Essay On Girl Interrupted - 1394 Words

Memoir is a style of life writing with a variety of subgenres intended to impact the world and spread awareness on multiple issues. In â€Å"Memoir† by G. Thomas Couser, an autopathography is defined as a subgenre â€Å"†¦centered on medical conditions and impairments once considered stigmatic† (Couser 43). Essentially, an autopathography tells a story of a life concerning a medical condition and seeks to spread awareness on said condition. â€Å"Girl, Interrupted† by Susanna Kaysen is a memoir telling the story of a young girl taken to a psychiatric hospital in the late 60s. The memoir was published in 1993 and continues to have an impact due to its descriptions of mental illness. By analyzing the memoirist’s descriptions of her time spent hospitalized†¦show more content†¦Kaysen writes: â€Å"The world didn’t stop because we weren’t in it anymore, far from it.† (92). The year is 1968 and the world was experiencing anti- war struggles and the civil rights movement. Meanwhile, the patients in Mclean would cheer on the protesters as they were â€Å"safe in our expensive, well-appointed hospital, locked up with our rages and rebellions† (93-93). Throughout the protests, the patients relate to the protesters’ actions because they see their anger reflected in them. Kaysen references social struggles at this time to show that there was chaos outside the institution as well. Kaysen’s depictions of the individuals in the hospital and the events happening at the time give believability to the story, showing readers the encounters she had in Mclean. Further, by vividly describing incidents she experiences during her stay in Mclean, Kaysen shows readers the harsh struggles of being diagnosed with a mental illness. In Mclean, the memoirist is a compliant patient who has only a few incidents. First, she goes through a breakdown in which she attempts to tear through her skin to confirm that she has bones. Kaysen writes that she planned to get a look at her hand by getting a â€Å"hold of a flap of skin and peel it away† because she wanted to see that her hand was â€Å"a normal human hand, with bones† (102). When Georgina sees her roommate trying to tear at her bloody hand she runs out to seek assistance and Susanna has to be medicated. After she isShow MoreRelatedEssay On Girl Interrupted1847 Words   |  8 Pagesown self. Even though this movement was trying to push people out of these facilities, they still had inpatient who lived within the institution, for example a Susanna Kaysen. Susanna Kaysen, an author who p ublished her memoir in 1993, called Girl Interrupted, which gave readers a view into the mental health system and her own personal experience. After a failed suicide attempt Susanna was voluntary placed into a mental institution. She was expecting a short stay, where she could recuperate and thenRead More Girl Interrupted Essay986 Words   |  4 Pages GIRL, INTERRUPTED by Susanna Kaysen (New York: Turtle Bay Books, 1993) 1. Author: Susanna Kayson was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1948 where she still lives. She is the author of books which are in some parts related to her personal experiences. She worked as a free-lance editor and proof reader until an introduction to an agent set her career in motion. Her novels: The novel that caught the agents attention, Asa, As I Knew Him, was published in 1987 and people were very interested inRead More Girl interrupted Essay1143 Words   |  5 Pageslike this can thrive; the only treatment they have is appreciation for the life they take away from a patient. WORKS CITED PAGE Quote #1- Page 21-FREEDOM- Girl, Interrupted Quote #2- Page 80-SECURITY SCREEN-Girl, Interrupted Quote #3 Page 54-CHECKS-Girl, Interrupted nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Girl, Interrupted- By Susanna Kaysen Copyright 1993 Originally published by Turtle Bay Books, A Division of Random House, INC, NY 1993 Web Pages . www.antipsychiatry.org Article on-------Read More Girl, Interrupted Essay1244 Words   |  5 Pages Girl, Interrupted Part I: Critical Analysis Author: Susanna Kaysen. Girl, Interrupted: New York Division of Random House. Inc 1993. 1.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;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. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Identify the author’s main idea(s). In other words, what is the main point the author is attempting to make aboutRead MoreEssay On Girl Interrupted1567 Words   |  7 PagesFor this assignment, I chose the movie Girl, Interrupted starring Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, and Whoppie Goldberg. It is set in the 1960’s and is about a young woman, Susanna Kaysen, who is diagnosis with borderline personality disorder. In the beginning the movie, she’d attempted suicide using aspirin and vodka, though she insists she just had a headache for most of movie. She is persuaded to go to a nearby mental hospital, Claymore, where she begins her stay and treatment. In the facility, sheRead MoreEssay on Girl Interrupted Review785 Words   |  4 PagesOne popular cultural myth about the mentally ill is the archetype of the Sexy Crazy Girl, which weve seen in movies, comic books, and music. Losing your grip with reality is not a glamorous subject, but th ats not what you get from Girl, Interrupted. It is apparent that all the girls in the movie had some type of dysfunctional personality, and bad things happen to some of them, but it just did not seem realistic. First off, most of the patients prtrayed were young, which made the care facilityRead MoreGirl Interrupted Analysis Essay1848 Words   |  8 PagesGirl, Interrupted (1999) directed by James Mangold is largely based on a semi- autobiographical book by the same title. The movie chronicles eighteen year old Susanna Kaysen’s experiences surrounding her stay at a mental institution. It is 1967, a time of social change and unrest. Susanna makes a half-heart attempt at suicide, ingesting a bottle of aspirin and chasing the pills with a bottle of vodka. She is taken to the emergency room, her stomach is pumped and she survives. Afterwards she meetsRead MoreGirl Interrupted Essay example600 Words   |  3 PagesGirl, Interrupted Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious psychiatric illness. People that are diagnosed with this disorder suffer from an intense pattern of affective instability, extreme difficulties in interpersonal relationships, problems with behavioral or impulse control, and disrupted cognitive processes. The estimated prevalence of BPD in the general adult population is about 2%, mostly affecting young women. Susanna Kaysen was born on November 11, 1948 in Cambridge, MassachusettsRead MoreEssay about girl interrupted review753 Words   |  4 Pages One popular cultural myth about the mentally ill is the archetype of the quot;Sexy Crazy Girlquot;, which weve seen in movies, comic books, and music. Losing your grip with reality is not a glamorous subject, but thats not what you get from Girl, Interrupted. It is apparent that all the girls in the movie had some type of dysfunctional personality, and bad things happen to some of them, but it just did not seem realistic. First off, most of the patients prtrayed were young, which made the careRead MoreThe Portrayal of Mental Illness in â€Å"Girl, Interrupted† Essay1693 Words   |  7 PagesIllness in â€Å"Girl, Interrupted† The film â€Å"Girl, Interrupted† is a true story adapted from the original memoir by Susanna Kaysen. Set in the 1960s, it relates her experiences during her stay in a mental institution after being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder following a suicide attempt. Many films include characters with a mental illness; the actors who play these characters have the immense challenge of staying true to the illness they portray. The main character in â€Å"Girl, Interrupted