Contemporary Realistic Fiction: Looking for Alaska by John Green

Green, John. 2005. LOOKING FOR ALASKA. New York, NY: Dutton Books. ISBN 0-525-47506-0

Plot Summary: This poignant coming-of-age novel is about Miles, a quirky, shy teenager from Florida whose hobbies are reading biographies and collecting famous last words. When he goes to boarding school in Alabama, he meets a collection of characters who become his best friends: Chip (The Colonel), Alaska, Takumi, and Lara. He finds comfort in finding other outcasts and they quickly bond. They engage in anti-establishment behavior, like drinking, smoking, and breaking curfew. Miles (nicknamed Pudge because of his thin build) is physically drawn to Alaska, a troubled girl whose mother died in front of her. Alaska is guilty because she did not think to call 911 and it quickly becomes apparent that she is a tortured soul.

Miles, while longing for Alaska, begins a relationship with Lara who merely serves as a substitute for what Miles cannot have. Chip, nicknamed the Colonel, is the leader of the band of misfits and provides much comic relief. He is a genius from a very poor family who attends the school on scholarship. The two main adults, The Eagle (the school headmaster) and a teacher of religion, Dr. Hyde, nicknamed The Old Man, are stern, yet play important roles. Dr. Hyde, in particular, provides Miles with answers to his questions in the context of the major world religions, the subject he teaches.

Ultimately, Alaska self destructs and the reader is left to speculate whether it was an accident or suicide. The remaining friends stage a school prank in her honor in order to find closure. The book ends with Miles, older and wiser, coming to terms with Alaska’s death through writing. The reader is left to wonder what happens to The Colonel, Takumi, Lara, and especially Miles, yet feeling optimistic that they will each make it through the labyrinth of high school and later the labyrinth that is life.

Critical Analysis: The main characters: Miles, The Colonel, and Alaska are three-dimensional and form a central triumvirate. Since they are so well defined, the reader will be able to identify with one or the other, especially Miles, who allows the reader to vicariously experience his life without engaging in the questionable activities (smoking, drinking, pranking). Angst-ridden teenage girls will perhaps see glimpses of themselves in Alaska and The Colonel as the ringleader will appeal to those bright students who often work behind the scenes to make things happen.

The two main adult characters, The Eagle and The Old Man, serve very important roles as both the voices of authority but later as the voices of wisdom. The dialog is believable and the author does not use too much slang, which would date the novel. Green’s brilliant use of time with headings of ninety-eight days before and the day after creates anticipation in the reader and fosters speculation. While the reader has an inkling that something is going to happen to someone, they are not sure what or to whom until ‘after’. The conclusion is satisfying and most things are resolved, although the reader never knows whether Alaska’s death was suicide or accident. The ending is cautiously hopeful, if not truly happy.

Green’s description of the boarding school is generic and while the setting is believable and accurate it does not become dated. Setting the action in a boarding school creates the feeling that the characters are on their own, away from parental influence, where their independence can flourish. The themes revolve around dealing with life and death and the author uses the metaphor of a labyrinth to describe life. The big question becomes how to escape the labyrinth and whether this involves actual death or just coming to terms with one’s on mortality. Green’s use of profanity and teenspeak makes the book contemporary and appealing to teenagers and naming the main female character Alaska could also be described as symbolic: Alaska as distant, wild, disconnected (both the character and the state).

Miles first person narrative immediately draws the reader into his world and he is sometimes morose, sometimes elated – something that the reader can truly identify with. Although Miles’ viewpoint is male, both genders are represented in the book and no stereotypes are noted, discounting the stereotype of adult authority represented throughout the book. Socioeconomic issues are brought to the forefront with Miles’ solid middle-class background contrasted with The Colonel’s more humble origins. The author does not stereotype the only Asian character, Takumi, and although he does somewhat stereotype The Colonel’s mother, a resident of a trailer park, he does not make fun of her; on the contrary, he presents her as a wonderful person who is beloved by her son. The usual high school cliques are presented: the jocks, the rich kids, the superficial teenage girl, yet these stereotypes are necessary to serve as a counterbalance to the “outsiders”.

This well-written, funny-yet-sad, coming-of-age novel should withstand the test of time and may even one day be put in the same category as other great novels of this genre: A Separate Peace and The Catcher in the Rye.

Reviews:

Awards: Michael L Printz Award, ALA Best Books for Young Adults, Booklist Editor’s Choice, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

School Library Journal:

“Sixteen-year-old Miles Halter's adolescence has been one long nonevent - no challenge, no girls, no mischief, and no real friends. Seeking what Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps," he leaves Florida for a boarding school in Birmingham, AL. His roommate, Chip, is a dirt-poor genius scholarship student with a Napoleon complex who lives to one-up the school's rich preppies. Chip's best friend is Alaska Young, with whom Miles and every other male in her orbit falls instantly in love. She is literate, articulate, and beautiful, and she exhibits a reckless combination of adventurous and self-destructive behavior. The chapters of the novel are headed by a number of days "before" and "after" what readers surmise is Alaska's suicide. These placeholders sustain the mood of possibility and foreboding, and the story moves methodically to its ambiguous climax. The language and sexual situations are aptly and realistically drawn, but sophisticated in nature. Miles's narration is alive with sweet, self-deprecating humor, and his obvious struggle to tell the story truthfully adds to his believability.”

