Preview

Looking For Alaska

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
814 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Looking For Alaska
'Looking for Alaska', John Green's Debut novel was published in 2005.The novel is about a group of lost, but additionally very intelligent teenagers, who attend Culver Creek Boarding School for their first junior year. They are on the contrary to shallow, more or less precise opposite; Alaska Young, Miles Halter and Chip Martin's thought are as deep as the Mariana trench. Their complicated way of looking at life, thirst for an adventure, seeking simplicity and comprehension in an intricate world will eventually end up hurting them. "If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane" was Miles imagery of Alaska after her tragic death.
Even though the novel is written via Miles perspective the entire structure of the story revolves around Alaska's death. This is from one hundred and thirty six days before, where we see Miles as a dull, anti-social geek; to one hundred and thirty six days after where we see Miles as 'Pudge', a well developed man with friends, who smoked cigarettes and drank wine. Even before the actual death occurs, death is a recurring theme, from Alaska's mother's death to Miles trying to find out what happens to oneself upon dying. Miles is obsessed with peoples last words; dying words. The very actual thought of last words completely fascinates him. Alaska is a character in this book who is completely associated with death. It has played an important role in her life and will play an important role in the lives of the characters lives after her life is brought to an abrupt end. It makes the characters rediscover so much more about about themselves. We become acquainted with the characters through their actions and conversations. Alaska Young behaves in a most reckless manner.is such an interesting, beautiful, enigmatic individual, nevertheless so self-destructive. Just two days before she is gone forever, the boys learn that they hardly knew the girl they love so fervently (during 'Barn Night').
January 9th, 1997 was the turning point

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The novel Looking for Alaska by John Green takes place in Culver Creek, Alabama. This book was pleasurable to read and is recommended.…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book, Red Kayak, by Priscilla Cummings, there are multiple themes. A theme is the main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work and it can be directly stated or implied. Being able to understand a theme is critical to decipher an author’s message. One of the numerous themes in Red Kayak is that death is everywhere and it can be very hard to deal with. In Red Kayak, Brady along with his friends, J.T. and Digger, live in the Chesapeake bay region of Maryland. All of them have great memories together and have been friends for a long time. Soon, rich people start moving in close proximity to where Brady and his parents live. This upsets families and friends (especially Digger). When Mrs. and Mr. DiAngelo move in, Brady discovers that…

    • 201 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The English who founded Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent settlement, came with the intent of finding gold and getting rich by trading with the Indians. As a result of the settler's eagerness for money, they failed to think about the location on which they chose to settle, the swamp. This geographic condition started the colony off to a negative start. The southern colonies did however, have a warm climate, swamps, and thick rich soil. None of the original settlers of the Southern colonies were use to working; therefore they had no food to eat. When John Smith, a key leader in keeping Virginia alive, said to his colonists "No work, no food  the colonists took control and began a new life. As a result of the location of Jamestown, many…

    • 266 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Near the end of the story, the reader wonders why each time Bobby Lee and Hiram takes someone into the forest, they never come back. Well at the end of the story the whole family is taken to die. June Star's comment that the grandmother goes everywhere the family goes can be read as a sign that she will meet the same fate as them. There's also another blatant foreshadowing in the story. The author describes that the grandmother is dressed very nice on the trip and the reason she gives is, "In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady." When a person dies, they usually are dressed in their best outfit, just like the grandmother was dressed in what seemed to be her Sunday best. This shows that there shouldn't be a shock if something fatal happens to her at the end. There's also one interesting foreshadowing image placed into the short story. While on the trip the family, "Passed by a cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island." It's pretty fascinating how the number of graves matches the exact number…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Looking for Alaska is a novel written by John Green set in Alabama specifically the campus at the Culver Creek boarding school with the exception of a few important locations such as the Smoking Hole. The story is narrated in the first person through the perspective of Miles “Pudge” Halter, which has its disadvantages as he turns into a mental wreck after the death of Alaska.…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Islands of Southeast Alaska are unique like no other place in the world. Its rich and luxurious customs and cultures draw awe from throughout the planet. This area’s beautiful geography provides a breathtaking view to all who visit here.…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It begins with the words, ‘Then suddenly,' this immediately tells us that something significant happened. His father died, and with his death, his mother gave up on life. There is a touch of irony in the passage, because she waited all that time for him to return and it was just a fantasy. The children knew he would never return but in all that time she clung on to that hope. Their father's death ended any reason and happiness that his mother had. The writer conveys an underlying note of blame in this paragraph. He says ‘the coldness of that which killed her.' He explains how his mother was faithful to his father, waited thirty-five years for praise, raised his family and all she expected in return was for him to return to her. In dying he also killed off any dreams for the future that she had. The writer informs us that his mother became ‘simple minded and returned to her youth.' The thin shreds of sanity that she had had finally been severed when his father died. They buried her under the end of the beech-wood, not far from her four year old daughter, this sentence tells us that when she died they buried her near to nature where she was most happy. There is a great deal of sadness in the last…

