Dec 08, 2011 after reading go ask alice and preparing a research project on it, i feel that the biggest reason books are banned is because of depiction vs. A book report on go ask alice english literature essay. In honor of banned books week, jo asked a few of us booktubers to pick a banned book and make a video on it. For more information about banned books week, please visit. If only alice could have some perspectiveyou know, without having to go through an overdose, massive mental breakdown, and subsequent hospitalization.
A story of order and a nightgown with little anchors then a book about an anonymous diary full of lies about drugs and a life not worth living. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after. The book is said to be the actual diary of an anonymous teenage girl who became addicted to drugs. As many of you will notice it is a hit parade for book burners. As a parent, hopefully, you will ask your children what they are reading and what discussions they are having in their classes. Below is a list of books that have been banned, along with the reasons cited for banning them.
Thoughts on go ask alice banned books week youtube. I chose go ask alice and it is certainly the strangest book ive read this year. Go ask alice by beatrice sparks as anonymous banned. But she just cant resist the way the drugs make her feelbeautiful and popular and connected to the world around her. 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. He goes on to explain from a banned books week article he found, titled banned books that shaped america by jan carmichael, which explains that although the book was useful for a lot of people to be informed about the state of the meat industry, the book was still banned in yugoslavia, east germany, south korea and boston because it had. I picked up this book at our recent friends of the library sale. Oct 27, 2014 i know the book is over 40 years old but go ask alice really feels it. 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. Go ask alice snatched from students national coalition against. 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. Written in diary form, go ask alice walks you through the drug use and. If youre a teacher, this small book will cause you to think about the readings that we give our students.
She was a good girl from a good family, with everything she could want or need. Alices adventures in censorship lewis carroll alice in. The alice munro revealed by her eldest daughter was determined and diligent. An analysis of the book go ask alice by beatrice sparks. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited. 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 is a supposed diary of a young girl caught up in the wild life of drug abuse in the late 1960s. Do you think the book go ask alice should be banned. A mothers objection to language in go ask alice so stirred the principal thatwith no time for discussionhe demanded that the books be. Go ask alice is a diary of a teenage middleclass girl. If you look online, you will find there is much discrepancy about this claim. The title go ask alice was taken from a 1967 jefferson airplane song called white rabbit. Im an advocate for banned stories that teach difficult lessons the easier way, and go ask alice definitely falls into this category.
Poignant and unflinchingly honest, her story is a tragedy that is repeated in towns and cities across the country. On american library associations lists of most banned literature, go. Jun 16, 2002 the alice munro revealed by her eldest daughter was determined and diligent. Attributed to anonymous, the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited real diary of the unnamed teenage p. Banned in kalamazoo, mi 1970, saginaw, mi 1975, eagle pass, tx 1976 and trenton, nj 1976, number 23 on alas 100 most frequently challenged books 1990s, number 8 on the most challenged list in 2001 and number 6 on the same list in 2003. Based on a 15yearolds diary, go ask alice is the intimate account of one girls fatal journey into the world of drug addiction. This is my second read of go ask alice, and i loved it just as much the second time around.
Similarly, banned makes us think about what we read, and what we ask our students and our children to read. 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. Banned books the official alice blog by phyllis reynolds naylor. 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 still awash in controversy, 43 years after publication. Maybe its partly to blame for the disconnect i felt to the characterstory. Explain in detail how the lyrics of the song parallel the story. It graphically describes the waking hell into which the main character descends, her heartfelt but futile battles to. Go ask alice is the firstperson tale of an accidental downward spiral into drugs, alcohol, unwanted sex, and impoverished living. Mar 27, 2008 its difficult to pin the book as banned because the us doesnt officially ban books, specific organizations usually schools or libraries do. Fritz april 7, 2015 go ask alice is a dark adolescent fiction novel written as a diary. 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. Be sure to give several specific examples from the text and the song. But even as i write i know i am telling even a bigger lie.
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. This book is supposedly the real diary of a teenage girl struggling with drug use. 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. Good libraries have a system in place where the protesting adult must read the book he wants banned, write up a report of why, suggest an alternate book, and then his report, plus the librarys defense of the book, go before a committee, and the committee decides whether or not to keep it. Today we feature the year 1993 and go ask alice, by anonymous. Anyway i seem to be doing less and less right, im getting so that no matter what i do i cant please the establishment. Banned books the official alice blog by phyllis reynolds. Now, its the controversy about the creation of the diary that has. Go ask alice is small, 224 under size pages and written in diary format so is a quick read. Beatrice sparks, a teen psychologist and mormon youth counselor was uncovered to have actually written the majority if not the whole entire novel. 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. Alice is an anonymous character and the most we know about her is that she is white, middleclass teenager who struggles to fit. I know that our readers very much appreciate your thoughts about some libraries banning the alice books.
