Looking for Alaska: Challenged

Thesis: The novel, Looking for Alaska, by John Green, should be challenged because it glorifies smoking, it uses numerous sexual innuendoes, but the perplexing, controversial ideas about death and afterlife open the eyes of struggling teenagers.

Looking for Alaska highlights puzzling, controversial thoughts that help struggling teenagers in coping with death. After Alaska’s death, Pudge struggles with the thought that Alaska kills herself, knowing there were unfinished matters between the two of them. As a result of these unfinished matters, Pudge convinces himself that,  “[He] still [thinks] that, sometimes, [thinks] that maybe ‘the afterlife’ is just something [people] made up to ease the pain of loss, to make [their] time in the labyrinth bearable. Maybe [Alaska] was just matter, and matter gets recycled” (Green 220). Miles finds it difficult to reason why Alaska kills herself knowing that she was leaving behind friends who adored and cared deeply for her. In fact, for a short time after her death, he was also angry that she dies. Miles is angry that he never got to finish kissing her or find out how she feels about him. To cope with the idea that Alaska kills herself, Miles tells himself that there is not an afterlife, and that it is “made up”. This thought allows him to separate himself from Alaska’s death. He thinks that maybe if the “afterlife” does not exist, then he does not have to worry about whether or not Alaska’s spirit or soul, are in a good place. Miles speaks down to those who believe in an afterlife. In his mind, an afterlife is created to “ease the pain of loss”. Actually, he does this to help him move on and push the painful thoughts of his friend’s death out of his mind. Miles begins to call Alaska “matter”. While referring to the girl he loves, through struggles, differences, and difficulties, downplays how he feels about Alaska in order to move on with his life. Teens find difficulty in letting go of someone they love. Young adults should not know what it is like to lose a friend. Death is something that is difficult to cope with, and even adults struggle in doing so. Miles goes on to add that matter gets “recycled”. This is a beautiful way to think about death. If Alaska is recycled, then she is reused, salvaged, reclaimed or recovered. This is a more positive way to think about love and loss. Not only is this helpful for teenagers struggling with the idea of death and what follows, but adults as well.