Girl Interrupted
The piece of literature I chose to read and write about was “Girl Interrupted” by Susanna Kaysen. In 1967 Susanna Kaysen was sent to a mental hospital called McLean Hospital after a failed suicide attempt. She always had aspirations of becoming a writer and in 1993 wrote a best selling memoir titled Girl Interrupted detailing her experiences in the hospital and the people she met. She also won a YALSA Best Books for Young Adults award. What drew me to choose this book was looking at its great reviews and it’s captivating back story.
Susanna Kaysen woke up and decided today was the day were she would swallow 50 aspirin pills. It was 1967 and she was 18 years old. Instead of completely going through with the suicide attempt she decided to go onto a street and faint where she is sent to a hospital and her stomach is pumped. She goes to see a psychiatrist who after a 20 minute evaluation strongly advocates for her admittance into McLean hospital. While she was originally supposed to stay for a few weeks her time was extended by 18 months. Her book is her detailed experiences in a mental hospital in the 60’s where most of their diagnosis were sexist and questionable. …show more content…
She is a manipulative sociopath and Susanna’s character development on Lisa is the most descriptive. Polly suffers from schizophrenia. She burns all her skin due to an allergic reaction from a cat. She becomes very deformed but keeps a sweetheart through the development of the story. Daisy is another character who suffers from OCD. Although it is never stated in the book it is hinted that her father occasionally molest her and she ends up committing suicide on her
The piece of literature I chose to read and write about was “Girl Interrupted” by Susanna Kaysen. In 1967 Susanna Kaysen was sent to a mental hospital called McLean Hospital after a failed suicide attempt. She always had aspirations of becoming a writer and in 1993 wrote a best selling memoir titled Girl Interrupted detailing her experiences in the hospital and the people she met. She also won a YALSA Best Books for Young Adults award. What drew me to choose this book was looking at its great reviews and it’s captivating back story.
Susanna Kaysen woke up and decided today was the day were she would swallow 50 aspirin pills. It was 1967 and she was 18 years old. Instead of completely going through with the suicide attempt she decided to go onto a street and faint where she is sent to a hospital and her stomach is pumped. She goes to see a psychiatrist who after a 20 minute evaluation strongly advocates for her admittance into McLean hospital. While she was originally supposed to stay for a few weeks her time was extended by 18 months. Her book is her detailed experiences in a mental hospital in the 60’s where most of their diagnosis were sexist and questionable. …show more content…
She is a manipulative sociopath and Susanna’s character development on Lisa is the most descriptive. Polly suffers from schizophrenia. She burns all her skin due to an allergic reaction from a cat. She becomes very deformed but keeps a sweetheart through the development of the story. Daisy is another character who suffers from OCD. Although it is never stated in the book it is hinted that her father occasionally molest her and she ends up committing suicide on her