Girl Interrupted By Susanna Kaysen

In “Girl Interrupted” a film based on the memoir by Susanna kaysen, we watch the progression of women functioning under psychological factors. Each girl, is met with various obstacles and environmental pressures that shape their characters and actions. Lisa, a girl who has normalized her illness and reimagined her instability as power over others. Susanna, a girl who's mental change is a result of her subconsciously conforming to expectations. Finally Daisy, a girl who suppresses her internal pain and suffering with praise for her father and poor eating habits. Together these characters explore the concepts of environmental behaviorism, Freud’s defense mechanisms.

Lisa. She radiates a strong aura, one that is egotistical and in need of attention.

Aside from the habit of smoking and the cynical sarcasm Susanna’s character holds, she enters the hospital seemingly “normal”. Normal as in her issues are embedded deep in her behavior at first, not with transparency like most of the girl. It's not until the story progresses and she finds comfort in her peers that she begins drifting from her default angst. A scene that stands out is the moment in which she exchanges in an argument with nurse Valerie. “You are a lazy, self-indulgent, little girl, who is making herself crazy.” Valerie tells her. Susanna begins rambling and flinging insults at her in a degrading play humorous tone. Splashing in the tub with a sense of smugness in her tone, thinking that she’s ahead of the nurse. In reality she has yet to understand the shift in her character. In the study of environmental behaviorism, often times someone's behavior is a result of their environment, as well as the motivations that result from it. In susanna’s case she has spent so much time consuming the diagnosis as well as the behavior of the girls around her. This results in her feeling as though in order to be comfortable or to have any grasp of her issues, she must conform to the expectations met with