I wanted her life it seemed cool it was a way to lose weight. Go ask alice is a 1971 fiction book about a teenage girl who develops a drug addiction at age. Go ask alice in the book, go ask alice, a young girl, who felt like an outcast, was invited to a party. It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends, her heartfelt but futile battles to return home and stay clean, her pleas to god to. The diary begins right before alices fifteenth birthday. Go ask alice was published anonymously in 1971, but in the last two decades, it still lives in the top 25 most frequently banned books, according to the american library association. I picked up this book at our recent friends of the library sale.
Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years. A year later came jays journal, the diary of an adolescent boy who succumbs to satan worship, which similarly credited dr. I hope to achieve the retaining of this book, for middle school students and higher. The most famous of these literary works was 1971s go ask alice, presented as the diary of an anonymous teen girl who began her career as a stoner at age 15 and died of an overdose just weeks after. A book report on go ask alice english literature essay.
It was the anonymous diary of a girls losing battle with drug addiction. The kids who were there were considered popular at her old school. The title of the book comes from a song called white rabbits by jefferson airplane. Our team members have advanced degrees in public health, health education, medicine, counseling, and a number of. Jan 04, 2008 go ask alice was the product of beatrice sparks, an author who has come out with a number of teens who saw their lives ruined by their bad choices offerings, each one presented as a true.
Every time after she uses, she feels guilty and low and vows to stay away. Parents and school boards were worried that this book would encourage teens and preteens to. Alice is an anonymous character and the most we know about her is that she is white, middleclass teenager who struggles to fit. She was so excited to finally be accepted by them, all she ever really wanted was to be one of. A teenager whose life is dominated by her drug problems recounts in her diary her experiences from her indoctrination into the. If you do like it, there is another book called jays journal that is very similar. Alice is a typical teenager in the late 1960s trying to find herself in the world. See a complete list of the characters in go ask alice and indepth analyses of alice, diary, parents, and joel. Then write an essay comparing and contrasting the book to go ask alice. Oct 03, 2016 go ask alice is the firstperson tale of an accidental downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, unwanted sex, and impoverished living. This is appropriate for all ages, it is good for everyone to know what can happen if you get. This is appropriate for all ages, it is good for everyone to know what can happen if you get into drugs, and it can scare young kids away. Go ask alice is a reference to a jefferson airplane song called white rabbit, which alludes to rampant hallucinogenic drug use in lewis carrolls alice in wonderland. But she just cant resist the way the drugs make her feelbeautiful and popular and connected to the world around her.
As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. She gets a fever and has to go the hospital with help of someone. She was so excited to finally be accepted by them, all she ever really wanted was to be one of them. My book is called go ask alice by anonymous beatrice sparks. A riveting firstperson tale of addiction, in the tradition of go ask alice and jays journal. We dont know the troubled teenage girls name but we follow her rapid descent into her life as an addict. Summary read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. Go ask alice was published anonymously in 1971, but in the last two decades. Sep 16, 2012 its said that the author of the book upon which this movie was based wrote it as a work of fiction, which she later admits, but i still think that this is a great movie that reflects what drug use. Go ask alice quizzes about important details and events in every section of the book. Her habit eventually becomes a problem, leading her to run away from home numerous times, before landing herself into serious danger. At about the same time a book was published called go ask alice. May 16, 2017 go ask alice in the book, go ask alice, a young girl, who felt like an outcast, was invited to a party. Through small stepsopening up to joel about her past, for examplealice gains the trust in others that she formerly put in her diary and is able to discard her literary life.
Do you think the book go ask alice should be banned. At the 16th of june, alices grandmother died in her sleep. This young adult book was first published as an anonymous but real diary in 1971, and remains popular to this day. The dates and locations mentioned in the book place its events as occurring between 1968 and 1970 in california.
