Character Clues

Character Analysis

Actions

Actions are one of the ways we learn who Alice truly is, no matter what she writes in the diary. For example, she is always promising herself that she will never do drugs again (for various reasons), and yet, a few entries later she is back on drugs. For example:

I don't know why I shouldn't use drugs, because they're wild and they're beautiful and they're wonderful, but I know I shouldn't, and I won't! I won't ever again. I hereby solemnly promise that I will from this very day forward live so that everyone I know can be proud of me and so that I can be proud of myself! (49.4)

Then, about a week later she writes:

They were all going to trip on acid, and since I'd been cooped up for so long I decided I might as well take one last trip too. (53.1)

So much for your willpower, Alice. Each time we repeat this process with her we learn that, to borrow a cliché for a minute, actions speak louder than words. So time and again, we see that Alice is well-intentioned but weak, a total pushover to peer-pressure, and (we hate to say it, but…) maybe not so good at learning from her mistakes.

Clothing

Even though we don't get a whole lot of information regarding Alice's wardrobe, the little tidbits we are given speak volumes. Her progression from naïve suburbanite to full-on hippie drug addict is not-so-subtly illustrated by her clothing.

In the beginning of the book she is sewing her own clothes with a little help from her mom—a soft white dress, no less. (Say it with us: In the land of symbolism, white often equals purity.) Then her parents start getting a bit peeved about her hippie tendencies when she meets Chris and her whole look changes:

Today I went down to this great little boutique and found a cute pair of moccasins and a vest with fringe and a really great pair of pants. Chris, the girl who works there, showed me how to iron my hair (which I did tonight) and now it's perfectly straight. (68.2)

Now she's gone from this to this. And that shift isn't just superficial—Chris becomes her drug buddy and constant sidekick through psychedelics.

Finally, when Alice calls her parents for help after her awful adventures in California, she is forced to borrow and trade for clothing that she's hoping won't offend her parents when they see her:

I look kind of square because I don't want to seem weird when my parents get here. I've got my hair tied back in a ponytail and I traded clothes with the most conservative girl I could find, and I'm wearing an old pair of white tennies I found in the gutter. (169.3)

Her escapades have worn her out and she wants to go home and feel safe and cared for once more, so Alice's clothing shifts accordingly to try to appeal to her parents. What's so cool about using this method of characterization is that you could probably piece together her whole story if we just told it in pictures.

Speech and Dialogue

Did you notice how Alice's language changes throughout the diary? In the beginning she is naïve and earnest. For instance:

I've made myself a new white soft wool dress. Mother helped me and it's really beautiful. Someday I hope I can sew as well as she does. In fact someday I hope I can be like her. I wonder if when she was my age she worried about boys not liking her and girls being only her part-time friends. (17.1)

Such a good kid, right? Like, every parent's little dream. When Alice starts doing drugs, though, she adopts more of the hippie lingo. Check it:

And besides it's a lot easier for guys to get busted than for girls. At first it was pretty hard to keep my cool around the Establishment, but since I'm now Richie's chick all the way I have to do what I can to help him. (76.3)

Doesn't it sound like she's trying a little too hard? Like she's just adopting these phrases to fit in, right? Especially since we know she's the same girl who wrote that first excerpt about wanting to be just like her good-sewing mom.

And then, when Alice is really hitting rock-bottom, this is what she writes:

Another day, another blow job. The fuzz has clamped down till the town is mother dry. If I don't give Big Ass a blow he'll cut off my supply. Hell, I'm shaking on the inside more than I'm shaking on the outside. What a bastard world without drugs! (165)

What a difference, huh? She's not putting on any act now—she has really changed—and not necessarily for the better. Her word choices echo how she feels: dirty, vulgar, and unworthy of respect.