What does Miles "Pudge" Halter want? He wants to find himself. He wants to fit in at his new school and a girlfriend. But not just any girlfriend. An Alaska Young girlfriend. There's just one small problem. She already has a boyfriend that she loves.
What does Alaska want? She wants to escape the labyrinth of suffering. There's just one small problem. She doesn't know how to do that. There's always pain and there's always suffering.
What does The Colonel want? He just wants to have a good time, but not get expelled from the school. The Colonel would also like to be happy with his girlfriend by not continuously fighting.
There are many themes that are appearing in Looking for Alaska. To name a couple, there are self discovery and that people are complex and cannot be fully understood. Pudge went out to Culver Creek to discover his "Great Perhaps". He wanted to know who he was and see what life had to offer him. Pudge was in love with Alaska, even though he only knew a little about her life. After the crash, he realized he didn't know some of the most important events in her life. Pudge then realized why she did all the things she did. He found her mysterious and that was what made her intriguing.
Looking for Alaska is structured in a very unique way. Instead of chapters, each event is categorized by "days before" and "days after" Alaska's death. In the beginning of the book, you didn't know what Pudge was counting down to. As the days lessen and lessen, you start to predict what is going to happen. Then, finally, you get to "the day after" and your heart just drops. The entire mood of the story changes.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Looking for Alaska- Summer Assignment Post 1
It's not hard to tell that one of the main characters in Looking for Alaska by John Green is Alaska, hence the title of the book. But who are the other characters? The story is told in the point of view of Miles "Pudge" Halter, the new kid at Culver Creek High School in Alabama. During his first day arriving at his new school as a junior, he befriends his roommate, Chip Martin, aka "The Colonel". Not long after meeting The Colonel, he is introduced to Alaska Young, the breathtaking and rebellious girl on campus. Pudge has feelings for her almost instantaneously.
In order to smoke cigarettes without getting caught by The Eagle (the code name for the school's principal), the friends go off to the "Smoking Hole" by the river, where they believe The Eagle can't smell their smoke. During this time, Alaska says, "'Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die'" (Green 44). After reading these words, I just knew that something was going to happen to Alaska. And I was right.
Alaska dies in a car crash about halfway through the book. Everyone is devastated. Everyone thinks it was an accident...except Pudge and The Colonel. They were the only two with Alaska that night. And they're not convinced that it was an accident. Maybe it was a suicide? Maybe it really was an accident and they're just over thinking things? To find out the answer, the two set off gathering anything and everything they can that relates to her death.
Were they responsible for her death since they let her out driving, even though she was drunk and upset? Or are they just putting too much on themselves while trying to cope with their best friend's death? I think the answer to these questions is yes. Yes, they shouldn't have let Alaska go out in the middle of the night while intoxicated and emotionally upset. But, yes, they are putting too much on themselves. If it really was a suicide, then there was nothing they could've done to save her.
In a way, this book reminds me of the book, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Sure, in Jay Asher's book you know it's a suicide and in John Green's you're trying to figure out if it is or not, but they're both trying to figure out why the character died.
In order to smoke cigarettes without getting caught by The Eagle (the code name for the school's principal), the friends go off to the "Smoking Hole" by the river, where they believe The Eagle can't smell their smoke. During this time, Alaska says, "'Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die'" (Green 44). After reading these words, I just knew that something was going to happen to Alaska. And I was right.
Alaska dies in a car crash about halfway through the book. Everyone is devastated. Everyone thinks it was an accident...except Pudge and The Colonel. They were the only two with Alaska that night. And they're not convinced that it was an accident. Maybe it was a suicide? Maybe it really was an accident and they're just over thinking things? To find out the answer, the two set off gathering anything and everything they can that relates to her death.
Were they responsible for her death since they let her out driving, even though she was drunk and upset? Or are they just putting too much on themselves while trying to cope with their best friend's death? I think the answer to these questions is yes. Yes, they shouldn't have let Alaska go out in the middle of the night while intoxicated and emotionally upset. But, yes, they are putting too much on themselves. If it really was a suicide, then there was nothing they could've done to save her.
In a way, this book reminds me of the book, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Sure, in Jay Asher's book you know it's a suicide and in John Green's you're trying to figure out if it is or not, but they're both trying to figure out why the character died.
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