Prompt 1: Mental illness and creative genius may be described as two sides of the same coin. Define these terms from your research to use in your paper. In examining The Bell Jar, use it as an extended example to develop an argument about the nature of mental illness and creativity. What are the psychological origins and inspiration behind genius? What are the psychological and scientific underpinnings that lead to mental illness? You may briefly research other artists, like Van Gogh, etc., to further your position. The narrator in The Bell Jar conveys in humorous and irreverent ways the “foibles” of her life. How does her humor make her descent into madness more relatable?

5 page paper with works cited, 1-2 page outline with works cited.