Literature Analysis #3

Looking For Alaska by John Green

1.  This is a new type of coming of age novel. It's unpredictable and unexpected in every way. Miles "Pudge" Halter convinces his parents that he must go to seek the "Great Perhaps" at a private school his father once went to. Culver Creek boarding school is where Miles makes his first true friends, falls in love, and is made very aware of the tragedies life sometimes deals out. He learns so much about himself and all the ways one decision, one, mistake can change your life forever. After he makes the mistake of letting his friend Alaska go one night, she dies. And it change him forever. Was it suicide? Was it an accident? Was it his fault? Miles and his friends become borderline obsessive trying to answer these questions as well as the most important question of all: "How will we ever get out of this labyrinth?"
2. One of the major themes of this novel would be finding hope after tragedy. Pudge struggles greatly to overcome the guilt and regret he feels for his role in his friend's death. Once he is able to forgive himself, he begins to forgive her and see new hope for his life.
3. The tone is very personal and earnest.

• "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."
• "That's the mystery isn't it? Is the labyrinth living or dying? Which is he trying to escape-the world or the end of it?"

     4.

• Imagery "A bunk bed of unfinished wood with vinyl mattresses was pushed against the room's back window"
• Simile "sweat dripped like tears from your forehead into your eyes"
• Characterization "I saw a short, muscular guy with a shock of brown hair."
• Conflict- Pudge must decide whether Alaska's mood swings are worth his own emotional toll
• Consonance "Weekday Warriors"
• Foreshadowing "Y'all smoke to enjoy it, I smoke to die."
• Metaphor "She was a hurricane"
• Motif "How will I get out of this labyrinth"
• Flashback- the book gives a preview of the core group of characters together before starting from the true beginning
• Setting- The setting of Alabama and it's drastically changing weather represents the lives and emotions of the characters as they change almost more often and severely.

Characterization

1.

• "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."
• "She didn't even glance at me. She just smiled towards the television and said, 'You never get me. That's the whole point.' "

The author uses both approaches to add depth to the characters. They are not only defined by Pudge's description of their looks but also by their actions and choices ultimately making them more true to life.

2. The author's syntax and dicton remain consistent throughout. The entire story is written in Pudge's persepective which is always "suffering yet enduring".

3. The protagonist is definitely dynamic. Miles goes through a huge change throughout the story. He discovers more about himself and goes through life altering situations which cause him to adapt and come out stronger and more aware as a person.

4.Coming away from the book I feel as if I have met a person. Miles is a character that will stay with me for a long, long time. His decision to go forth and force himself into the "Great Perhaps" is something that I can greatly apply to my own life and truly admire. A quote from Miles that shows just how similar he and I are is "But the not-knowing would not keep me from caring..." If there was ever a statement I felt resonate like a bow on a violin string, that would be it.