As as child in high school i was 15, im 49 now, i read the book go ask alice, i was a loner i wanted cool friends. Sparknotes is here for you with everything you need to ace or teach. Go ask alice is a 1971 novel by beatrice sparks that bills itself the. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
She is the protagonist of the book, which is in epistolatory form as a series of diary entries. Tell them a hookahsmoking caterpillar has given you the call call alice when she was just small when the men on the chess board get up and tell you where to go. Some people maintain that alice in wonderland can only have been written by an author with considerable hallucinogenic mushroom experience under their belt. Go ask alice by anonymous if you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. Anyway jill called this morning, and shes going to her friends for the weekend and shell call me the first thing monday. Mar 23, 2017 then, in 1978, a book called voices, a compilation of stories about troubled teens, was released, with jacket copy attributing it to beatrice sparks, the author who brought you go ask alice. Books similar to go ask alice meet your next favorite book. Parents and school boards were worried that this book would encourage teens and preteens to try out drugs. Joel gave her alice a lot of strength and offered her to go to the funeral. Sep 01, 2008 as as child in high school i was 15, im 49 now, i read the book go ask alice, i was a loner i wanted cool friends. Some of the recurring reasons for it being banned are language, sexual content, and drug use.
The entire book reads like the literary equivalent of this tweet. Go ask alice by anonymous about the book she doesnt want to get hooked on drugs. I am always on the look out for classics and banned books often one and the same when i seen a copy of this book. Jul 03, 2014 go ask alice was published anonymously in 1971, but in the last two decades, it still lives in the top 25 most frequently banned books, according to the american library association. The author of this diary began journaling on her sixteenth birthday. Poignant and unflinchingly honest, her story is a tragedy that is repeated in towns and cities across the country. While some people believe that go ask alice is not a true diary after all, but the wholly or partly fictional work of beatrice sparks one of the book s editors and the author of several fictional teen diaries, the diary indisputably evokes the drug and sexsaturated atmosphere of the late 1960s. A 15yearold girl in late1960s america is sucked into an odyssey of sex and drugs and eventually seeks help. Read another book that deals with teenagers and drugs, such as crank by ellen hopkins and smack by melvin burgess.
I dont remember much about it, but its another fake propaganda book, this time about. First published in 1971, go ask alice is a controversial book involving teenage addiction. Go ask alice, beatrice sparks in 1968, a 15yearold girl begins keeping a diary, in which she records her thoughts and concerns about issues such as crushes, weight loss, sexuality, social acceptance, and relating to her parents. Go ask alice is the firstperson tale of an accidental downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, unwanted sex, and impoverished living. To ask other readers questions about go ask alice, please sign up. Go ask alice is small, 224 under size pages and written in diary format so is a quick read.
Only parents can decide if they want their children to read go ask alice. While some people believe that go ask alice is not a true diary after all, but the wholly or partly fictional work of beatrice sparks one of the books editors and the author of several fictional teen diaries, the diary indisputably evokes the drug and sexsaturated atmosphere of the late 1960s. Go ask alice is a fiction work written anonymously and first published in 1971. Its supposedly the diary of a drug addicted teen, and it was published anonymously. Go ask alice has been around for decades, and is even being used as reading material in high schools.
Go ask alice by anonymous banned book but was it real. Heres where youll find analysis about the book as a whole. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these. Go ask alice book by anonymous official publisher page. It was reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this stripped book. Jefferson airplane white rabbit lyrics genius lyrics. A 15yearold girl in late1960s america is sucked into an odyssey of. Go ask alice is a memoir that follows the diary of a teenage girl during the late sixties.
Go ask alice was first published in 1971 and has since become one of the most banned books of all time. Go ask alice is a 1971 book generally viewed to have been written by the author beatrice sparks, however the novel was published originally under the pseudonym anonymous. In go ask alice, the diary is written by a teenage girl over a twoyear period and chronicles her experiences with drugsmainly marijuana, acid, and speed. Alice acted like she was sick, so she didnt had to go to school. The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a lie. Dec 27, 2009 clipfirst few minutesfrom the 1973 tv movie. Created during the height of the drug era, the girl could be anyone from this time who found him or herself seduced by the mindaltering affects of marijuana, lsd, bennies, dexies, and heroin. For thirtyfive years, the acclaimed, bestselling firstperson account of a teenage girls harrowing decent into the nightmarish world of drugs has left an indelible mark on generations of teen readers. Its written in first person in traditional diary form.
