Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen - 1305 Words

Conformity: A Precondition of Sanity Sanity is subjective. Every individual is insane to another; however it is the people who possess the greatest self-restraint that prosper in acting â€Å"normal†. This is achieved by thrusting the title of insanity onto others who may be unlike oneself, although in reality, are simply non-conforming, as opposed to insane. In Susanna Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted, this fine line between sanity and insanity is explored to great lengths. Through the unveiling of Susanna’s past, the reasoning behind her commitment to McLean Hospital for the mentally ill, and varying definitions of the diagnosis that Susanna received, it is evident that social non-conformity is often confused with insanity. When life becomes†¦show more content†¦Additionally, Susanna comes across the stigma of mental illness relating to non-conformity while investigating the indicators of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD); Quite often social contrariness and a generally pessimistic outlook are observed [in people with borderline personality disorder]. What do you suppose they mean by ‘social contrariness’? Putting my elbows on the table? Refusing to get a job as a dental technician? Disappointing my parents’ hope that I would go to a first-rate university? (Kaysen 153-54). Susanna confronts this classification of BPD as she makes its imprecisions clear. She feels that the vagueness surrounding the ‘social contrariness’ and the ‘generally pessimistic outlook’ result in an unfair justification of BPD, as these behaviours are clearly not predictive of her adult life. She feels that there obviously should be more substantial medical indicators to this passage regarding BPD. There is only subjective content, resulting in inevitable confusion over true presence of insanity. Consequently, insanity can easily be confused with social non-conformity due to minor indicators in early life, which is otherwise categorized as simply being different as an adolescent. Specific indicators of insanity tend to be partially blurred; therefore, the reasoning behind an admission into a mental hospital is also notShow MoreRelatedGirl, Interrupted, By Susanna Kaysen1248 Words   |  5 PagesGirl, Interrupted is a memoir written by Susanna Kaysen who was admitted to a mental institution as a young girl. She was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder due to some her â€Å"depressive† and â€Å"crazy† behavior. Throughout the memoir, we are able to see the realizations that Kaysen has regarding the treatment of young women and mental patients. She touches on some of the stigmatizations that she witnessed herself and of others around her. Some of her experiences surrounding her stay at theRead MoreGirl Interrupted By Susanna Kaysen1155 Words   |  5 PagesGirl Interrupted is Susanna Kaysen s memoir a series of recollections and reflections of her nearly two year stay at a residential psychiatric program at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. She looks back on it with a sense of surprise. In her memoir she considers how she ended up at McLean, and whether or not she truly belonged there. Each chapter focuses on one aspect of her experience. Founded in the late 19th century, McLean Hospital had been a facility for troubled members of wealthyRead MoreGirl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen836 Words   |  3 PagesIn the book Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen, Susanna Kaysen was only 18 years old when she agreed to enter a medium security psychiatric facility in Boston, McLean hospital in April 1967, after a failed suicide attempt. She insisted that her over dose on aspirin was not a suicide attempt, but after a 20 minute interview the doctor decided she needed to be admitted to a hospital. During her prolonged two-year stay at the hospital Kaysen describes the issues that most of the patients in her wardRead MoreThe Movie Girl, Interrupted By Susanna Kaysen981 Words   |  4 PagesThe movie, â€Å"Girl, I nterrupted† by Susanna Kaysen, offers an individual perspective on what it is like to live in a mental institution. As a troubled teenager, Susanna was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, in which she disagreed with. Susanna parents and a family friend recommended her to admit herself into a mental hospital named Claymoore because she had overdosed on aspirin and vodka. Within, the 18 months that Susanna stayed in the mental hospital she came across many individualsRead MoreSusanna Kaysen from Girl Interrupted2095 Words   |  9 PagesCharacter Analysis – Susanna Kaysen from Girl Interrupted This character analysis is based on the character, Susanna Kaysen (played by Winona Ryder), from the feature film ‘Girl Interrupted’ directed by James Mangold and distributed by Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. in 1999, Rated MA15+. The film is based on the true story of Susanna Kaysen’s time in a mental institution, set in the 1960s. Exploring Susanna Kaysen’s character through an interactional viewpoint, many psychological conceptsRead More`` Girl Interrupted `` : A Of A Woman Named Susanna Kaysen1293 Words   |  6 PagesGirl interrupted, is a biopic of a woman named Susanna Kaysen. Even though this movie was about Susanna’s experience in a mental hospital, Lisa’s Personality definitely dominated the movie. Lisa was surly a girl who was interrupted. She had a personality so bold, vibrant, deceitful, corrupt, and intrusive all at once. Over the years, her personality was known by many names. Labels consisting of Mania without delirium, moral insanity, egopathy, sociopath, and psychopathy (Barlow Durrand, 2015)Read MoreThe Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath And Girl, Interrupted By Susanna Kaysen3528 Words   |  15 PagesPlath and Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen. Comparing two women trying to deal with mental illness and are trying to cope with the mental pressures they put on themselves and by other people. Although the differences between these two novels are The Bell Jar shows Esther’s life before she descends into mental illness whereas Susanna’s story is about her time in a mental institution and experiencing other patients who are in similar situations. The title Girl, Interrupted â€Å"Interrupted at her music:Read MoreAnalysis Of `` The Yellow Wallpaper `` And The Memoir Girl, Interrupted By Susanna Kaysen1515 Words   |  7 PagesCharlotte Perkins Gilman, and the memoir Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen all tell the story of three women slowly descending into mental illness. Esther, the main character of The Bell Jar falls into a deep depression and attempts suicide despite appearances of being successful. The unnamed narrator of The Yellow Wallpaper becomes insane under the care of her physicist husband, John. And Susanna, the autobiographical main character of Girl, Interrupted, attempts suicide by overdosing on sleepingRead MoreEssay On Girl Interrupted1394 Words   |  6 Pagesto 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 and her perspective on these experiences, it is evident that Susanna Kaysen’s purpose with â€Å"Girl, Interrupted† is to seek awareness of mental illnessRead MoreGirl Interrupted And Night Analysis1017 Words   |  5 Pagesexhibit their true intentions. In Girl, Interrupted and Night, Susanna Kaysen and Elie Wiesel manipulate these devices to reveal how enduring agonizing moments in life, can assist with finding one’s individualism. Susanna Kaysen highlights the difficulty with being institutionalized for two years in her memoir, and Elie Wiesel narrates his journey of being imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps. Within the memoirs, Girl, Interrupted and Night, authors Susanna Kaysen and Elie Wiesel utilize rhetorical