Girl, Interrupted

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. While living at McLean, the author makes several close friends with other admitted patients, some of whom exert peer pressure on Kaysen and each other.

• How does peer pressure influence Kaysen’s actions and the outcome of her mental health care at McLean? (topic sentence)
• Discuss and analyze in support of your topic sentence key actions that Kaysen and other patients take because of peer pressure.
• In your concluding sentences, summarize the impact of peer pressure on Kaysen’s experience.

2. Most events in Girl, Interrupted take place during the late 1960s.

• Why does Kaysen believe the time period contributes to her being admitted to the hospital? (topic sentence)
• Provide examples of some common cultural trends during that era and discuss the ways in which they contribute to Kaysen’s experience.
• In your concluding sentences, evaluate the extent to which Kaysen’s experience at McLean may have been determined by the cultural trends of the 1960s.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. According to Kaysen, a major aspect of her experience as a patient at McLean hospital includes the subjective way in which she was diagnosed, evaluated, and treated. How does the author make her case for the subjectivity of her diagnosis? What are some alternatives she suggests to her diagnosis of bipolar personality disorder? How does the power of doctors influence the treatment and outcome of the diagnosed? As you compose your essay, incorporate at least three quoted lines from the memoir that provide evidence for the points you make.

2. What role does gender play in Kaysen’s experience as a young woman in 1960s Boston? Consider her education, work experiences, and admittance to and release from McLean. What examples does Kaysen offer within the memoir of the sexist treatment she receives that influences her life experiences? What influence does gender have over the experiences and outcomes of other people Kaysen describes in her memoir, such as the patients she befriends while at McLean? As you compose your essay, incorporate at least three quotations from Girl, Interrupted that illustrate your points.