Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years. 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. As such, we hope it will provide insights into the. It was a brave decision on her part, but the text always stayed with me. Sep 14, 20 and, from the go ask alice articles authorship section. 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 1971 book generally viewed to have been written by the author beatrice sparks, however the novel was published originally under the pseudonym anonymous.
This is my second read of go ask alice, and i loved it just as much the second time around. I first heard of go ask alice when still in school in the 1980s. Thoughts on go ask alice banned books week youtube. Go ask alice is my current read for banned books week. Essay about go ask alice by anonymous 837 words bartleby. Go ask alice is based on the actual diary of a fifteenyearold drug user. 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. While this was my second time reading go ask alice, my first time, at age. Creating film adaptations for movies has become very common because directors can be sure that their target audiences are intrigued by the topic of their future. 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. Only parents can decide if they want their children to read go ask alice. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage indepth discussion about all things related to books, authors, genres, or publishing in a safe, supportive environment. A book report on go ask alice english literature essay. She is jealous of both of her younger siblings, a brother and a sister, believing she is the letdown child.
No matter what youre looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you find unique and affordable options. As such, we hope it will provide insights into the increasingly complicated world in which we live. Be sure to give several specific examples from the text and the song. But do you think alice is really capable of being a whole new person, with a whole new wardrobe, who can avoid chocolate and fries forever and ever.
Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited. The diary begins right before alices fifteenth birthday. However, not long after its publication, beatrice sparks, a psychologist, began making media appearances presenting herself as the books editor. Go ask alice anonymous diaries paperback january 1, 2006. Go ask alice has been around for decades, and is even being used as reading material in high schools. Everything seems normal at first, but that soon changes when she is enticed into the world of drugs. 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 book was purported to be the real journal of a 15yearold girl who was the alice of the title. It is not a definitive statement on the middleclass, teenage drug world.
Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after publication. Alice was the pseudonymous name of the teenaged author who wrote the book upon which this aboveaverage tv movie was based. 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. After an introduction to lsd, she ends up on a ride of highs and lows, from the loss of friends she once had to the gaining of a new selfawareness.
This is appropriate for all ages, it is good for everyone to know what can happen if you get. If youre looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our weekly recommendation thread, suggested reading page, or ask in rsuggestmeabook. I think ill go into child guidance when i get out of school. 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 when her fathers new job causes her family to move across the country, alice is thrust into a new school at a time when she is at best sensitive. Go ask alice should be banned from middle school and elementary libraries and only permitted at the high school level because of the use of vulgar language, the use of illegal substances, and the explicit descriptions of the activities being done throughout the book. Go ask alice was a stark counterpoint to the freewheeling ethos of the early 70s that was ahead of its time, eventually fitting in perfectly with the war on drugs and d. Radio default, go ask alice, live aradio, live set, 2015. Go ask alice by anonymous beatrice sparks banned library. The drug use written throughout the book is not appropriate for middle school or elementary, but should be permitted for high school level. Go ask alice by anonymous about the book she doesnt want to get hooked on drugs.
Im sure the book was banned due to its drug use and sex references. Go ask alice is a memoir that follows the diary of a teenage girl during the late sixties. Every time after she uses, she feels guilty and low and vows to stay away. The story is a look into a teenage girls life as she gets mixed up in the tragic life of drugs. She thinks someday shed like to get married and raise a family. The book and especially the ending shows the harsh reality of drugs and addiction in teenagers.
Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after publication top 100 bannedchallenged books. It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends, her heartfelt but futile battles to. Throughout the whole book, it brought the readers attention by giving us enough details. 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. Parents and school boards were worried that this book would encourage teens and preteens to try out 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. Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and oneofakind products and gifts related to your search. I can understand its controversy over the years and why it was a banned book for. This book is supposedly the real diary of a teenage girl struggling with drug use. The sobering message of go ask alice had a huge effect on my lifeand. A shocking true story for fans of reasons why kindle edition by anonymous. Aug 24, 2014 first video, so sorry for all the editing mistakes. Some of the recurring reasons for it being banned are language, sexual content, and drug use.
Even people with colossal willpower cant always pull that off. Books similar to go ask alice meet your next favorite book. In honor of banned books week, jo asked a few of us booktubers to pick a banned book and make a video on it. Explain in detail how the lyrics of the song parallel the story.
If only alice could have some perspectiveyou know, without having to go through an overdose, massive mental breakdown, and subsequent hospitalization. My eyes skipped through paragraphs in a desperate bid to get past extremely. Go ask alice is small, 224 under size pages and written in diary format so is a quick read. Teenagers of every race, religion, and clique relate deeply to the words of the anonymous teenager within the book go ask alice, by an anonymous girl whose life enters a place where, as most teenagers, she has no idea who to turn to, or where to go. Her habit eventually becomes a problem, leading her to run away from home numerous times, before landing herself into serious danger. I chose go ask alice and it is certainly the strangest book ive read this year. 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. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction.