Go ask alice has been around for decades, and is even being used as reading material in high schools. There are more than 5 million copies sold,so why ban it. Go ask alice, which reads like a diary, describes a teenage girls experiences with narcotics and sex. A case against banning go ask alice by hazel dela paz on prezi. 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. By thi time i was finished with the book i knew what i wanted i saw the exciting life i wanted. Well be looking at why the book was challenged, howif things have changed since the book was originally published and what we actually think of the book. Go ask alice simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Around mid1980s, a supposed editor of the book was uncovered.
And people in the north are more likely to complain about institutions than. But it wasnt until 1968, nearly 20 years after her debut in folio the university of western ontarios literary. Apr 07, 2015 on american library associations lists of most banned literature, go ask alice came in as number 25 between years 19901999, number 18 between years 20002009, and in 2003 alone, it ranked number 6 frequently challenged books. Jul 17, 2016 go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years after publication top 100 banned challenged books. The title is from the lyrics to the jefferson airplane song white rabbit. Also there is no exact tally of the number of places that ban a certain book. 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 return home and stay clean, her pleas to god to.
If i look confused during the video, its because im still not quite sure how i feel about this book. Of course, the very fact that a book is on a banned book often makes kids want to read it and find out why. Published in 1971, the novel attempts to expose how drug addiction rampant in the time period can ruin lives. 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. If youre looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our weekly recommendation thread, suggested reading page, or ask in rsuggestmeabook.
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. This story follows the typical template for the say no to drugs genre of liturature. At the 16th of june, alices grandmother died in her sleep. The go ask alice book of answers is a groundbreaking guide that mines the best material from the eponymous awardwinning web site. I know the book is over 40 years old but go ask alice really feels it. So many people mistake the words they are reading as a tool to promote what the book is talking about. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction. A personal opinion on the reasons why the book go ask alice should not be banned. Of the 416 books challenged or banned in 2017, the top 10 most challenged books are.
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 by anonymous beatrice sparks banned library. Its difficult to pin the book as banned because the us doesnt officially ban books, specific organizations usually schools or libraries do. Bookbanners like to take go ask alice out of libraries because they think. Alice acted like she was sick, so she didnt had to go to school. 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. I wanted her life it seemed cool it was a way to lose weight. 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 is a diary novel of a girl, but the reader is never given the authors name. Books similar to go ask alice meet your next favorite book. Go ask alice is still awash in controversy, 43 years. This is the list of books palin tried to have banned. This information is taken from the official minutes of the wasilla library board.
Every time after she uses, she feels guilty and low and vows to stay away. If go ask alice will continue to be banned, how will people like alice be able to relate. Go ask alice banned book project go ask alice when the book. An overview of go ask alice, an anonymous diary of a girl. Thirteen reasons why written by jay asher originally published in 2007, this new york times bestseller has resurfaced as a controversial book after netflix aired a tv series by the same name. Go ask alice by beatrice sparks as anonymous banned books. Grace slick wrote the song based on drug references in the classic novel alices adventures in wonderland by lewis carroll. Go ask alice banned book project go ask alice when the. As powerfuland as timelytoday as ever, go ask alice remains the. After reading go ask alice and preparing a research project on it, i feel that the biggest reason books are banned is because of depiction vs. A lot of the time i dont notice age with books when im lost in a story but i dont think the text has dated well.
In the tradition of go ask alice and lucy in the sky, a harrowing account of anorexia and addiction. Go ask alice when the book was first published in 1971, the novel had no known author or editor as the cover stated anonymous. The chumminess would proceed from here, with each stage. Joel gave her alice a lot of strength and offered her to go to the funeral. After my current reading, i was left feeling uneasy about the ending and how.
Go ask alice ebook by anonymous 9780689832499 rakuten. Someone evil and foul and degenerate wrote in my book, took over my life. Oct 03, 2016 go ask alice has been around for decades, and is even being used as reading material in high schools. Top 10 most challenged books lists advocacy, legislation. 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. Go ask alice, a diary of a teenage girl who fell into drug use and committed suicide, is the most frequently censored book in high school libraries. As a highschooler,go ask alice shouldnt be banned because im mature enough to take in the intense content. 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. Go ask alice by anonymous banned book but was it real.
With over a million copies in print, this book has become a classic. Alice has become one of the most challenged and banned books of all time. In richmond, students sent a petition to the school board to protest the ban, and the richmond. 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. While this was my second time reading go ask alice, my first time. Only parents can decide if they want their children to read go ask alice. From sex and relationships to alcohol and drugs to fitness and nutrition, this comprehensive handbook is the first of its kind to provide muchneeded information for young adults who cannot get reliable or anonymous. Alices adventures in wonderland was originally banned in china and other parts of the world because some people objected to the animal characters being able to use human language.