Girl, Interrupted

Chapters 1-5

Reading Check

1. Parallel universes (Chapter 1)

2. Ten questions (Chapter 3)

3. Alcatraz (Chapter 1)

Short Answer

1. Kaysen’s doctor sends her to McLean Hospital because he thinks she is tired and needs to relax. (Chapter 2)

2. Lisa is catatonic and silently watches TV all day. (Chapter 5)

Chapters 6-10

Reading Check

1. Her friend Jim Watson (Chapter 6)

2. Wade

Short Answer

1. She cannot envision her escape and is accustomed to living at McLean. (Chapter 6)

2. There are chicken carcasses lined up on the floor. (Chapter 8)

3. She swallows 50 aspirin, faints, and is taken to the hospital, where she is saved. (Chapter 9)

Chapters 11-15

Reading Check

1. The checkered floor (Chapter 13)

2. Chicken wire (Chapter 11)

Short Answer

1. McLean is like a prison; it has locked doors and a long hallway with patient rooms on one side and a nursing station on the other. (Chapter 11)

2. Patients at McLean are not allowed to use sharp objects. (Chapter 15)

Chapters 16-20

Reading Check

1. Sociopath (Chapter 16)

2. Romantic relationships (Chapter 17)

Short Answer

1. Her doctor said he met with her for three hours, and she said it was 20 minutes. (Chapter 18)

2. Lisa ignored it and did not go to her room. (Chapter 20)

Chapters 21-25

Reading Check

1. Medication manages patients’ behavior. (Chapter 21)

2. The Vietnam War (Chapter 22)

Short Answer

1. Valerie is 30 years old, fair, and thin. She is not afraid of the patients. (Chapter 21)

2. After losing those things, she feels there is nothing left to lose. (Chapter 23)

Chapters 26-30

Reading Check

1. Ego, superego, and id (Chapter 26)

2. Dental hygienist (Chapter 28)

Short Answer

1. People are anxious and judgmental, and they try to distance themselves from mental illness. (Chapter 27)

2. Kaysen is discharged when she accepts a marriage proposal from her future husband. (Chapter 29)

Chapters 31-34

Reading Check

1. Identity Disorder (Chapter 32)

2. Girl Interrupted at Her Music (Chapter 34)

Short Answer

1. She is reminded of her own life experience being interrupted by institutionalization. (Chapter 34)

2. Lisa is a mother, has a stable life, and describes herself as a “suburban matron.” (Chapter 33)