Children’s Literature:

“This is an amazing first novel by a writer who is young enough to vividly remember his poignant years of high school and skillful enough to turn his memories into story. Green quickly establishes the reality of his unique character and immediately hooks teen audiences by describing his desire to fit in, his passion for collecting the last words of the famous, and his desire for sex and fun. The other characters are equally appealing, and young adult readers will understand why it takes no time at all for Miles to become a smoking, drinking prankster who cavorts around with his zany roommate, "the Colonel" and the wild, beautiful, eccentric, sexually-liberated Alaska Young. Believable, often-humorous dialogue and strong feelings fill the story of a young boy who is far greater than a collection of adolescent impulses. Miles is driven to understand what Rabelais calls "Great Perhaps" as well as what motivates the unfathomable Alaska. His urges for sex are balanced by his need to grasp life's mystery, especially when tragedy interrupts what looked like a romp of a first year away from home. The story is rough, realistic and compelling. Unlike the other award-winning books, this title has characterizations that connect, conversations that ring true, references to inspire further reading, and theological and philosophical truths that speak to young adults and leave them with questions that haunt them.”

Kirkus Reviews:

“The Alaska of the title is a maddening, fascinating, vivid girl seen through the eyes of Pudge (Miles only to his parents), who meets Alaska at boarding school in Alabama. Pudge is a skinny ("irony" says his roommate, the Colonel, of the nickname) thoughtful kid who collects and memorizes famous people's last words. The Colonel, Takumi, Alaska and a Romanian girl named Lara are an utterly real gaggle of young persons, full of false starts, school pranks, moments of genuine exhilaration in learning and rather too many cigarettes and cheap bottles of wine. Their engine and center is Alaska, given to moodiness and crying jags but also full of spirit and energy, owner of a roomful of books she says she's going to spend her life reading. Her center is a woeful family tragedy, and when Alaska herself is lost, her friends find their own ways out of the labyrinth, in part by pulling a last, hilarious school prank in her name. What sings and soars in this gorgeously told tale is Green's mastery of language and the sweet, rough edges of Pudge's voice. Girls will cry and boys will find love, lust, loss and longing in Alaska's vanilla-and-cigarettes scent.”

Connections:

Since this is a book that would probably be read individually as opposed to a required title, the activities for this book are less pedantic and more reflective and personal.

Students should be encouraged to journal their feelings and reflections at various stages in the book: Miles arrival at boarding school, his initial encounters with his new friends, his first experience with love and longing, the exhilaration of breaking the rules, and the final sorrow, acceptance, and anticipation for the future. The teacher/librarian can provide guiding questions such as: Describe Miles’ mixed emotions when arriving in Alabama and meeting “The Colonel” for the first time. How do you feel when meeting new people? Describe a personal example. Have you ever broken the rules? How did it make you feel? Have you ever lost someone you love? How did you overcome your grief? How did you honor that person’s life? How do you define the labyrinth? How is this a metaphor for life? What is your ‘Great Perhaps’?

Depending on the age of the students/readers, the above could be structured as a book talk. With the sensitive subject matter, this should only be done with mature students in an open and accepting setting. Mixed-gender groups might find the topics uncomfortable, yet the discussion would be better with both boys and girls involved. Again, the factor that must be considered is maturity level and creating an environment conducive to open dialog.

Read other books that relate to coming of age themes. Examples are: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, or the classics To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, or A Separate Peace by John Knowles.

Since the book involves drinking and driving (resulting in a death), use teaching materials from Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (www.madd.org). They provide statistics, studies, myths about drunk driving, and educational videos. After analyzing the information, have a class discussion about drinking and driving. With older students (Juniors, Seniors) this is a very timely lesson and should lead to an excellent class discussion, especially if the students feel comfortable to express their opinions. Peer pressure and the power of the media to influence behavior can also be discussed. If this lesson takes place just before Prom, it would be even more powerful. Finish up by watching one of the educational films or have students create posters against drinking and driving that could be displayed during Drug Awareness week.

Have a weeklong video series on coming-of-age movies such as Stand by Me, To Sir With Love, The Breakfast Club, Dead Poets Society, or Footloose (note: there are many coming-of-age movies but many are rating ‘R’; the previous titles are age-appropriate for high school (PG-13).

In the book, the protagonist, Miles, is obsessed with famous last words. After identifying quotes from the book, have students work alone or in pairs to research other famous last words. Have them share with the class. A bulletin board display could also be created. My personal favorites are Alexander Graham Bell…….”No”, Oscar Wilde…..”I am dying beyond my means”, and “Turn out the Lights”, Theodore Roosevelt.

Green uses a poem by Edna St. Vincent Milay, “Not so far as the forest”. Have students read “First Fig”, a very short, yet meaningful poem:

My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends--
It gives a lovely light!

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Use this poem to discuss Alaska’s short life. Guiding question: Is one’s life measured by quantity of years or quality of life?