Girl, Interrupted

Girl, Interrupted

Part I: Critical Analysis

Author: Susanna Kaysen. Girl, Interrupted: New York Division of Random

House. Inc 1993.

1. What is the author’s topic?

The author’s topic is about a teenager name Susanna Kaysen. At 18 she voluntarily turned herself into McLean Hospital.

2. Identify the author’s main idea(s). In other words, what is the main point the author is attempting to make about the book?

The author’s has 2 main points; one point is about her two-year stay McLean hospital. The second main point talks about how she handles and gets treated for being depressive and suicidal.

3. Identify the author’s overall pattern(s) of organization. Give examples and/or details to explain your answer.

The pattern the author uses is time order; she starts off the book with her case record, which was submitted in 1967. The last example given is her recovery record; she left and had a recovery of her depression and being suicidal in 1969.

4. What biases, if any, can you detect from the author’s writing? Give examples and details to support your answer.

The author isn’t biased about anything, she wasn’t for anything and she wasn’t against anything. Susanna Kaysen was simply trying to find her place in the world through the world of medicine.

5. Is this book mostly concerned with factual information, or does the author use conjecture and opinion to make his/her point? What detail and examples support your answer?

Girl, Interrupted is all factual information. Susanna Kaysen the author has put her reports from the doctors that were helping her in the book. On August 9,1967 the author Susanna Kaysen

6. Identify the author’s purpose(s) for writing this book. In your opinion, does the author accomplish his/ her purpose? Support your answer with concrete evidence.

The author’s purpose to the story is to make people notice how people are being treated in a mental institution. Susanna Kaysen writes about the girls in the ward as if nothing is wrong with them. She writes about being in a pschychiatric ward as if it is ok.

7. What is the author’s tone? Explain your answer with details and/or examples.

There isn’t really a tone in the book. The author writes as if she was more informational. I think the book is actually a little bit suspenseful because when I read it I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next.

Part II: Summary

The book Girl, Interrupted is about a teenage girl Susanna Kaysen. At the age of 18 she voluntarily sent herself to the McLean hospital. In the beginning of the book the Susanna was talking to a psychiatrist she has been seeing for awhile, she has had a couple of suicide attempts so she started seeing that doctor. The doctor had recommended Susanna to go to McLean to help her be anti-depressive and help cure her borderline personality. Susanna ended up being in the hospital for 2 years.

In the first year, Susanna meets all the girls in the ward and tries to get treated for her symptoms. There are a lot of girls that Susanna mentions. The first girl she mentions about is Polly. Polly had sent herself on fire, and burned brutally. She has never once complained in the hospital, but she always listened to the other patients. The next girl is Lisa she is a sociopath. Lisa is always trying to escape the hospital. Daisy was a different girl; she had a thing for roasted chicken and laxatives. “Daisy was a seasonal even”, she came in during thanksgiving and stayed until Christmas, and also sometimes come on her birthday in May. On the other hand there was something peculiar about her father, he was in love with his daughter Daisy. Daisy’s father wanted to have sex with her to make sure she is real. But in the end daisy committed suicide in her apartment.

After Susanna names the girls she starts to write about her, she starts off talking about her suicidal attempts. She swallowed fifty pills of aspirin, her ex-boyfriend ended up calling