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. Jan 04, 2008 do you know anything about the book go ask alice. 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 by beatrice sparks goodreads share book. Go ask alice is a diary of a teenage middleclass girl. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage p. We dont know the troubled teenage girls name but we follow her rapid descent into her life as an addict.
This book presents itself as a diary, written over a period of about two years, by a girl in her midteens. The book, written by anonymous purports to comprise of extracts from a fifteenyearold girls diary that chronicles a horrifying descent into drug addiction and prostitution. Our team members have advanced degrees in public health, health education. In go ask alice, why does alice get sent to the insane asylum. Despite the criticism, sparks continued to produce more real anonymous. Carrolls parodies of wordsworth and tennyson in the alice books. An analysis of the book go ask alice by beatrice sparks. Go ask alice setting summary symbolism characters plot the main character of this book is alice.
Authentic, tragic tale of teen drug addiction a classic. If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. She is accidentally introduced to drugs when lsd is put in her drink at a party. Go ask alice summary a fifteenyearold girl begins writing diary entries on september 16th. Heres where youll find analysis about the book as a whole.
A shocking true story for fans of reasons why kindle edition by anonymous. Go ask alice essays are academic essays for citation. 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. The main character and also the author of the book alice, died. More recent analyses have expressed ethical concerns with the books presentation of fiction to young readers as a true story. This study guide consists of approximately 52 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of go ask alice. 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 centers around a 15 year old girl who is referred to as alice and her. 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. He and alice get to know each other better, as does her family. Go ask alice is a 1971 book generally viewed to have been written by the author. Throughout the book, she had a sense of maturity, that later enabled her to take back. 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.
A book report on go ask alice english literature essay. 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. First published in 1971, go ask alice is a controversial book involving teenage addiction. After publication, go ask alice was exposed as a fraudulent work, not the diary of one girl but cobbled together by an author from the experiences of several people. Go ask alice has been around for decades, and is even being used as reading material in high schools. With the suburban setting and her nuclear family consisting of her father, mother and younger siblings, tim and alexandra, its an average premise. Go ask alice is a novel by youth counsellor beatrice sparks, first published in 1971. He consoles her, and gets her permission to study at the university library. 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. It is the story of a troubled young woman who seeks solace in drugs and the counterculture. 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 save her, her trust and love for her family, and her ultimate failure. 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. Through out the history of film, many productions have been made based on best selling novels. Winkles english october 7, 2010 the anonymous writer of go ask alice, a non fiction diary of a 15yearold drug addict, argues that drugs are being advertised, sold and used almost everywhere in society and to anyone that has the means of purchasing it.
It was a brave decision on her part, but the text always stayed with me. Created by harvard students for students everywhere, sparknotes is a new breed of study guide. Teen characters are involved in drugs, prostitution, etc. Textual analysis on go ask alice by anonmyous ea8411s blog. The go ask alice community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author. A literary analysis of the character alice in go ask alice kibin. Only parents can decide if they want their children to read go ask alice. 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. Pressure to use drugs at school intensifies, as the kids harass alice and her family. Go ask alice questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on go ask alice. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of go ask alice by beatrice sparks.
From a general summary to chapter summaries to explanations of famous quotes, the sparknotes go ask alice study guide has everything you need to ace. Novel versus the movie adaption of go ask alice essay. This message is not to start with drugs, it brings many problems with it. Her identity is anonymous, her hometown is unnamed and the specific year is not stated. The diary begins right before alices fifteenth birthday. 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. Go ask alice sparknotes literature guide making the reading experience fun. Go ask alice is based on the actual diary of a fifteenyearold drug user.
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. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of go ask alice by beatrice sparks. 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. If you are in an urgent situation, please visit our emergency page to view a list of 24 hour support services and hotlines. 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. Gee, those adjectives make this book sound like a load of fun, dont they. She is a pretty typical teenage girl in the late 1960sshes mostly concerned with school, boys, her hair, and fitting in okay, thats pretty typical for any decade. Go ask alice summary the diary begins right before alices fifteenth birthday. Go ask alice is a fiction work written anonymously and first published in 1971. Essay about go ask alice by anonymous 837 words bartleby. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading go ask alice. Go ask alice, written by an anonymous author, is a diary kept by a fifteenyearold drug user.
September 21, 1998 go ask alice the character alice is a strong person. If the book doesnt make strict chronological sense, it does obey emotional logic. It is not a definitive statement on the middleclass, teenage drug world. An unnamed fifteenyearold diarist, whom the novels title refers to as alice, starts a diary. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after. Summary read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. My very go ahead principal read it to the whole school in assembly over the course of a couple of weeks. Go ask alice is a 1973 tv movie based on a book of the same name published two years earlier.
That doesnt change the impact created by the hard and honest tone that speaks to how life can fall apart, be rebuilt, fall. Some important other characters would be her mother, father, brother tim, sister alexandria, gran, gramps, and two good friends chris and joel. The novel is in epistolary format, being comprised entirely of diary entries and as such, was first thought to be an autobiography. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. 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. Someone plants a joint in alices purse, and she leaves school to go to his office.
Im now a mum and i decided a couple of years ago to read the book myself. The chumminess would proceed from here, with each stage. 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 a great book because it was written by a girl about our age and she knows exactly what is going on. Alice meets a freshman at the university library, joel. This is my second read of go ask alice, and i loved it just as much the second time around. It is, however, a highly personal and specific chronicle. First paperback edition march 1998 go ask alice taken from white rabbit, written by grace slick. Analysis of go ask alice english literature essay uk essays.
Oct 03, 2016 go ask alice is the firstperson tale of an accidental downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, unwanted sex, and impoverished living. Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. Go ask alice by beatrice sparks is an epistolary work, meaning. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends, her heartfelt but futile battles to. Im not really sure which parts of myself are real and which parts are things ive gotten from books. An award winning novel by the name of go ask alice did that. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years. With a sensitive, observant style, she records her adolescent woes.
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