Being in situations that are out of one's control is often frustrating; and to some, it is even worse than death. In The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, and Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, Esther Greenwood, Edmond Dantes, and Yossarian find themselves trapped and in need of escape or control but find their path blocked. Esther is held back by her own body, Edmond is faced with fate, and Yossarian encounters Catch-22.

Esther sees death as a method of escaping her madness, but her body's desire to live interferes with her plans. When she tries to hang herself, she discovers that "my body had all sorts of little tricks, such as making my hands go limp at the crucial second" (p.130). Esther desires to die and is so close to achieving death, but her body longs to live and prevents her...