Essay On Girl Interrupted

The Quiet Room: A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness is an insightful book which revolves around Lori Schiller, who at age 17 started her downward spiral into psychosis induced by schizophrenia, and subsequently recovering enough by her early thirties to regain control over her life. The book is a culmination of Lori’s experiences and those close to her during her treatment. In her note to the reader, Lori explains that the variation of ‘voices’ in the book is to give an accurate recollection of her life since her illness and subsequent treatment distorted her memories. Lori and her family’s experiences progress in a mostly linear progression from before the schizophrenia appeared with her slowly loosing independence as the schizophrenia began to reign out of control. The experiences in the book revolve around mental hospitals, healthcare workers, as well as societal stigmas from both her family and acquaintances that Lori and her family encountered about mental illnesses.

Setting is also important, as it refers to the period this book was set in, the 1950's. Ultimately, it is a reflection of what was happening in American society at the time, and what American society expected from each other. McCarthyism, as started by Senator Joseph McCarthy, was the most prevalent movement of the 1950's, where there was great momentum for anti-communism and the suppression of the Anti-communist party. Freedom of speech was suppressed, just like speech and actions were inside the hospital. Here, the Combine and Nurse Ratched act like the McCarthy "representatives", where the patients are seen as members of the public, having their every word and movement under close scrutiny.

Hospitals are meant to help some people heal physically and others mentally. In the novel One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey published in 1962, readers are introduced to a mental hospital that has goals that do not align with helping people. Within the hospital, characters with varied personalities and opinions are intermixed with three main characters playing specific roles with supporting characters close by. With the characters’ motivations, themes develop such as the emasculation of the men in the hospital by an oppressive nurse. Symbols, such as laughter and the “combine”, are also pertinent to themes as the readers watch the men transitioning from being oppressed to being able to stand up for themselves causing change in hospital policy.

In 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 ward have to deal with and how they all differently deal with the amount of time they must stay in the hospital for. While in the hospital Kaysen experienced a case of depersonalization where she tried to pull the skin of her hands to see if there were bones underneath, after a failed escape attempt. Soon, after going to therapy and analysis she was labeled as having recovered from borderline personality disorder. After her release she realizes that McLean Hospital provided patients with more freedom than the outside world, by being free responsibility of parental pressure, free from school and job responsibilities, and being free from the “social norms” that society comes up with. Ultimately, being in captivity gave the patients more freedom then in society and created a safe environment in which patients wanted to stay in.

The film Girl, Interrupted focused on an eighteen year old girl by the name Susanna that was admitted into a private mental hospital after being accused of a suicidal attempt. The movie follows Susanna on her journey in the institution as she encounters women with different admittance stories. The one who intrigues Susanna the most is Lisa. Lisa is thought to be a sociopath with the way she manipulates those around her to get her way. She is constantly in and out of the institution causing those around to fear, yet admire her. My main focus will be on Lisa and although it was not specified in the film just how old she is, she seemed to be around the same age group as Susanna. This means that, according to Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages, she is on stage five or six. Stage five happens during adolescence where ones primary task is their identity versus their own role in society whereas stage six happens in young adulthood and one faces intimacy versus isolation. The article incorporated gives more insight on how Erikson’s stages play hand in hand with one another and can potentially affect the mental state of someone if not successfully fulfilled. There is also a possibility that, with the ‘symptoms’ of a sociopath, Lisa could have had past problems during what Sigmund Freud considered the anal stage of her childhood.

Laurell K. Hamilton spoke in great words that, “there are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.” Hamilton embodied a central state of mind of a person who is mentally ill. The wounds mentioned are those caused, and worsened, by traumatic events and public perception of a person with a mental illness. The women in the short stories that have been read embody an internal injury caused by an outward force. In “Story of an Hour”, “Rose for Emily”, and “Yellow Wallpaper” it is impactfully shown how traumatic life experiences can lead to and worsen mental illnesses.

Sane or normal people have wondered at one time or another what it is like in a

The short documentary Crooked Beauty, directed by Ken Paul Rosenthal, narrates Jacks Ashley McNamara’s experience in a psychiatric ward and how her time in the facility shapes her new appreciation for her mental illness. One controversial issue has been trying to identify the true cause of mental illness. On the one hand, most people may think mental illness is simply a biological disorder that can be cured with a combination of medication and doctors demanding appropriate behavior until it sticks in the patient’s mind. On the other, McNamara contends that mental illness is a misconception with a patient’s oversensitivity, where it is harder for the patient to ignore certain events than “normal” people, and their doctor’s textbook knowledge. In McNamara’s mental institution, the psychiatrists simply trap her in a padded room and prescribe many different pills to suppress her mental illness instead of embracing her differences or showing her how to use those differences to her advantage. In attempt to prevent those who are mentally ill from feeling the same anger and frustration she felt, she demands a change in the line psychiatric treatment when she says:

