Looking for Alaska by John Green

Summary

• Miles (Pudge) Halter, who is obsessed with people’s last words, decides to leave his parents and go to boarding school in search of the great perhaps. At boarding school, he meets Alaska with whom he falls in love. He also meets his roommate Chip “the Colonel” Martin, Takumi, and Lara. He starts drinking and smoking, against which his father warned him. Pudge, the Colonel, Alaska, Takumi, and Lara throw a huge prank in school and are not caught. This appears to be one of the ways Miles wants his get great perhaps.

Setting

• The book takes place in Culver Creek boarding school 15 miles south of Birmingham, Alabama during the 21st century. Miles the narrator is from Florida.
• The lake in the school is a place where the student’s escape place; they go there to drink and smoke.

CHARACTERS
Chip (the Colonel):He is short in height, he knows how to memorize thing pretty well, he is from a poor family but he does not see it as an embarrassment because he loves his mom no matter what and doesn’t really complain about his poor background. The Colonel does not like rich people especially the weekday warriors because of how they seem to think they are better than everyone else. The Colonel is very smart and really takes school seriously, even though he still smokes and drinks. He takes trust seriously: he believes that people should not betray others even the weekday warriors he seemed to dislike. He is also adventures but he is doesn’t take it to the extreme unlike Alaska.

Miles(Pudge): He is the narrator of the story. He is slim and tall. He like memorizing people’s last words. He is a guy seeking adventure in his life, he decides to go to a boarding school to find that adventure. He makes friends that were a negative influence on him, he started smoking and drinking due to peer pressure, even though his parents warned him not to. He is smart and takes school work seriously which shows that he cares about his future. He is so attracted to Alaska who is very difficult to comprehend, he has an emotional connection to Alaska and he has to deal with the feelings he has for her and and let’s himself get pushed around a little by Alaska who has a boyfriend.

Alaska: She is a small, curvy, blonde, with green eyes who smokes, drinks,and pull pranks on people. She likes to do things that are against the rules, sort of a rebel,and she is adventures.She influences all her friends - mostly in a negative way - but she brings adventures to their lives and challenges her friends.She also tends to have mood swings: she acts one way then for a second her mood changes, it is as if she is struggling with something because she acts impulsively later regretting her decisions.

Lara: she is a Romanian, friends of Alaska, the colonel, Takumi, and Pudge. She is the girl Alaska is trying to set Pudge up with and they both agree with it. She seems very nice, cute, and patient person unfortunately she does not compare to Alaska in Pudge’s mind. She does not have that emotional connection with Pudge even if Pudge likes her it is not as deep as what he feels for Alaska.

Takumi: he is an Asian guy, friends of Alaska, the colonel, Lara and pudge. He loves mysteries: he is always searching for unanswered questions, he likes rhyming words. He loves adventure and willing to be a part of it.

CONFLICT


The protagonist Miles Halter is a boy who hasn’t had a lot of adventures and friends in his life and he was seeking for the great perhaps. Boarding school was an adventure to him, his friends were the type of people who were involved in breaking the rules and getting in trouble. He had to indulge in smoking and drinking even though that is not who he is and who his father warned him not to be because of the type of friends he had.



He was in love with Alaska who had a boyfriend she seemed to be loyal to and Alaska was very difficult for Miles to understand and sometimes he wondered why he even liked her.

NOTABLE QUOTATION

“‘But while you were looking out the window, you missed the chance to explore the equally interesting Buddhist belief in being present for every facet of your daily life, of being truly present.’”


I chose this quote because of the concept of living life in the moment and taking things one at a time. I think it is something worth learning and doing which is hard. So i like how he touches this aspect. It is also important to know that in other to experience the joys of the Great Perhaps you have to be in the moment, not thinking of the past or future.

“So i don’t have to wait until i die to start seeking a Great Perhaps”



I like this quote because of the concept of dallying in life. It is better live as the best you can be before you die do things like live your dreams, go on adventures, take risks, and be happy in life before you die. That is how i interpret the great perhaps and why i think this quote is important.

“‘But while you were looking out the window, you missed the chance to explore the equally interesting Buddhist belief in being present for every facet of your daily life, of being truly present.’”



I chose this quote because of the concept of living life in the moment and taking things one at a time. I believe it is something worth learning and doing which can be hard. So I like how he touches this aspect. It is also important to know that in other to experience the joys of the Great Perhaps you have to be in the moment, not thinking of the past or future.

“‘Jesus, I’m not going to be one of those people who sits around talking about what they’re gonna do. I’m just going to do it.’”



I like this quote because it talks about taking action not just talking about what it. This also connects with the search of the Great perhaps: it is important to want something and believe in yourself, it’s equally important to take the necessary action and take risks.

Notice and Note Strategies
Words of the wiser:
“‘No drugs .No drinking. No cigarettes’”
Miles father warned him not to drink, smoke, and do drugs because he doesn’t want his son to be involved with negative things that could affect his life. His father used to go to boarding school and he also used to drink and smoke and he doesn’t want his son to fall into that because he has done it and he has learned his lesson. Even though Miles did not adhere to his warning this is he should have listened to, he would just have to learn on his own.

Memory Moment: "I hated sports. i hated sports, and the people who watched them, and I hated the people who played them, and I hated the people who didn't hate people who watched or played them. In third grade- the very last year that one could play T-ball---my mother wanted me to make friends, so she forced me onto the Orlando Pirates. I made friends all right--with a bunch of kindergartners, which didn't really bolster my social standing with my peers. Primarily because I towered over the rest of the players, i nearly made it onto the T-ball all-star team that year. The kid who beat me, Clay Wurtzel, had one arm. And it wasn't some pity- the one-armed-kid..."

This memory is important because it gives a picture of what Pudge's life was like before Culver Creek: boring, not a lot of friends and adventure, and how he feels like a failure because a one-armed kind beat him to the all-star team. It also shows why he left Florida to find something new.

Again and Again:

“‘That is why I’m going. So I don’t have to wait until i die to start seeking the great perhaps.’”

“I wondered if I could find the Great Perhaps here at all or whether I had made a grand miscalculation”

“The Great Perhaps was upon us , and we were invincible.”

The topic of the great perhaps comes up many times in the book. Miles wanted to go to boarding school because of the great perhaps. It was the drive behind his whole journey, the possibility of a greater adventure he wants to experience.

Setting

Setting

Setting

Setting

PREDICTIONS FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE NOVEL

• As the book progresses, I believe that Miles will figure out the mysteries of Alaska; it won’t be hard to figure out how he really feels about her. An event will take place where Miles will stop drinking and smoking. Miles will also find the great perhaps he is looking for and maybe understand the real meaning of that.