Name: ______________________________
Date: _______________________________
Med in Lit
Prompts 1
Period 3 & 6
Girl, Interrupted
Reading Prompts - Chapters 1 & 2
Toward a Topography of a Parallel Universe & The Taxi
1. What is the name of the hospital to which Kaysen is admitted via voluntary
commitment?
____________________________________________________________
2. What kind of procedure did Kaysen receive when she was admitted to a hospital in
1965?
____________________________________________________________
3. Who is the roommate at the hospital with Kaysen who was admitted after one episode
of craziness?
Georgina
4. What does Kaysen's psychiatrist call the treatment Kaysen needs in response to her
suicide attempt?
____________________________________________________________
5. Who does the psychiatrist tell to take Kaysen to the hospital without interruption?
Taxi Driver
6. What does the psychiatrist say about the time of the appointment in which Kaysen is
considered suitable for hospitalization?
____________________________________________________________
7. What does the psychiatrist say is wrong with Kaysen during her initial appointment
with him? What kind of behavior does she exhibit?
____________________________________________________________
8. What college did Georgina go to before she was sent to the hospital with Kaysen and
the others?
Vassar
9. Kaysen refers to __________ as the possible nature of insanity.
____________________________________________________________
10. One of Kaysen's mental health problems is losing what?
____________________________________________________________
11. What is the initial document that Kaysen presents within the book? What is the name
of this document?
____________________________________________________________
12. What causes the conflict about the time of the initial appointment to be unclear to
the reader?
Conflicting Timestamps
Chapters 3 & 4
Etiology & Fire
1. What kind of notes are on the Inquiry Concerning Admission form that relate to
Kaysen's father?
____________________________________________________________
2. The notes regarding Kaysen's father on the form concern his ability to
___________ for Kaysen's hospital visit.
____________________________________________________________
3. Notes about Kaysen included descriptions of her __________ life and her
promiscuity with men.
____________________________________________________________
4. In what way is Kaysen referenced in the McLean Hospital Inter Office Memorandum?
____________________________________________________________
5. Which patient in the ward sets herself on fire as a way to commit suicide?
____________________________________________________________
6. What is so thick and inflexible that the patient has troubles moving her head around?
____________________________________________________________
7. How many aspirin did Kaysen ingest one at a time in order to take her own life?
____________________________________________________________
8. Where did Kaysen go after she took all of her pills, which was a move that probably
saved her life?
____________________________________________________________
9. What did Polly do when she realized what she looked like one day? She screamed
_____________ over and over again.
10. Kaysen admires Polly's self-dedicated attempt at suicide rather than her own.
____________________________________________________________
11. Polly, Kaysen notes, will always be trapped by her disfigurement.
____________________________________________________________
12. Kaysen realizes that while all of the girls are trapped by their ___________, the
condition is hopefully transient.
Chapters 5 & 6
Freedom & the Secret of Life
1. _________ is considered to be the unofficial leader of the women on the ward.
2. Lisa frequently ______________, sometimes succeeding, although she is generally
brought back to the ward within hours or days.
3. Lisa rarely ______________ and never sleeps, which contributes to her unhealthy,
yellow, and thin appearance.
4. What does Lisa have for the nights when she sits around and talks to the nurses?
____________________________________________________________
5. What does the staff clip from Lisa in order to prevent her from hurting herself after
one particularly violent escape and return?
____________________________________________________________
6. What does the staff take from Lisa after one of her more violent escapes and captures?
____________________________________________________________
7. Who is the visitor that Kaysen has while in the hospital during Chapter 6?
____________________________________________________________
8. Where does Kaysen's visitor offer to take Kaysen if she were to sign herself out?
____________________________________________________________
9. What is Kaysen's visitor's claim to fame? What did he help to discover the structure
of?
____________________________________________________________
10. What does the title of Chapter 6 note that Kaysen's visitor had unlocked?
____________________________________________________________
11. What does Kaysen's visitor tell Kaysen she could get a job doing if she went away
with him?
____________________________________________________________
12. Why does Lisa do nothing but watch TV for a few months after she is recaptured?
____________________________________________________________
I. Briefly describe Susanna. What kind of person is she? What do you know about her
from reading these chapters?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
II. Briefly describe Georgina. What kind of person is she? What do you know about
her from reading these chapters?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
III. Briefly describe Lisa. What kind of person is she? What do you know about her
from reading these chapters?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
IV. Briefly describe Polly. What kind of person is she? What do you know about her
from reading these chapters?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________