But those of you old enough to remember the latter portion of the 70s might remember that beatrice sparks, the editor of go ask alice, also edited a bunch of other alarmist books aimed at teens, all supposedly taken from teenagers diaries. There have been other books that deal with teenagers and drugs, most notably crank by ellen hopkins and smack by melvin burgess. Go ask alice quotes showing of 55 im not really sure which parts of myself are real and which parts are things ive gotten from books. Go ask alice was first published in 1971 and has since become one of the most banned books of all time. Even the title hints at the fact that if you doubt that drugs are dangerous, all you need to do is go ask. Poignant and unflinchingly honest, her story is a tragedy that is repeated in towns and cities across the country. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. This suggests that psychodynamic processes, for example, possible activation of. Go ask alice essays are academic essays for citation. Lines from go ask alice that, in hindsight, should have tipped me.
Nov 20, 2003 based on a 15yearolds diary, go ask alice is the intimate account of one girls fatal journey into the world of drug addiction. Did she or didnt she the case of alice crimmins 47. All picture source titles are hyperlinked to the pages that they appear on this. A book report on go ask alice english literature essay. Go ask alice is presented as an antidrug testimonial. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after. Both chris and alice decide to go to san francisco thinking that moving to a different place is going to help them with quitting their addiction and habits towards drugs, alcohol, and. In retrospect, i can see that reading go ask alice at that particular stage of my adolescence had a profound effect on the person i became. Go ask alice, an information service originally available only to columbia university students but later accessible to others through its web site, takes book form in this eyeopening collection of questions and answers. It is written by beatrice sparks in the form of the diary of an anonymous teenage girl who becomes addicted to drugs. Claimed to be taken from an actual diary, the story caused a sensation when published, and remained in print as of 2014. 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. Some of the recurring reasons for it being banned are language, sexual content, and drug use. Lyrics in the song white rabbit by the band jefferson airplane 2.
This is almost the only happy thing in alice s life. Communication has to go both ways, and were watching it fail colossally, which just exacerbates alice s feelings of isolation. Its a cultured pearl which means its real and it looks like my. Only parents can decide if they want their children to read go ask alice.
In recognition of banned books week, jaimee buttgen, wiu journalism major, reads an excerpt from the book go ask alice written by anonymous. It started when she was served a soft drink laced with lsd in a da. Go ask alice is a 1971 fiction book about a teenage girl who develops a drug addiction at age 15 and. The best selling, 1971 novel, go ask alice far surpasses its film adaptation by beatrice sparks because of the removal of crucial scenes. Review by richard gage, struthers high school, struthers, ohio excellent script with a great message. Read one or more of these books and compare them to go ask alice. Chicago turabian humanities citation style guide go ask alice. Yet it was originally promoted as nonfiction, its still sold as by anonymous and the copy i have has this is alices true story on the cover plus the blurb on the back, the foreword and the psychologists comment at the back everything is still packaged to make out this is nonfiction. The narrator tries to change her image several times throughout the story. Evidence showing the link between disease and diet continues to mount, which means that researchers are more confident than ever that key to leading a long. My favourite part of the book, is the part where alice met joel and she felt in love with him. Go ask alice became a cult classic in the 1970s, revealing the inner thoughts of a teen in turmoil and detailing her attempts to pull herself out of her druginduced haze. 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.
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. It is, however, a highly personal and specific chronicle. She gets a fever and has to go the hospital with help of someone. 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. She means something and i take it another way or she says. A dark and edgy firstperson cautionary tale about how one girls seemingly minor choices quickly spiraled into a life as a sex worker in the tradition of go ask alice and lucy in the sky. Jamie smithjackson portrays a shy, slightly overweight high schooler. A shocking true story for fans of reasons why kindle edition by anonymous. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage protagonist. Originally sold as the real diary of an actual teenager, go ask alice is the fauxmemoir of a 15yearold girl whose life is dominated by her drug problems. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Readers often look forward to seeing their favourite novel be brought to life.
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. It is not a definitive statement on the middleclass, teenage drug world. The book was filled with the diary of a teenager who was given a drink laced with lsd and from then on entered the world of drugs. A riveting, firstperson tale in the tradition of go ask alice and lucy in the sky. Go ask alice by anonymous if you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book. The drugs only create the temporary illusion that she is in touch with nature and people. Jefferson airplane white rabbit lyrics genius lyrics. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of go ask alice by beatrice sparks.
It was simple to stage, yet the action carries the plays powerful theme. The book of david anonymous diaries paperback june 3, 2014. 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. Alice is an anonymous character and the most we know about her is that she is white, middleclass teenager who struggles to fit.
The queries are representative of those emailed by anonymous visitors to the go ask alice web site. This passage from the book go ask alice was when alice first decided to quit using drugs and to stay clean. 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. In the 1970s, this fake diary scaredand temptedteenage girls all over america. 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. Go ask alice by beatrice sparks, 198208, avon flare edition, mass market paperback in english 1st avon flare printing 77. In striving to enrich the lives of all readers, teachingbooks supports the first amendment and celebrates the right to read. Go ask alice essay go ask alice, written by an anonymous author, is a diary kept by a fifteenyearold drug user. There are significantly more disturbing diary entries in the book that deal with rape, prostitution, and violence. Through out the history of film, many productions have been made based on best selling novels. All picture source titles are hyperlinked to the pages that they appear on this site.