Its said that the author of the book upon which this movie was based wrote it as a work of fiction, which she later admits, but i still think that this is a great movie that reflects what drug use. Reading go ask alicethe socalled real diary, first published in 1971. Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. Twice today jan banged into me in the hall and called me nancy nice and mary pure. In the 1970s, this fake diary scaredand temptedteenage. Based on the bestselling book, go ask alice recounts a young girls ultimately fatal experiences with drugs in the early 1970s. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage protagonist. The novel is in epistolary format, being comprised entirely of diary entries and as such, was first thought to be an autobiography. Based on a 15yearolds diary, go ask alice is the intimate account of one girls fatal journey into the world of drug addiction.
Go ask alice is written as the diary of a fifteenyearold girls daytoday struggle with drug addiction. One was called jays journal, and was purportedly about a teen who gets. The book and especially the ending shows the harsh reality of drugs and addiction in teenagers. With william shatner, ruth roman, wendell burton, julie adams. The list go ask alice has been one of the most frequently challenged books, according to the american library associations frequently challenged books of the 21st century list, since its publication in 1971, for content relating to drugs, sexual explicitness, offensive language, and inappropriate themes for the target age group frequently challenged 1. May 16, 2018 go ask alice was first published in 1971 and has since become one of the most banned books of all time. Everything seems normal at first, but that soon changes when she is enticed into the world of drugs. Jefferson airplane go ask alice lyrics metrolyrics.
The book go ask alice was the reallife diary of a teenage girl. Turned out to be a thinly veiled anti drug propaganda book, no real alice, no diary. By thi time i was finished with the book i knew what i wanted i saw the exciting life i wanted. Laina schumacher hlt 121 drug use and abuse campbell 041814 go ask alice go ask alice is a collection of various diary entries from an anonymous narrator who is never named well call her alice. This is my second read of go ask alice, and i loved it just as much the second time around im an advocate for banned stories that teach difficult lessons the. Then, in 1978, a book called voices, a compilation of stories about troubled teens, was released, with jacket copy attributing it to beatrice sparks, the author who brought you go ask alice. Lines from go ask alice that, in hindsight, should have tipped me. Go ask alice teaches you what can happen when you get into drugs and its hard to stay away from them once you have started and know how easy it is to get ahold of them.
Go ask alice is a 1971 fiction book about a teenage girl who develops a drug addiction at age 15 and runs away from home on a journey of selfdestructive escapism. They called the police and the hospital but there was nothing anyone. The sobering message of go ask alice had a huge effect on my lifeand then i. Go ask alice when shes ten feet tall and if you go chasing rabbits and you know youre going to fall. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after publication. Go ask alice was published anonymously in 1971, but in the last two decades, it still lives in the top 25 most frequently banned books, according to the. The go ask alice community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. Based on the bestselling book, go ask alice recounts a young girls ultimately fatal experiences with drugs in. Go ask alice is a diary of a teenage middleclass girl. Bookbanners like to take go ask alice out of libraries because they think.
Alice has reservations about prying into the teens lives, but her discomfort is a sign that she understands how difficult, and precious, open communication can be. Named for grace slicks mindexpanding white rabbit lyrics and credited to anonymous, the book seemed specially designed to scare young. Go ask alice by beatrice sparks is an epistolary work, meaning that is structured as a series of entries such as letters or in this case, a diary. Go ask alice follows the journal entries of alice, a typical teenage girl, who quickly descends into the depths of drug addiction. Although a girl named alice appears very briefly in the book, she is not the diarist, but a fellow runaway whom the diarist meets on the street in. One pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small and the ones that mother gives you dont do anything at all go ask alice when shes ten feet tall and if you go. Alice is an anonymous character and the most we know about her is that she is white, middleclass teenager who struggles to fit in at school and to live up to her parents expectations. I checked it out of my school library the day after the local police came to my.
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