Looking for Alaska
Looking for Alaska is a relatable novel about a teenage boy, “Pudge” and his experience searching for the Great Perhaps. In the novel, Pudge lives by these words. To him, they mean a search for adventure, a search for the meaning of life. At the beginning of the novel, he moves into his dorm at the Culver Creek Boarding school, and he meets his roommate, Chip. Chip is Miles’s mentor and the person to introduce him to the school. Chip teaches Miles about the social structure of the school, and he even invites Mile’s into his friend group. The story truly begins when Chip introduces Miles to Alaska. Miles quickly develops a crush in Alaska because of their differences. The main point of the book is the Great Perhaps versus the Labyrinth of Suffering. Each of these quotes are introduced through Miles and Alaska and it really helps progress the story. Anyways, the two most prominent groups at the school are the Weekday Warriors and Miles’s friend group. Both groups enjoy setting up pranks on each other and each group tries to get the other group in trouble. The most diabolical prank that the friend group preformed was the one where they hacked the dean’s computer and sent bad grade reports home to the parents of the Weekday Warrior’s. Despite this fun night for the friend group, Miles and Chip learn some terrible news in the morning. The dean has a large assembly to tell them that Alaska has died. However, Miles needed to know why. After some investigative actions, Miles and Chip learn that she may have tried to kill herself. This peaked Miles’s interest and he had to keep digging. Miles and Chip spend the rest of the novel trying to find out the cause of her death. However, towards the end of the book, they both learn a lot about what life means to them.
I really enjoyed reading this novel because I could understand the characters. I cannot relate, but I can comprehend Alaska’s motives for suicide, however selfish they may have been. I also like the message that this book presents. It is about the meaning of life and how to find true joy. I interpreted the Great Perhaps as something that people strive for in life. It is pure good and happiness. However, some people get tired of this journey, and they lose the hope of finding the Great Perhaps. I think that this is where Alaska comes in. The belief that life is a labyrinth of despair is how someone who has tried and failed to achieve the Great Perhaps would feel. In conclusion, this book explores the realm of the meaning of life, and it is one of the many reasons that I would recommend it to you.
~ Ezra
I can relate to this book a lot. The feeling of a goal in mind as you try to complete is exhilarating at the start, but soon dies as you can't deal with the attraction of pleasure of procrastination. The lesson I learned from this review was that although you can't find true joy in life, try your hardest to be near. Good job Ezra for signifying the meaning of Looking for Alaska.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Almost cried reading.
Wow, great job Ezra!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds quite interesting. I liked how you showed how the mood of the story changes all throughout the book. At the beginning, Miles is unsure, but then meets chip and becomes more confident and happy. After that, they learn about the death of Alaska and become shocked and surprised, then the mood of the story completely changes into mystery. Thank you for making the story more understandable in your blog post and overall really great job!
This book seems like a good read. Is the plot somewhat like "13 Reasons Why" or is it different? I like how you explain that this book kind of goes from a realistic fiction or coming-of-age novel to a mystery. However, you also explain how the mystery kind of aids the characters into maturing and discovering what life means to them. Your summary of the plot was good as well as your interpretations and feelings on the book as a whole.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very interesting book! It looks like it contains a lot of deep reflection, along with many deep, engaging characters. This book sounds like it could be a little bit fast paced to read, as the plot seems like it covers a wide range of topics. The way this review is written really makes me wonder what could happen next, which makes me want to read the book. Thanks!
ReplyDelete