Go ask alice ebook arapahoe libraries bibliocommons. If you dig a bit deeper, go ask alice can be loosely deemed a parable because, by definition, a parable is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lessonand we think antidrug propaganda fits that description pretty well. Go ask alice, by anonymous by alyssa guthrie on prezi. Novel versus the movie adaption of go ask alice essay. A teenager whose life is dominated by her drug problems recounts in her diary her experiences from her indoctrination into the world of drugs to three weeks before her death. As such, we hope it will provide insights into the increasingly complicated world in. The author is still listed as anonymous, and it really isnt manifestly obvious, as it should be, that go ask alice is a work of fiction. Go ask alice was written in the 1970s, a decade with a very unique sense of style.
Alice was the pseudonymous name of the teenaged author who wrote the book upon which this aboveaverage tv movie was based. Many books have influenced my life and how i think, but very few have altered my sense of reality. Stream go ask alice unabridged audiobook at by user1868941 from desktop or your mobile device. Although there is still some question as to whether this diary is real or fictional, there is no question that it has made a profound impact on millions of readers during the more than 25 years it has been in print. Between 1965 and 1977, alice crimmins was twice tried for the murders of her children, fiveyearold eddie jr. Psychosocial correlates to lifetime lsd use among a. Perhaps you can do some charitable work, start a book club, paint, or chat online. With over a million copies in print, this book has become a classic. An excerpt in writing is a quoted passage taken from a longer work, such as a book, or poem, or an article. Go ask alice is a 1971 novel about the life of a troubled teenage girl.
I never blamed the book for fueling my anxietiesthose wheels were clearly already in motionbut i do. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. A possible explanation for this novel relationship is that one of these drugs may. 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. Her parents try to express a serious concern, but alice is so consumed with her own thought process that she doesnt listen at all and then accuses them of doing the same thing to her. An award winning novel by the name of go ask alice did that. A website that has information about health for teens 3. 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 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. Whatever the subject of your writing or the type of writing you intend to compose. Parents and school boards were worried that this book would encourage teens and preteens to.
Book of answers is published and the site gets an overhaul and updated look go ask alice. I think that this book could easily find a place in high school curriculum. Mar 23, 2017 d espite the popularity of go ask alice, the mystery of the diarists identity has never been truly solved, and none of her relatives have ever come forward to claim a share of the royalties. The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a. This is my second read of go ask alice, and i loved it just as much the second time around.
As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter. She is jealous of both of her younger siblings, a brother and a sister, believing she is the letdown child. Go ask alice by beatrice sparks, 198208, avon flare. As powerful and as timely today as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. In case you arent familiar with it, its supposedly an anonymous diary found by the parents of a fifteen year old drug user after she. Go ask alice book ottawa public library bibliocommons. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Go ask alice book by anonymous official publisher page. Go ask alice by beatrice sparks goodreads share book. Go ask alice is based on the actual diary of a fifteenyearold drug user. Go ask alice is a diary of a teenage middleclass girl.
Though the story was widely criticized as a complete fabrication and dismissed as propaganda, its message remained powerful. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading go ask alice. Jun 01, 2015 the second half of this exchange was used by evelyn waugh as the epigraph to vile bodies, in 1930, and the tone is a perfect match for the chill, directionless frenzy of waughs personae. She feels very alone and misunderstood, seeking approval from her mother and other people. 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. Its said that the author of the book upon which this. D espite the popularity of go ask alice, the mystery of the diarists identity has never been truly solved, and none of her relatives have ever come forward to claim a share of the royalties. 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. Go ask alice is a fiction work written anonymously and first published in 1971. Fortyseven years ago, alice crimmins was front page news. Our english teacher gave this book to us when we were 12 and told us it was a real diary. Oct 03, 2016 go ask alice is the firstperson tale of an accidental downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, unwanted sex, and impoverished living.
Go ask alice by anonymous was a completely eyeopening book that both broke my heart, and made me realize the morals of life although they werent mentioned. Communication has to go both ways, and were watching it fail colossally, which just exacerbates alices feelings of isolation. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years. In the other books that i have read such as, go ask alice, and jays journal, i felt like i could relate to the story on a personal level. On july 14, 1965 the children went missing from their firstfloor apartment in the kew gardens. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of go ask alice and what it means. The author, through this book, doesnt wants his readers to look for advise in it, but to learn about the real world in which some teenagers have to live through. A bullshit fake diary written by an antidrug mormon woman with a series of diaries, that are listed as nonfiction to scare little kids into not doing drugs, joining a gang or the occult, getting pregnant, getting anorexia, or getting aids. This is appropriate for all ages, it is good for everyone to know what can happen if you get. A book about a girl with drug addiction and she writes about drug life. Alice begins her diary because she has no one else to talk to, and she spends her energy searching not for drugs, but for someone who understands her. Go ask alice has been around for decades, and is even being used as reading material in high schools.
Our team members have advanced degrees in public health, health education. It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends, her heartfelt but futile battles to. This is an excerpt from go ask alice, which recounts her first experience with lsd. Both chris and alice decide to go to san francisco thinking that moving to a different place is going to help them with quitting their addiction and habits towards drugs, alcohol, and sex.
636 129 216 1113 220 241 1498 596 410 579 833 608 469 266 1134 746 9 692 1449 758 1211 1163 278 784 1649 1009 202 52 250 743 884 101 1080 739 1442 1636 1168 958 1598 580 603 1145 41 573 581 734 695 65