Running With Scissors Book Report

Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs is a memoir of Augusten’s childhood and adolescent life where he experiences the frenzy of his parent’s deteriorating marital relationship and his livelihood under his mother’s psychologist’s household.
The book begins with the introduction of young Augusten, a seven year old boy who enjoys dressing up in his mother’s clothes and polishing jewelry. His childhood resembles that of an average boy. His father, a mathematics professor, would take him out on fatherly trips to the dumpster while his mother, an aspiring poet, would read to him her potentially successful poetry. Augusten’s mother Deidre is affectionate towards Augusten, unlike his father who tends to be drunk and negligent. However, she is also a psychopath who throughout the book becomes more insane. Her husband Norman, despite his professional career, is an alcoholic at home and is portrayed as a malicious man who at one point chased Deidre around the house, screaming, with a Danish fondue pot over his head. The frequent heated arguments with Deidre often led to violence, which led Augusten and his mother to seek profession help. Fearing for their lives, Augusten’s mother goes to Mr. Finch, a certified psychologist and a graduate of …show more content…
Finch is an unorthodox psychologist who resembles more of Santa Claus than a doctor in the eyes of young Augusten. He has a Masturbatorium, a room in his office for masturbation, and a house that is the epitome of chaos. Contrasting with Augusten’s neat and organized demeanor, the house encompasses dirty dishes in the sink with families of roaches, squalor furniture, and Mr. Finch’s other insane patients living under his roof. After the divorce of Augusten’s parents, he is forced to live in Mr. Finch’s house where he meets Mr. Finch’s patients and plays with an electroshock chair. As he stays longer under the Finch’s roof, his button ups and slacks turn into jeans and t-shirts, and his character becomes more like the