John Green’s Looking for Alaska tells the story of Miles Halter and his adventures at an Alabaman boarding school. Miles falls in love with a peculiar girl named Alaska Young, whose mysterious persona entregues Miles from the beginning. Alaska’s traumatic past has lead to her present erratic behaviour, and she manages to get herself into trouble throughout the novel. Alaska’s sudden and shocking death has a lasting impact on Miles, as he struggles to find purpose after the death of his first love. Alaska’s character in particular demonstrates the concept of psychoanalytic theory, feminism and marxism.
The theory of feminism is prevalent in the novel Looking for Alaska, and is mainly demonstrated through the life and actions of Alaska Young. Alaska is surrounded by boys throughout the entirety of her life in novel, but her strong feminist views are not hindered. She vocalizes her feminist opinions often and is intolerant of her friend’s sexist remarks/attitudes. One day, Alaska, Miles and the Colonial are in the boy’s room when Colonial makes a comment about a girl’s breasts. In protest, Alaska shouts back: “DO NOT OBJECTIFY WOMEN’S BODIES!” (Green 34). Alaska herself is a strong female character who is often recognized for her intelligence throughout her novel, and not just her sex appeal.
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The book has the typical element of “rich vs. poor” demonstrated through the Weekday Warriors. The Weekday Warriors are students who only stay on campus on weekdays, and on weekends drive to their parent’s estates. They are considered “popular”, and are blatantly selfish and narcissistic. Though this is not a crucial aspect of the book, it demonstrates the class separation that begins at a very young