Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks Book Analysis

Go Ask Alice was published in 1971, since then it has been considered to be one of the most censored books in the whole country. The book is a diary about a 15-year-old girl who fell into drug use and eventually took her own life. Since the book has been written it has been censored multiple times, from explicit language to references about addiction and suicide. To most frustrated parents and school board members, Go Ask Alice is just a book about a troubled girl who falls into drinking and drugs, but I think this book is much more than a story about addiction. I believe Go Ask Alice is important to have in high schools because it shows the truth behind addiction while being transparent about the consequences of your actions. Most importantly it shows the real value of life and how quickly a decision can end it.

Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information in any form of media along with many others that contain topics considered to be “dangerous.” Censorship comes in many different forms for example political and economically however, I want to focus on censorship of books found in schools all over the country. Book censorship is used by authority figures to take measures in suppressing ideas and information found in certain books. This form of censorship not only limits students of information and the possibility for conversation but it goes against our right to choose what we want to read or view as well as the opinions we form about them. This issue of censorship in schools has become progressively worse over the years but students and teachers have begun to voice their opinions on the matter. With schools using book censorship more often it has become a difficult topic to deal with due to all of the different opinions on whether it is the right thing to do in the classroom.

Among these censored books Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks is widely recognized. It is a diary about a young girl who falls into addiction and would soon go down a very troubled path. In February of 2008, it was brought to the attention of a mother, Jill Hunt, after her daughter was assigned to read it in school. After skimming through the book Hunt was extremely concerned, from the “explicit language using street terms for sex and lots of curse words taking God’s name in vain” (postandcourier.com) she decided to bring attention to the problem. The book was then bought to the principal of Hanahan Middle School Robin Rodgers and after hearing continuous complaints from Hunt it was decided to bring it to the school board. From there it was a pretty unanimous decision not only taking in the complaints brought up by Hunt but the book's references about addiction and teen pregnancy. The ultimate result of this complaint was that Go Ask Alice would be banned from Hanahan Middle School as well as the whole Berkeley County School District. This is just one example, but since the book was introduced in 1971 it has been banned multiple times over the years and is still one of the most censored books today. 

In most cases, censoring Go Ask Alice is a very unanimous decision all with the same reasons being for explicit language, containing controversial issues, references to heavy drug use, references to sex, addiction, and suicide. I can understand the concern from parents but I do not think that alone justifies the reason for banning the book. With censoring books I think most times people assume that this is the only answer to the problem, but I think in most cases censoring books is just shying away from the real issues instead. For example, All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson is a memoir about growing up black and queer. It is constantly under fire by parents and it has gone as far as making complaints to the sheriff's department. Just like Go Ask Alice, this book is a resource for younger students who are struggling or just want something or someone to relate to. In no way is it pushing a certain agenda but as I said it can be used as a resource to educate and learn from different perspectives. Just because you don't agree with something in the book like explicit language or certain issues it mentions does not mean everyone else will feel the same way. It is students' and teachers' right to decide what they have available in their classroom to read and view. 

All things considered, I strongly believe that it is the right of teachers and especially students to chose what books they have access to in their classroom. Using censorship to prohibit the use of books is not solving any problems, rather it is “limiting student's exposure to great literature and the real world” as said by the American Library Association. Books are an excellent resource for anyone curious or just simply wanting to escape to another world of thought. Most importantly censoring books limits the possibility for conversation depriving students of different perspectives and opinions ultimately limiting their chance to new experiences.