Dec 08, 2011 posted by jmariedavis december 8, 2011 leave a comment on go ask alice. 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 was originally promoted as nonfiction and was published under the byline anonymous. The novel is in epistolary format, being comprised entirely of diary entries and as such, was first thought to be an autobiography. 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. 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.
Not alice beatrice sparks doesnt have a website, but one person has built an entire website about the book anyway, so click on through for all things alice. 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. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book. 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. Go ask alice was a stark counterpoint to the freewheeling ethos of the early 70s that was ahead of its time, eventually fitting in perfectly with the war on drugs. Go ask alice by anonymous overdrive rakuten overdrive. In a 1995 village voice column for banned books week, nat hentoff. Her father is going to have a new job and she is going to move to another place with her family.
But she just cant resist the way the drugs make her feelbeautiful and popular and connected to the world around her. The kids who were there were considered popular at her old school. Read on to find out my take on this extremely controversial book. With over a million copies in print, this book has become a classic. 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. For our final project my group read the book go ask alice by anonymous. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after. Joel gave her alice a lot of strength and offered her to go to the funeral.
Years before james frey and the million little pieces scandal, there was go ask alice and the theories about who wrote the book. Supposedly based on a diary of a young teenage girl, the book had me gripped from beginning to end. Go ask alice by anonymous banned book but was it real. Sparks, 82, 83 next, another reason go ask alice should be banned is the excessive use of illegal substances. Im now a mum and i decided a couple of years ago to read the book myself. Novel versus the movie adaption of go ask alice essay. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the.
She feels very alone and misunderstood, seeking approval from her mother and other people. 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. The novel was compelling while the history behind the story was even more engaging. The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a lie. It is, however, a highly personal and specific chronicle. She was so excited to finally be accepted by them, all she ever really wanted was to be one of. Go ask alice guys, they made an afterschoolspecial movie that is totally faithful to the book and it has a young william shatner. Sep 23, 2014 in honor of banned books week, jo asked a few of us booktubers to pick a banned book and make a video on it. I moved through the pages rapt, feeling sophisticated in my new.
Alice acted like she was sick, so she didnt had to go to school. She was so excited to finally be accepted by them, all she ever really wanted was to be one of them. At the 16th of june, alices grandmother died in her sleep. I think this book writes in a interesting way while it teaches us a life lesson by expressing in diary form. The diarists father, a college professor, accepts a dean position at a new. I was 14in04 not one blip of feeling towards this new version i received. Jan 01, 2006 go ask alice is a timeless book which talks about drug abuse in teenagers although it was written in the 70s it still fits in with the time. First video, so sorry for all the editing mistakes. 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, following her experiences from her. I picked up this book at our recent friends of the library sale.
Go ask alice by beatrice sparks, 198208, avon flare edition, mass market paperback in english 1st avon flare printing 77. Go ask alice was first published in 1971 and has since become one of the most banned books of all time. Go ask alice, by anonymous by alyssa guthrie on prezi. First published in 1971, go ask alice is a controversial book involving teenage. Go ask alice is a 1971 fiction book about a teenage girl who develops a drug addiction at age. Creating film adaptations for movies has become very common because directors can be sure that their target audiences are intrigued by the topic of their future film. But, unlike some books and many movies these experiences are not glamorized at all. In go ask alice there are many illegal substance references throughout the entire book. Alice, once a shy, innocent girl, is sucked into the heartless world of drugs because of her need to be accepted. Oct 03, 2016 go ask alice is the firstperson tale of an accidental downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, unwanted sex, and impoverished living. Anyway i seem to be doing less and less right, im getting so that no matter what i do i cant please the establishment. 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. An award winning novel by the name of go ask alice did that. Jul 17, 2016 go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after publication top 100 bannedchallenged books.
Go ask alice is the firstperson tale of an accidental downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, unwanted sex, and impoverished living. Go ask alice in the book, go ask alice, a young girl, who felt like an outcast, was invited to a party. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading go ask alice. 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. Novel versus the movie adaption of go ask alice essay cram. The new york times this extraordinary work for teenagers is a document of. Research project for our final project my group read the book go ask alice by anonymous. 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. However, not long after its publication, beatrice sparks, a psychologist, began making. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Based on a 15yearolds diary, go ask alice is the intimate account of one girls fatal journey into the world of drug addiction. Poignant and unflinchingly honest, her story is a tragedy that is repeated in towns and cities across the country. The title go ask alice was taken from a 1967 jefferson airplane song called white rabbit.
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. Jamie smithjackson portrays a shy, slightly overweight high schooler. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. My plan was to read this for banned book week, and although i did not finish it during the week i meant to, i did finish it. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage p. Title stance on the book 3 articles it was banned challenged in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, and 2009 it was banned usually in schools and libraries title.
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