost immediately discovers that she hasn't taken the course she was hoping to take. One of the first things he does after that is "put a raw egg in a cup of raw hamburger, mix it, and [eat] it," (119) something that seems very strange and rather disgusting. The two ingredients, hamburgers and eggs, are American staples and were commonly found in every kitchen of the 1950s. This drastic change from elegant New York dining to home cooking indicates the change Esther is about to undergo. Furthermore, the fact that both of these ingredients are raw hints at Esther's ideology regarding the current world she is forced to live in. “Raw,” as defined by the New Oxford American Dictionary, is “frank and realistic in the portrayal of unpleasant facts.” or situations,” which is exactly how Esther sees the world around her. She won't accept the sugar-coated version the company is trying to sell her. Ideas about how the perfect life is to get married and have children don't appeal to Esther and she sees right through the facade. As Esther continues to fall deeper and deeper into her depressive state, she almost stops eating altogether. He also stops sleeping and reading, two other essential things in his life. The absence of her enthusiasm for food shows how far depression has taken her. Because she no longer indulges in food and no longer has any desire for it, she is unable to escape the problems that haunt her. Over the course of his experiences in three different mental institutions, food is only mentioned once or twice and it's not in very attractive contexts. During the chaotic dinner scene in one of the institutions, Esther observes: “Now I knew full well that you did not serve two types of beans together in one meal. Beans and carrots, or beans and peas, maybe, but never beans and beans. The nigger was just trying to see how much we would get” (181). His mental note of this.