~Julia's Blog~

Relate an event in your reading to an event in your life

Julia's Blog! — Wed, 06 May 2009 00:54:28 +0000

Go Ask Alice is about a girl battling her drug addiction and her everyday life. She runs away twice and gets mixed up in shady situations. No matter what the main character can never seem to end her addiction and it results in her death.

I know that this is a MUCH tamer situation, but my dad and I kinda have the same addiction problem as the main character, only with chocolate. I know this sounds quite ridiculous and not on the same level at drug addiction, but my dad and I both have a chocolate addiction. I keep going through the same thing as the main character, I try and cut back on the amount of chocolate I consume, but can never fully wean myself off of it, without breaking down and eating more. Just like the main character I can’t fully find the willpower to end my addiction. Like I said, this definitely isn’t as serious as drugs, but the willpower levels are the same. Unlike the main character I am finding that I can effectively cut down on my chocolate intake, but it does take a TON of willpower.

So in that sense I can relate to the main character.

Just in case that event isn’t exactly right, I have another one. This one is a bit more vague.

There was a antique dealer who lived down the street from us who had a drug addiction. I didn’t know about it, but my parents and the other antique dealers did. All I can remember is that he would get sick a lot and whenever I saw him, sometimes he would be in a good mood or a depressed one. He was always very pale looking and shaky. He looked so fragile. He would get sick a lot and then one day he died, the drugs made him so sick. The main character had the same mood swings and one day, just like him, she died on an overdose. It’s very scary.

A theme in the book

Julia's Blog! — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:54:47 +0000

A theme in the book is Watch out, don’t make the same mistakes. The main character finds herself repeating the same mistakes and not recognizing them or having the willpower to stop. The first time she accidently takes drugs, she consoles herself that it won’t happen again. It does. She makes the same mistake and finds herself being pulled into a cyclone of problems. She will take drugs and then swear off of them, then find herself taking them all over again. It’s a vicious pattern and if only the main character could stop herself from repeating the mistake then her life would’ve changed and she might not have had to experienced what she did. The main character runs away and when she returns home, is happy and relieved and ready to start over. Then she gets mixed up in drugs again and runs away a second time. Noticing a pattern? The main character keeps repeating the same mistakes and can’t stop or won’t stop. I don’t think she even realizes that she is repeating the mistakes. The mistakes lead to her death, we will never know if she took the drugs herself or did someone else trick her into taking them. It was the ominous ending, that so many mistakes can cost you your life or something that can’t be fixed or stopped. It seems like the main character had so many chances to end the addiction and start her life over, but every time she lets it slip through her fingers.

If the main character had been more viligant or more open minded, would she have noticed the pattern and ended it while she could? Did she already notice that she was making the same mistakes, but didn’t stop it?

Her parents also made the same mistakes of continually believing that she will recover and end the addiction even though the main character was being pressured in school to return to drugs. If her parents noticed how trusting they were and how their daughter ran away twice, would they have acted in a different way?

The theme is a warning, but unfortunately for the main character and her family, the warning came too late.

A line that stands out to me

Julia's Blog! — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:31:56 +0000

I’m so very, very grateful that they don’t hate me, because in a lot of ways I hate myself.

This line especially stands out to me. It feels like to me that the main character is really admitting to herself that she has made so many mistakes, that can’t be fixed. I think it also shows that her parents really care about her and how grateful she is that someone still loves her despite the main characters past. I think this line also shows how we really can destroy the confidence, trust and respect we have for ourselves. The main character recognizes that she no longer respects herself or her many decisions that she’s made.

This line is important because you get some insight into the real main character and who she really is. It is a line that shows through to the real girl who was affected by her drug abuse and experiences. It really reflects how hurt she was emotionally and physically. I think this line is also is important because the main character still wants someone to care and love her. She still wants to pull herself back into a normal life. I think the line is also a sub-conscience plea for someone to believe in her and love, because she no longer does.

I just feel like this line really came from the depth of the main character, that the, what may seem offhand statement, is really one of the most truthful sentences in the whole book.

The line also means that the main character is owning up to her past. She isn’t forgetting it or putting it behind her. She isn’t not blaming the experiences and drug abuse on her, but realizing that what she did was wrong and that she should have stopped sooner, when she could’ve fought the addiction. The main character is embracing her mistakes and her past and finding out that she really is mad at herself for letting herself to that do her life.

The line says that it is possible to destroy the love and trust in ourselves. Can it ever be regained?

