The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a. A teen plunges into a downward spiral of addiction in this classic cautionary tale. Go ask alice is a controversial 1971 book about drug abuse that is considered a classic of american young adult literature. This study guide consists of approximately 52 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character. It started when she was served a soft drink laced with lsd in a da. Can you guess the book from a bad onesentence summary. Alice character analysis in go ask alice sparknotes. I picked up this book in a bookstore due to the cover and also, i was researching some of the rocknroll lyrics of the 60s. 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.
Find out what happens in our chapters 110 summary for go ask alice by anonymous, edited by beatrice sparks. Who does lsd and then marijuana, she asked, as if id read the book for veracity at the ripe age of thirteen. Go ask alice was a highly controversial book and the subject of banning attempts by parents and school districts. Subscribe now 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. Compare go ask alice to lewis carrolls alice s adventures in wonderland.
While out shopping, alice meets a girl named chris who gives her some red hearts that will pep anyone up. Jill peters came by and said she was going to have a few kids over tomorrow night and shed call me. This novel reminded me quite a bit of go ask alice which is a novel i read many. Relate them to this anonymous girls experience with drugs. This story follows the typical template for the say no to drugs genre of liturature. Alices parents devote themselves to her recovery each time she returns home, though they are a major part of the reason alice continues to leaveuntil the end, she never feels as if she can fully open up to them about anything important, from her drug use to her fears about sex. Alice alice is the anonymous protagonist her name is an allusion to a jefferson airplane song whose intermittent diary entries narrate go ask alice. 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. Go ask alice summary the diary begins right before alices fifteenth birthday. Only parents can decide if they want their children to read go ask alice.
Go ask alice is written as the diary of a fifteenyearold girls daytoday struggle with drug addiction. Go ask alice is a fiction work written anonymously and first published in 1971. Names, dates places and certain events have been changed in accordance with the wishes of those concerned. The book is by anonymous and it was first published in the year 1971. Nov 20, 2008 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. The dates and locations mentioned in the book place its events as occurring between 1968 and 1970 in california, colorado, oregon, and new york city. Pick 10 books and well guess whether youre an introvert or an extrovert. 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 sparknotes literature guide on apple books. Go ask alice guys, they made an afterschoolspecial movie that is totally faithful to the book and it has a young william shatner.
Go ask alice was originally billed as a memoir about teenage drug abuse from an anonymous source, but it now thought to be a work of fiction by beatrice sparks. The novel is in epistolary format, being comprised entirely of diary entries and as such, was first thought to be an autobiography. Go ask alice author unknown july 7th im at grans and today a strange thing happened. Alice, once a shy, innocent girl, is sucked into the heartless world of drugs because of her need to be accepted. Geared to what todays students need to know, sparknotes provide. Analyze the lyrics of the jefferson airplane song white rabbit. Chris and alice become really close and ends up dating these college kids, richie and ted, who sell drugs and helping them sell drugs. The diary begins right before alices fifteenth birthday. The book was a new york times bestseller and recipient of multiple honors. Im partly somebody else trying to fit in and say the right things and do the right thing and be in the right place and wear what everybody else is wearing. 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 the book begins, the author of the diary is an ordinary teenager with ordinary teenage concerns. An intelligent, sensitive girl with a literary flair, she experiments with drugs and the counterculture to escape from. Created by harvard students for students everywhere, sparknotes is a new breed of study guide. 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. 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 quizzes, tests, and essays. She seeks someone who will understand her, someone she can open up to and. Go ask alice is a supposed diary of a young girl caught up in the wild life of drug abuse in the late 1960s. 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. Her name is not known, her name is not mentioned in the book, so the gave her the name alice.
Go ask alice sparknotes literature guide series by. I want so much to be someone important, or even just asked. Go ask alice sparknotes literature guide making the reading experience fun. A book report on go ask alice english literature essay. As powerfuland as timely today as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. Go ask alice has been around for decades, and is even being used as reading material in high schools. Go ask alice was a highly controversial book and the subject of. Beatrice sparks 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.
May 19, 2008 summary starts with a lead, including title, author, text type and the main idea of the text. 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. 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. Our team members have advanced degrees in public health, health education, medicine, counseling, and a number of other. Because this book is presented as a diary, it is written exclusively from the first person past point of view. 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. It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends, her heartfelt but futile battles to. Go ask alice anonymous book summary go ask alice is the firstperson tale of an accidental downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, unwanted sex, and impoverished living. At the beginning of the book alice started talking about a boy named roger and that she felt so. Geared to what todays students need to know, sparknotes provides.
Literature guidescreated by harvard students for students everywhere, spar. July 9th i dont know whether i should be ashamed or elated. Beatrice sparks, quote from go ask alice its a good thing most people bleed on the inside or this would be a gory, bloodsmeared earth. From a general summary to chapter summaries to explanations of famous quotes, the sparknotes. They have few flaws, being upstanding, cultured citizens, but that is precisely the point. 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, and at worst extremely insecure. Perfect prep for go ask alice quizzes and tests you might have in school. This book tells a diary written form of a story, about an anonymous girl who lived under the influence of drugs in. Yet it was originally promoted as nonfiction, its still sold as by anonymous and the copy i have has this is alice s true story on the cover plus the blurb on the back, the foreword and the psychologists comment at the back. Thanks for exploring this supersummary plot summary of go ask alice by beatrice sparks. I only know that last night i had the most incredible experience of my life. The go ask alice community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage protagonist. If you are in an urgent situation, please visit our emergency page to view a list of 24 hour support services and hotlines.
Its written in first person in traditional diary form. A modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes. While some people believe that go ask alice is not a true diary after all, but the. She told me that she started doing drugs after she read the book, thats how amusing the read was for her. An intelligent, sensitive girl with a literary flair, she experiments with drugs and the counterculture to escape from her low selfesteem and consuming loneliness. She is introduced to lsd during a party where it was slipped into her drink. The book that defined my teen anxiety turned out to be a lie.
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. A janitor directs her to a mission similar to the salvation army. 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. Parents character analysis in go ask alice sparknotes. Go ask alice alices parents devote themselves to her recovery each time she returns home, though they are a major part of the reason alice continues to leaveuntil the end, she never feels as if she can fully open up to them about anything important, from her drug use to her fears about sex. This free study guide is stuffed with the juicy details and important facts you need to know. I suspect she was exaggerating, but thats not the point.
Go ask alice sparknotes literature guide series by sparknotes. Summary read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. May 22, 2019 of course she knew go ask alice was a fake. This book presents itself as a diary, written over a period of about two years, by a girl in her midteens. We dont know the troubled teenage girls name but we follow her rapid descent into her life as an addict. Go ask alice essays are academic essays for citation. After reading the book, i find out the book is named after the song go ask alice from the diary entries lack too much detail to make this a believable read. The question is about whether a life of drug use can be sustainable, and what the diarist learns is that some drugs are extremely alluring after being experienced just once, so she ends up in spirals of addiction that she could never have imagined. A list of important facts about anonymouss go ask alice, including setting. It has a clearly arranged structure and is written in a logical, chronological and traceable manner. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of go ask alice by beatrice sparks. Go ask alice is a 1971 diary about a teenage girl who develops a drug addiction at age 15 and runs away from home on a journey of selfdestructive escapism. Alice is the anonymous protagonist her name is an allusion to a jefferson airplane song whose intermittent diary entries narrate go ask alice.
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