Girl, Interrupted - Discussion Questions

Here are a few questions for you to consider as you reflect on Girl, Interrupted.

• What does it mean to be a girl, interrupted? Why not an interrupted girl? Why a girl?
• Why is “ambivalent” the perfect word for Susanna?
• One of the women says at one point that it’s a good thing the place works on a sliding scale so that the “locking picking trash” is also admitted. What other class tensions did you notice? Why might these be significant?
• What did you make of Susanna’s final definition of crazy: “you or me amplified”?
• How does the film affect your reading of "The Yellow Wallpaper" or vice versa?

Also, you might find it interesting to note that Claymore is modeled after Harvard's McLean Hospital, a mental health facility largely known by fame of some of its patients including writers and musicians.