Looking For Alaska Character Traits

I am reading Looking For Alaska by John Green and I finished the novel. This book is about Miles Halter’s school year at Culver Creek. He befriends the Colonel, Alaska, Takumi, and Lara. They go on many adventures together and develop a deep bond. One night, Alaska disappears, and the next morning the whole school is informed of her death. This unites the tight knit group in finding the cause of her death. Although they never truly figure out why she died, they learn a great deal more about Alaska and her unique and complex personality. In this paper I will be evaluating and questioning.

G- John Green characterizes Alaska Young as mysterious and Y- Alaska is mysterious. R- She is very moody, and often times, no one knows why

When she is happy she can make anyone laugh or smile.

She can be very outgoing and spontaneous and take the rest of the group on wild adventures.

“I didn’t know whether to trust Alaska, and I’d certainly had enough of her unpredictablility-cold one day, sweet the next; irresistibly flirty one moment, resistibly obnoxious the next” (Green 75). R- She dies unexpectedly.

She does not tell Miles or Chip where she was headed, and just asks if they can help her excape.

When she talks on the phone with Jake on their anniversary, she does not mention where she was going to go.

“‘ I JUST HAVE TO GO. HELP ME GET OUT OF HERE!’” (Green 132). Y- Alaska is clever, a word that has two meanings. R- She plans many legendary pranks without getting caught, showing her cunning side.

She helped the Colonel plan pranks in previous years at Culver Creek.

She thought of Barn Night, which was a very successful prank. - She planned the prank that Miles and Chip brought to life. R- She is very smart in school, showing her intelligent

Why did Alaska die in a fatal car crash? One possible answer is because she was suicidal. Alaska had forgotten to bring flowers to her mother’s grave on the day that she died, so she thought she was a disappointment and wanted to kill herself. She felt obligated to go each year because Alaska did not call 9-1-1 on the day her mother died. Additionally, she cheated on her boyfriend that night. Alaska probably thought she was very dishonest and a bad girlfriend, which would contribute to her suicidal thoughts and further increase the likelihood of her suicide. Finally, an increase in drinking and smoking is a warning sign of suicide (“Risk Factors and Warning Signs - AFSP”). Alaska certainly drank a lot more in the months before she died. Another possibility is that she was drunk, which would lead one to believe it was an accident. Her blood alcohol level was exceedingly high, reaching .24. This would cause her vision to be compromised, so she might have not seen the cop car, making it an honest accident. Additionally, drinking a lot of alcohol typically makes people tired. Considering the accident occurred at about 4:00 in the morning, she could have fallen asleep. Alaska would not have seen the car, so she would have just been driving and accidentally hit the car. “‘The coroner said it was an accident’’ (Green 163). This is what the officer told Miles and Chip when they asked about Alaska’s accident, leading the reader to