    • 1094 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Rude- he said no when Jessie wanted to help his lemonade stand. He also told Jessie he didn’t want her in the same class as him.…

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    As time passes and as the world shifts, people pass away and they never come back. People who are left on the world, now without the others’ presence, must live with knowing they will never get to see them again and that now all they have left is the memories of when their loved ones were still around. Judd Mulvaney has the realisation and through it, the reader is able to see how he is caring and innocent. His naivety is something not to be ashamed of, nor is it something that he should keep. He must learn about death in order to move on and live life to the fullest of his own potential. From here, he can treasure each step, each moment, and each breath, knowing that he only gets this one shot to live. And he…

    • 1349 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout history, human beings have always been intrigued by the cycle they are destined to follow: The Circle of Life. They question things that they cannot answer such as what comes before, what comes after, and what they will do to cope when they lose someone they love. William Armstrong and Thornton Wilder are two authors who chose to write about the thing that is often forgotten: life itself. William Armstrong’s novel Sounder consists of a mother and a boy who cope very differently with death. The boy is hopeful and optimistic, while his mother’s outlook has been shaped by the hardships she faced. She looks death straight in the eye and is not discouraged but sings out, “When life is so tiresome, there ain’t no peace like the greatest peace--the peace of the Lord’s hand holding you.” In Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town, death is…

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    before section of the book, he starts off as plain Miles, he is unhappy and has no friends. Once he starts attending Culver Creek, he is now Pudge. He starts to do rebellious things, such as drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. After Alaska dies, he finds the real him He discovers The Great Perhaps and moves on with his life. Throughout the book he isn’t just looking for The Great Perhaps, he’s looking for his true identity. Alaska’s death helps him with discovering both of the goals. His self-identity crisis is his character vs. self conflict.…

    • 323 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alaska

    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In 1916 James Wickersham, Alaska's non-voting delegate to Congress, introduced the first bill that proposed Alaska’s Statehood to Congress. Like many past attempts, the bill gathered virtually no support. In 1955, the territorial legislature passed legislation permitting a constitutional convention. Alaskan voters elected fifty-five delegates from across the territory. They met at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks in November 1955 to write a constitution for the proposed state. Alaskans voted approval of the constitution in April 1956. The new constitution was set to take effect when and if Congress granted statehood for Alaska. Efforts finally paid off in 1958 when Congress approved statehood for Alaska. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Bill into law on July 7, 1958. Alaskans accepted statehood as presented in the federal law the following month and elected their first state officials in November.…

    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alienation

    • 2414 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Christopher and Holden’s Experience with death eventually ends up in their social isolation. The death of Christopher’s mother unknowingly leads to his social isolation. To illustrate, Christopher comes home from school one day and no body is home which is unusual, when his father gets home he then says to Christopher that his mother is in the hospital, and later goes on to say his mother has died.…

    • 2414 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout this journal, one can question why the author wrote the book from the perspective of death and what will happen to Max Vandenburg. Initially, there is the question of why the narrator of the novel is the entity of death. One answer to this question is that writing the book through death’s perspective is both creative and different. Having death speaking personally to you on the first page is a unique draw-in. There are no other books popularly known that can claim to have such a narrator, which makes it stand out from its competition on the bookshelves. As the New York Times states in a review for the book, “brilliant… It’s the kind of book that can be life-changing” (Zusak). This quote clearly shows that the author’s decision in having death be…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Lovely Bones

    • 1289 Words
    • 6 Pages

    To begin with, first person narrative is used by Sebold to portray the idea of loss and grief and how different people move on in different circumstances. Susie Salmon, the main character is used in this case. After being raped and murdered in 1973 at only 14 years old, she acts as an omniscience narrator. Through this, the audience is given different perspectives on her death and how each of her family and friends deal with her tragic loss. Susie also speaks of her own desires and how she longed ‘to grow up’. Family members appear to deal with Susie’s loss in a different way as they each experience different emotions. However Susie never judges them on their individual coping mechanisms. For example, her mother condones in a ‘merciful adultery’ with Len Fernerman and this demonstrates that there are no right or wrong ways to grieve a sudden loss. Her father shows his grievance through revenge whereas the likes of Lindsay, Ray and Ruth keep their emotions to themselves. As Susie herself struggles to accept her death, she spends up to 8 years watching her family mourn and this further emphasizes to the audience that grieving a loss is a long journey and that time cannot be substituted. Through the use of this first person narrative, Sebold uses a dead character to teach the audience about loss and grief and how time is the only way to heal the pain it inflicts. As each death is different, they are also dealt differently by those directly affected and this subsequently teaches the audience to be more accepting and sensitive when it comes to the individual process of grieving.…

    • 1289 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays