Ultra Femininity: Looking for Alaska 

TW: death, suidice, and mental illness

Looking for Alaska is John Green’s 2005 debut fiction novel, based partly upon his time at boarding school. The novel is narrated by Miles “Pudge” Halter and follows the story of his time at his boarding school in Alaska. Miles is seeking something he calls the “Great Perhaps”. Throughout the “before” section of the novel, Miles and his friends, Chip “The Colonel” Martin, Takumi Hikoito, and the mysterious Alaska Young, grow very close. Their time is cut short when Alaska dies unexpectedly and inconclusively, leaving her death, and to Miles’s dismay, her last words, unresolved and unknown. The novel has a 2019 Hulu Original adaptation of the same name. 

Looking for Alaska is a story that deals with themes of coming of age, grief, hope, and teenage relationships. 

ALASKA YOUNG THROUGH THE EYES OF MILES HALTER

From the moment Miles Halter meets the alluring, beautiful, and self-destructive Alaska Young, he is proven to be an unreliable narrator. He is blinded by her charm, and his feelings for Alaska cloud his view on who she really is and the world around him. It’s fascinating to see how Alaska, a teenage girl, is viewed through the perspective of Miles, a teenage boy. 

As Looking for Alaska progresses, Miles romanticizes Alaska, creating a person that doesn’t exist. He is called out by this, both by his friends and Alaska. During Alaska’s life, Miles is what could be described as an “observer.” He’s somewhat quiet, reserved, and essentientally watches the world around him instead of joining in. 

After her horrific and sudden death, Miles romanticizes both his relationship with Alaska  and Alaska herself. Miles knows that he will never be the force of nature that Alaska was, as he lacks her confidence and falsehood of self-assurence. He often forgets that Alaska was her own person, and was not there solely for his gain and convenience. 

We as readers don’t have the privilege of knowing the real Alaska Young, only Alaska Young as seen through the eyes of Miles Halter. In the short section of her life we get to see, she exists in the novel solely for Miles’ character development. After her death, Miles becomes entranced with where, when, and how she died, and what her final words could have been. Alaska’s death was not about Alaska. It was about how Miles seemingly couldn’t live without the version of her that he created.  

ALASKA YOUNG AND HER SUFFERING LABYRINTH 

The labyrinth is a theme prevalent throughout the entire novel. Alaska constantly connects Simon Bolivar’s last words, “Damn it, how will I ever get out of this labyrinth!” to her own life. She ultimately decides that life’s most important question is: “How will we ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering?”, a question she was unable to answer. The labyrinth –a complicated maze with twists and turns at every corner- symbolizes Alaska’s short-lived and thrill seeking life. 

Pain in teenage girls is romanticized in literature. Lux, from The Virgin Suicides, experienced depression and loneliness, but her feelings were portrayed as a beautiful yet inelegant part of girlhood. Daisy Bucanan from The Great Gatsby is only desired because Gatsby cannot have her. Alaska’s suffering is the same. Miles questions why she’s suffering, but uses her distress for his own personal gain, hoping to connect with her through her pain.  

She was known to be a reckless, yet exciting force to those around her, but her friends, teachers, and parents failed to see how her recklessness was an escaping mechanism for pain. This recklessness lead to her accidental death, or potential suicide. Alaska’s death, accidental or suicide is a focal point of her character. Whether or not Alaska intended to die, she symbolized her life through the labyrinth, concluding that the only way to survive it is “straight and fast” or consequently, not at all.  

THE INNOCENCE OF WHITE FLOWERS & THE PROMISCUITY OF SMOKING 

Smoking is introduced very quickly to Miles by Alaska and the Colonel. Smoking for Alaska and the Colonel is a way to defy authority, but smoking is also a way for Alaska to connect with her deceased mother. Alaska smokes for connection rather than to simply pass the time, or to appear a certain way to her peers. Smoking itself is glamourized in pop culture, and is an act often seen done by characters who fit the “mysterious sad girl” trope. Think Effy Stonem from the UK drama Skins, or Lux Lisbon from The Virgin Suicides. Smoking, for Alaska, is her slow connection to death or the end of the labyrinth. 

White flowers symbolize Alaska’s deceased mother, her childhood, and her untimely death. White typically symbolizes purity and innocence, something that Alaska believes was taken away from her when her mother died. White flowers are found at the place of her death, acting as a memorial for her short life. 

White flowers and smoking are memorialized along with Alaska Young. This odd pair suggests that one can be pure, and still be consumed by darkness. 

DID WE EVER KNOW ALASKA YOUNG? 

Alaska Young’s personal identity is a mystery. The novel never gives us her perspective, and Miles’ perspective is heavily biased due to his infatuation with her. We know the surface of Alaska Young–she’s infatuating, loves to smoke, she’s sad, and most of all–she’s written as a critique of Miles’ unreliable perspective. 

If Alaska were a real person, she would be multifaceted and complex, rather than at arm’s length and mysterious. As readers, we’re solely allowed Miles’ perspective to a complicated person. Alaska Young is trapped by Miles’ viewpoint in an over-used and outdated trope. Alaska Young, like her labyrinth, is unknown, and perhaps always will be.