Childhood In Augusten Burroughs's Running With Scissors

‘Never run with scissors,' chances are you have heard this saying before from a parent or teacher. In Running with Scissors a memoir, Augusten Burroughs does just that. He takes the risk and leaves behind his life of stability and security to enter the life of his mother’s crazy psychologist, Dr. Finch. This book recounts Burroughs's memorable childhood experiences of living with Dr. Finch and his bizarre family. Throughout the memoir, Augusten Burroughs argues the claim that he did not have a normal childhood through the efficient use of anaphora and allusion.

Burroughs effectively uses anaphora as a way to add emphasis to specific tasks. Seen in this example,”I walked off to my room, where I selected an outfit for school and carefully arranged it on hangers at the front of the closet. I would wear my favorite polyester tan pants and a blue shirt with the vest cleverly sewn on. If only I had a pair of platform shoes the outfit would be complete” (Burroughs 19). in this example, Burroughs is stressing what he is doing with the repetition of the word ‘I.’ This primarily adds emphasis to his statements. Burroughs also effectively uses anaphora to provide an active voice instead of passive such as in the

He does this effectively by referencing scenes from his childhood to give the reader a deeper understanding of his rather unusual upbringing. Burroughs consistently argues his claim throughout the book, demonstrating how his unusual childhood affected him. This work is relevant because it shows that one can overcome terrible circumstances and have fun. Burroughs’s introduces humor into his life despite all the hardships he has faced. This book is important because it reinforces the fact that despite terrible circumstances that plagued Burroughs, he was able to achieve great