Looking For Alaska Comparative Essay

Many pieces of literature explore the boundaries of self and society. Ideas from the labyrinth of adolescence in John Green’s Looking for Alaska, to the metamorphosis of Gregor in Kafka’s famous novella are two examples that explore relationships, transformation, and isolation and make readers rethink the boundaries of self and society. Looking for Alaska, by John Green, published March 3, 2005, is a coming of age novel about being young and going through life as a teenager. It is filled with themes of grief, hope, loss, and love. Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafkz, published in 1915, is a novella about a man who wakes up one morning transformed into a monstrous bug. Although Looking for Alaska and Metamorphosis both present very different settings

Miles Halter is another main character in Looking for Alaska. He's a quiet, lanky, kid with little to no confidence. Miles left home to seek “a great opportunity”, to get away from his dull hometown. He went to Culver Creek. He gets to meet Alaska Young, and they form a close bond with one another. After Alaska’s death, Miles finds himself in a tough spot. Alaska’s death was a catastrophic loss to him, and he was never the same afterward. He existed in a fog of grief for a while, and he began to question his role in Alaska’s death. This thinking sent him spiraling down a journey of self discovery and shaped who he was becoming. “I’d finally had enough of chasing after a ghost who did not want to be discovered.” (Green 212). For a while, Miles spent his time reminiscing over the past and imagining what his future with Alaska could have looked like. He eventually accepts that he can’t live the rest of his life drowning in denial, and he comes to a place where he is ready to move ahead with his life. However, Gregor’s obvious transformation from human to insect wasn’t the only transformation in his story. Gregor was forced to reconsider his sense of humanity and figure out his new place in the world. Initially, he was in shock and denial about the change, but as the story progressed, he began to feel worthless and alone. He struggled to find a new spot in his family, which led to a deep sense of despair. Gregor’s mental state mirrors his physical changes, which both transform as the novella continues. Miles and Gregor both changed significantly throughout their stories and they became two completely different people than what they started as. Not only did Gregor lose his life, but he lost any sense of identity he might have had. Meanwhile, the trauma Miles endured was powerful enough to change his outlook on life. Both stories use these experiences to explore the ways that change