"Girl, Interrupted"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how, in the book, "Girl, Interrupted", Susanna Kaysen gives an autobiographical account of her experiences in a mental hospital in the late 1960's. It looks at how the story is riveting and intense, written in a very closely-focused first-person and how, because of the strong emotional impact, it is easy to, at first, assume that Kaysen is telling a story that is more or less complete. It also discusses how, as one reads the book, one realizes that what has been left unsaid is at least as important as what is told to the reader.

From the Paper:

"Using a writing style that is immediately present tense, ironic and often playful, she presents her memories of the two years, including the other patients, the employees, and occasional field trips away from the hospital. The story is told through the filter of the author's perspective, and she chooses carefully what she will and will not reveal to us. At first she sounds rational and almost dispassionate about what is happening to her, but the reader soon understands that she's actually writing in a self-protective way. She reveals little about events leading up to the day she was hospitalized. Perhaps this allows herself to show herself in the best possible light given the events."

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