Referring something to Elizabeth

Julia's Blog! — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:02:22 +0000

Elizabeth, I am also referring you to another poem. This poem is also depressing, but I think you might enjoy it.

The poem is really open for interpretation, but I always thought about how sometimes no matter what we can’t control the things that happen to us. I also think that the poem is about how maybe reality isn’t everything it seems. That the life we are living, is it real? If we have no hope or happiness, was there really any in the beginning? It’s a confusing poem. But I hope you have fun interpreting it. I have always loved this poem because of the mystery of it.

A Dream Within a Dream
by Edgar Allen Poe

Take this kiss upon the brow! And, in parting from you now, Thus much let me avow: You are not wrong who deem That my days have been a dream; Yet if hope has flown away In a night, or in a day, In a vision, or in none, Is it therefore the less gone? All that we see or seem Is but a dream within a dream. I stand amid the roar Of a surf-tormented shore, And I hold within my hand Grains of the golden sand-- How few! yet how they creep Through my fingers to the deep, While I weep--while I weep! O God! can I not grasp Them with a tighter clasp? O God! can I not save One from the pitiless wave? Is all that we see or seem But a dream within a dream?

A set of questions

Julia's Blog! — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:48:41 +0000

1. Why can the main character never fully end her addiction? Is there a part of her that is holding her back or does she need more help than she is receiving?

2. Is it that drugs that makes the main character change? If you look at who she was at the beginning of the book and at the end, they are two different girls. The beginning is about her loosing weight and Roger and by the end it’s a girl who has experienced life and is stronger (even though she did die). Would that have happened if the main character hadn’t experienced the affects of her drug abuse? Would she still have grown mentally?

3. If someone had interfered would the main character have still ended up dying? I know that there was some interference, but obviously not enough.

Compare and Contrast 2 characters- main character and parents

Julia's Blog! — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:09:46 +0000

Can I count her parents as one? They normally are talked about together and you don’t get to know each separate parent that well.

The main character will sometimes confide in her parents. In the beginning when she first takes the drugs she doesn’t mention it to her parents, thinking that now she has tried them she won’t take them ever again. When she starts to become addicted, her parents still don’t notice. You would think that her parents would start to notice the difference in the main character, but she never mentions it in her diary. Then she runs away and you never know if her parents searched for her constantly while she was gone. I imagine that they did.

When the main character is trying to stay off of drugs, she tells her parents about the kids in school who put drugs in her bag and leer at her. Her father advises her to ignore them. By then they are both aware of how drugs was an influence in their daughters life.

What drives me crazy, is that after all the trouble and heartache the family went through the main character still ends up dying. Were her parents not viligant enough to notice that the main character might be taking drugs again? Did they just not recognize the signs? I will always be curious about that. I will always wonder, what her parents thought after the main character died. Did they think they did everything they could for their daughter? Did they wish they acted sooner about the main character drug usage? Did they regret not taking harder measures to fully make sure that the main character would never take the drugs again? I know that that is a lot of questions, but I will always be curious about that.

Otherwise, I wish that the main character had told her parents more and relayed to them that she needed more help with ending the addiction. I wonder how hard it was on the family during this time? I bet her parents were very upset when the main character ran away from home both times and as she sunk deeper into addiction. They probably questioned what went wrong, was it the way they raised their children? Was it just an unfortunate experience with drugs that never got solved? If they had stepped in would the drug abuse still have continued?

What I always think is interesting is how surprised the main character is when she finds out that her parents still love her after running away and after a long series of events, ending up in a Youth Center. I am so grateful that they don’t hate me, because in a lot of ways I hate myself. (pg. 144) I can see the main character’s point of view, but what really pulls at my heart in this sentence is “in a lot of ways I hate myself.” I don’t know why but that sentence just rips me apart. I think it would hurt her parents too. I am grateful that they loved her too.

A symbol in the book

Julia's Blog! — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:34:19 +0000

A symbol in Go Ask Alice is the diary itself. The whole story is told from the diary, which the main character is writing in. The diary is her onl comfort object through the terrifying situations the mainc character goes through. When she runs away, she brings her diary and continues to write. To be specific, writing is a symbol in the book. It is a place for the main character to relieve her fears and experiences without being judged or having to justify her actions. I think she also writes to rid herself of the millions of emotions she feels. The main character tells the diary her dreams of being a social worker and how it is the only thing that understands her. She has a strong trust for the diary that she confides everything in. I also think that the main character doesn’t have a lot to depend on in her life. She can’t depend on her on willpower, her friends and even sometimes her parents. The diary she can always depend on to keep her secrets, hold her emotions and help her sort through her thoughts.

