Looking for Alaska Blog
Looking for Alaska by John Green tells the story of a guy who transfers to a boarding school in Alabama to search for something eventful to fill his dull life. I think that this novel works as an accurate guide through the mind of an adolescent boy as he stumbles his way through life, because there are many times where the main character has conflicting ideas and other times where he is completely in the wrong. Pudge is not an ideal character to be a protagonist but I think that's what makes him more relatable; he is jealous of other people, he is not always a considerate person, and he forgets about his own girlfriend. Another important part of this novel is the idea of someone being in love with a constructed idea of a person rather than the actual person. I think the difficult subject matters in this book combined with conflicting ideals of the main character make this book perfect for many older adolescents.
Pudge being someone who makes bad decisions makes him an interesting protagonist to follow due to his own thoughts. As a reader, you can easily decide for yourself whether or not the decisions he makes to be wise or not. One of the more obvious problems is how Pudge falls in love with Alaska, who is already in a committed relationship. This becomes more a problem as Pudge gets into a relationship himself. This makes Pudge out to be a bad guy, but at the same time we see his inner monologue as he struggles with the reality that both he and Alaska are in relationships and whether or not this is a bad idea. I think his inner struggle with his own situation makes Pudge a more realistic protagonist, and while he is not exactly a good role model, many readers are able to relate to him as most teenagers have been in similar situations if not this exact situation.
A strong theme in this book is the difference between how someone is perceived versus how they actually are as a person. This idea is directly referenced in the second half of the novel after the break titled after. Pudge is even called out on the fact that his is more in love with an ideal Alaska that his has created in his head rather than the real one. "Don't you know who you love, Pudge? You love the girl who makes you laugh and shows you porn and drinks wine with you. You don't love the crazy, sullen bitch." Which shows that not only does he not know Alaska like the other friends in their group, but that he has constructed a version of her that only he sees. This is important to teach adolescents because they often construct idealized versions of people and refuse to see their faults.
Finally, I think this is a great novel to teach adolescents, but due to the difficult subject matters I think it would be better suited for juniors or seniors in high school. The novel itself deals with sex, drugs, and alcohol like many other adolescent novels, but also shows how the characters respond to death, depression, and more real life struggles. I think this novel is very important because it discusses how different someone's expectations can be from their reality. This is also discussed in then novel by having Pudge be exposed to the idea of the boarding school by the stories his father tells him versus how it actually is. I think this makes the reader ask, "how is my high school experience different from how I thought it was going to be?"
Pudge being someone who makes bad decisions makes him an interesting protagonist to follow due to his own thoughts. As a reader, you can easily decide for yourself whether or not the decisions he makes to be wise or not. One of the more obvious problems is how Pudge falls in love with Alaska, who is already in a committed relationship. This becomes more a problem as Pudge gets into a relationship himself. This makes Pudge out to be a bad guy, but at the same time we see his inner monologue as he struggles with the reality that both he and Alaska are in relationships and whether or not this is a bad idea. I think his inner struggle with his own situation makes Pudge a more realistic protagonist, and while he is not exactly a good role model, many readers are able to relate to him as most teenagers have been in similar situations if not this exact situation.
A strong theme in this book is the difference between how someone is perceived versus how they actually are as a person. This idea is directly referenced in the second half of the novel after the break titled after. Pudge is even called out on the fact that his is more in love with an ideal Alaska that his has created in his head rather than the real one. "Don't you know who you love, Pudge? You love the girl who makes you laugh and shows you porn and drinks wine with you. You don't love the crazy, sullen bitch." Which shows that not only does he not know Alaska like the other friends in their group, but that he has constructed a version of her that only he sees. This is important to teach adolescents because they often construct idealized versions of people and refuse to see their faults.
Finally, I think this is a great novel to teach adolescents, but due to the difficult subject matters I think it would be better suited for juniors or seniors in high school. The novel itself deals with sex, drugs, and alcohol like many other adolescent novels, but also shows how the characters respond to death, depression, and more real life struggles. I think this novel is very important because it discusses how different someone's expectations can be from their reality. This is also discussed in then novel by having Pudge be exposed to the idea of the boarding school by the stories his father tells him versus how it actually is. I think this makes the reader ask, "how is my high school experience different from how I thought it was going to be?"
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