Looking for Alaska by John Green
- Miles Halter sets off to boarding school his junior year of high school to seek a "Great Perhaps". He finds it. It turns out to be a crazy new group of friends, who drink, smoke, prank, and live an exciting reckless teenage life. This new life changes Miles, who is now nicknamed Pudge, but what changes him most of all is Alaska. She is a crazy emotionally reckless girl with a troubled past and a boyfriend and he falls head over heels in love with her. His life falls apart the night Alaska kisses him and then leaves in a hurry. She was drunk and drove off and died in a car accident. The school was in mourning, but Pudge was devastated him and his roommate became obsessed with discovering the details of the accident. However, they didn't like what they found. They concluded that Alaska's death was a suicide. Why would she do that to them? Why did they let her go? Pudge is left with trying to find his way out of the labyrinth that Alaska created.
- A major theme of the novel is rebuilding your life after tragedy. Pudge struggles with guilt and anger after Alaska's death. He blames himself, but then after discovering it was Alaska's choice, is angry at her. In the end, he learns that the only way out of the labyrinth is forgiveness. He needs to forgive himself and Alaska.
- The tone is straightforward and earnest.
- "You must understand I am a deeply unhappy person."
- "Y'all smoke to enjoy it, I smoke to die."
- "That's why I'm going. So I don't have to wait until I die to start seeking a Great Perhaps."
- Literary Devices:
- Setting: This story must be set in a boarding school for it to make sense. The fact that Pudge and his friends have so much freedom leads to many of their crazy adventures.
- Foreshadow: When Alaska says "Y'all smoke to enjoy it, I smoke to die." that foreshadows her suicide.
- Point of View: Since Pudge was the narrator the audience got insight on his thoughts and feelings.
- Internal Conflict: The whole story after Alaska's death is Pudge dealing with anger and regret.
- Imagery: Green paints the picture of Pudge's dorm room and perfectly describes all of Alaska's mannerisms.
- Dialogue: The audience learns about Alaska's and Pudge's other friends' personalities through Pudge's conversations with them.
Characterization
- Direct Characterization : "And now is as good as time as any to say that she was beautiful...She had the kind of eyes that predisposed you to supporting her every endeavor."Green used this because the story is told from the point of view of Pudge he can learn about a character throught his thoughts on that character. Indirect Characterization : "She didn't even glance at me. She just smiled towards the television and said, 'You never get me. That's the whole point.' "Green also used this because he left it up to the audience to discover the character's personalities and why they did what they did. This made the book more relatable, because the reader can make their own inferences on character's personalities.
- The syntax and diction is the same throughout, because the whole story is told through Pudge's point of view.
- The main character, Pudge, is extremely dynamic. He begins the story as a simple nerd with an unexciting life, but takes a chance on the Great Perhaps. He transforms into a daring, adventurous teenager. Also, he falls in love for the first time, which was a giant reason behind his transformation. With these new feelings the depth in his personality grew and with the loss of his love the depth and strength of his personality grew even more.
- YES. This is my favorite book by far. It was beautifully written and full of amazing quotes applicable to anyone's life. I recommend this book to everyone. Green creates a new world and characters that are so real and easy to fall in love with. I cried at Alaska's death. How do you find your way out of the labyrinth that is life? You can't tell me that doesn't get your wheels spinning. I loved it.