No matter what the main character went through she would record it in her diary. It was the only thing she could tell. The diary symbolizes the dreams, secrets, fears, mistakes and happiness that the main character and everyone around the world may or have felt.

A part of the book I would change

Julia's Blog! — Sun, 03 May 2009 04:10:02 +0000

I would have changed the part at the party when the main character happens to try the drugs. If only it was someone else who took them. It was that one party to change her whole life. It could’ve prevented her from ever trying drugs, you never know. Which would have altered the whole book and the main character probably wouldn’t have completely messed up her life. There is a chance that she still would’ve taken them somewhere else, but I felt like that part of the book was critical.

I would’ve changed the ending. I know that you said this too Elizabeth, but I agree with you. I was so upset that she died. The main character had finally started to get her life under control and ended her diary. I wish she kept writing. The ending will always remain a mystery, which bothers me. I want to know why she had the overdose, why she was taking drugs again. It also was depressing. The main character went through so much, her life spinning radically out of control. She experienced the harder parts of life in such a small time period and finally was starting her life over. It was another part of the book when you are hopeful for the character, then she does something to disappoint you. Only this time, she died. There were no more second, third or fourth chances. I wish that she lived, so she could give hope to all people going through hard times or addictions and prove that you really can start a new life. IF ONLY SHE WROTE IN HER DIARY. I would’ve wanted to hear her thoughts and what caused her to have the overdoes.

Analyze a character- main character

Julia's Blog! — Sat, 02 May 2009 16:56:11 +0000

The main character is nameless. You never find out her name during the book. She is a very confused teenage girl, with good intentions, but gets caught up in dangerous activities.

She tried drugs at a party and soon found herself trying more and getting addicted. At moments she will be so dependent on drugs and do the stupidest things. Other times she will be mentally strong and sure that she can pull through without help, but willpower. The main character wants to help other girls with drug addictions for a living, but can’t even get past her own.

The main character really does try, not enough though. Every time her life starts taking a turn for the better and your hopes raise, she runs away or takes more drugs. The main character is very persuasive in her writing. When she writes about taking drugs and the high she feels, you can almost see it yourself. She convinces you that she is addicted. Then when she’s completely clean, she will write about her need to quit and her want to help other people. She will promise to never take drugs again. You find yourself believing her and encouraging her.

The main character seems a little weak sometimes. She will give in to taking more drugs at a party, with no resistance. If only she had the willpower to tell herself to disregard drugs and the fact that her friends might use them.

By the end of the book, you have hope for the main character, I was really disappointed when she ended her diary, she seemed like she needed something or someone to confide to.

I think the main character is very innocent too. She just randomly happens to try drugs at a party and still doesn’t understand what happened. She never really thinks of herself having an addiction, she’s convinced she can fight it. She sleeps with guys and gets raped, but still thinks that she’s a virgin, especially when she dates Joel. So much happens to her in such a short time period, that she isn’t trying to convince herself she hasn’t done anything wrong, but still hasn’t been able to comprehend all of the mistakes she made.

The main character has good intentions and is a very nice girl, but gets mixed up in trouble and can’t pull herself out. It ends up costing her, her life.

Free Choice 60-120

Julia's Blog! — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:36:08 +0000

I was really happy when the main character decided to call her parents and go home. The “boutique” she had with Chris, started to get very sketchy. It was one of the moments when you think that the main character is capable of getting help with her drug addiction. She seems to start all over again. Unfortunately, she finds herself drifting. It’s so disturbing to hear her talk about drugs. Sometimes she will state that life is nothing without them. The next day she will contradict herself. She can never fully pull herself from the addiction of drugs.

I was so disappointed when she ran away for the second time. It confused me a little in the writing, until I understood that she ran away from home, AGAIN. Except this time, she wasn’t in a very good situation. She met her friend, Doris, who has had a very depressing life. She was raped by her step-father and went into a juvenile home, until she could be placed into a foster home. She got introduced to drugs by another teenage girl and kept sleeping with some other teenage boys, who were also in the home. The main character got really depressed and I was really worried about her, till she started talking to a priest who helped her contact her parents.

The main character makes it home and seems to be starting over and trying to stay strong. I don’t understand the fit that the main character has on the floor of her bedroom floor. What was happening?

I feel awful about her grandfather having a stroke and dying. I really like Joel. He seems really sweet and I like how they meet at the library and spend time there together.

She seems to be getting on a better path. It sounds promising.