Sylvia Plath's novel, The Bell Jar, has resonated with me ever since I read it—especially the passage about the fig tree. This is because making decisions for the future hold a certain finality to them.

In this video essay, I perform a close reading of the passage in question, examine the etymology of the word, decision, and explore the philosophy of making a decision, using my own experiences growing up with shame as a basis for analysis of the fig tree analogy.

➳ Featured Book
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath: https://bookshop.org/a/107411/9780060...

➳ Other Sources & References:
Etymology of Decision: https://www.etymonline.com/word/decision
Sartre Quote from Being and Nothingness: https://bookshop.org/a/107411/9781982...
That I Would Be Good by Alanis Morissette:    • That I Would Be Good  
"On Exactitude In Science" by Jorge Borges, found in Ficciones: https://bookshop.org/a/107411/9780802...
Will to Power by Nietzsche: https://bookshop.org/a/107411/9780394...
Capital by Marx: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx...

➳ Timestamps:
[0:00] Introduction
[0:30] Excerpt from The Bell Jar
[1:46] Etymology of Decision
[2:28] Sartre and the Existential Weight of Deciding
[3:14] Which mask to don on?
[4:04] My Struggle with Having to Decide
[7:37] How the Fig Tree Analogy Haunted Me
[9:06] How Society Ascribes Value to Identity
[9:58] That I Would Be Good (Alanis Morissette)
[10:58] Borges & Identity
[11:46] Hustle Culture, Mediocrity, and Danger of Productivity
[12:50] Nietzsche on limitations and Marx on Value in Work
[13:39] Identity Isn’t Fixed Because of Our Human Nature
[14:29] Rebuttal to The Grass Is Greener” Idiom
[14:46] We have the power and responsibility to change our lives
[15:21] Conclusion: Our Boughs Will Bloom Next Spring

➳ Connect with me:
Instagram:   / levmast  
Website: https://www.levimasterson.com/hello

➳ Tags:
#sylviaplath #existentialism #booktube

➳ Music Credit:
All music from Epidemic Sound:
https://share.epidemicsound.com/zw9eju

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