The memoir consists of a period of time after his high school years when he is in college, but goes deep into the background of his previous school years as well. Many times over, he reiterates that living with obsessive compulsive disorder is not a choice and that any mental disorder can drastically affect a person’s life. Throughout his years of school, he explains the predicaments the disorder had gotten him into and how most of the time he had overcome them. Eventually problems began to pile on and he had to get treatment, which became a turning point in his

For biographical work, which is defined as, “coming to terms with what the illness entails for identities and future plans, in response to the biographical disruption caused by chronic illness”, the women proclaim their realization of mental illness as something that shapes their identities (Donovan et al, 2012). Although the women understand their illness as a part of who they are, they often struggle to accept their illness and occasionally perceive it as a “personality flaw” (Blay, 2016). Intersectionality with race and gender is considered in the interview when the women highlight the narrative of the “strong, independent black woman” and how society expects black women to behave (Blay, 2016). The women feel as if they are not allowed to feel melancholy or vulnerable and blame themselves for having an illness they cannot control. Depression, bi-polar disorder, and ADHD have impacted the women’s ability to “function” as they would like and require

1962 was known as the freedom summer, which developed the fight for civil rights among black people in the US and worldwide. This historical setting of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest influenced the ideologies throughout the inscription of this novel. Ken Kesey developed his conceptual ideas of isolation through the setting of the characters. These concepts are developed through the protagonists, B Randle Patrick McMurphy and Nurse Ratchet. McMurphy challenges all aspects of rules and regulations within the psychiatric ward. McMurphy’s rebellion forces the reader to observe his understanding of insanity. The ward is a metaphor of a social statement being made by the author, perceiving society as the same as the ward; controlled, under authority and McMurphy is an example of chaos, change, and hope for the patients within the ward itself. “I hide in the mop closet and listen, my heart beating in the dark, and I try to keep from getting scared, try to get my thoughts off someplace else-try to think back and remember things about the village and the big Columbia River” , (chapter 1, lines page, 121, line 23). McMurphy’s actions throughout the novel are foreshadowed thus positioning the reader to question if he’s truly insane “And the third boy mutters, "Of course, the very nature of this plan could indicate that he [McMurphy] is simply a shrewd con man, and not mentally ill at all." Chapter 2, Line.1, .Page 32-37).

In both stories “Girl” and “Story of an hour” there is use of gender that describes a typically unfair direction of the role of a women, yet the use of gender is describe differently. The use of gender in the “Story of an hour” is mainly about how the wife of a husband who dies in the train crash is going to deal with life without her husband and if she will be able to handle it emotionally. While the story “Girl” deals with a mom that tells her daughter to be well mannered fit in socially with society. The role of women in both stories is to be well mannered and considerate with high standards of behavior. For instance, in the story the women tell the daughter “ on Sunday try to a walk like a lady” (123). A lady is what the mom wants her to become because she is afraid of her becoming unfit for society. Ladies are expected to be very polite and speak in good manners in order to fit the ideal women. In the “Story of an Hour” there is a specific way her family wants her to handle her husband death. The facts Mrs. Malland was told about the tragedy at a certain times makes me believe that writer wants us to believe that women have harder time dealing with her marriage life.

A trait that stands out in the book is the symptom of bodily memories. In Melinda’s case, during a frog dissection in her science class, she remembers the opening up and even says, “She doesn’t say a word. She is already dead. A scream starts in my gut – I can feel the cut, smell the dirt, feel the leaves in my hair.” (81). One of the other symptoms that Melinda has is self-harm. The first time that this is shown in the book, Melinda says this, “I open up a paper clip and scratch it across the inside of my left wrist. Pitiful. If a suicide attempt is a cry for help, then what is this? A whimper, a peep?” (87). Melinda also has a hard time talking to her parents about the rape to which she says, “How can I talk to them about that night? How can I start?” (72). Some victims recover from such a traumatic experience, while others don’t and live a lifetime of depression and must undergo intense therapy. In Melinda’s case, she finds redemption by talking to her parents and the guidance counselor, and putting her faith into her teachers, friends, and her art project at school. Because rape can affect anybody anywhere, everyone should be aware of the circumstances, and how to deal with it.

Kaysen was only eighteen-years-old on April 27, 1967 when she was first admitted into the medium-security ward of McLean. Her voluntary admission came after an attempted suicide using fifty aspirin. During her time in McLean, Kaysen received treatment in many forms including- medication, therapy and analysis. She met a variety of all suffering from different psychological and psychiatric illnesses. A few of these fellow patients include: Lisa, Georgina, Polly, Lisa Cody and Daisy to name a few. Not only does Kaysen share stories with these fellow patients, but she also discusses everyday routines. For example, she went into detail about the “checks” that occurred at five, fifteen and thirty minute intervals to ensure the safety of the patients. She also described the weekly trips to the ice cream shop. Kaysen also went into detail about the staff that worked at McLean, including head nurse Valerie who was the nurse patients felt the most comfortable with. It was clear from her anecdotes that McLean had become a sense of home for Kaysen.

     The author’s has 2 main points; one point is about her two-year stay McLean hospital. The second main point talks about how she handles and gets treated for being depressive and suicidal.