Looking for Alaska

Multiple accounts assumed McCandless was “entering the wilderness purposely ill-prepared…” and “hardly unique…almost a collective cliché” (Krakauer 71). Krakauer refutes this claim by displaying evidence supporting his argument while also acknowledging counter claims that McCandless was rash, foolhardy, but stressing he was definitely competent (85). Krakauer compares and contrasts the journeys of Rosellini, Waterman, and McCunn to that of McCandless defending that McCandless was not incapable or oblivious to survive in Alaska. Later parallels between McCandless and Ruess demonstrate their desires to become connected to nature and strong determination.

This book was about a man named Christopher McCandless who changed his name to Alex Supertramp and ventured out on his own. He traveled to Alaska to be in the wilderness where he was later found dead after four months of being there. Some people might say he was a reckless idiot, that however is not the case to other people. McCandless was the master of his own destiny and decided to take control of his own life. He left right after he graduated from college and didn’t tell a single soul where he was going.

In his work “Into the Wild”, author Jon Krakauer tells the story of Chris “Alexander Supertramp” McCandless and his journey across the United States, beginning outside Atlanta, Georgia, and ultimately concluding in McCandless’ death in an abandoned bus in the wilderness near Healy, Alaska. Despite the strong criticism of many Alaskans , Krakauer argues that McCandless wasn’t, as Christian claims, “Stupid, tragic, and inconsiderate,” but instead paints a sympathetic picture of a young man with a profound moral compass seeking a higher truth. According to Alaska Park Ranger Peter Christian “Alaska is populated with people who are either running away from something or seeking themselves in America’s last frontier.” Chris McCandless was doing just that. It all

“I have had a happy life and thank the Lord. Goodbye and may God bless all” (199). When Christopher McCandless mysteriously abandoned his family to pursue his dream of reaching Alaska, he desired a full outdoor adventure. Many factors, including family expectations, friends, and societal norms played a role in why McCandless chose to leave his past behind and pursue life to what he believed would be the fullest. Even though McCandless faced influence from his peers about a certain path in life, that influence did not help lead him towards his path of adventure and life in the wild. The story describes Chris as intelligent, however ill-prepared to survive the dangers of Alaska. Overall, while expectations from peers and society may shape an

“How does the geography of Alaska make it difficult to explore and settle:” both during the Klondike gold rush and still today?” Well, to start this off simple, the cold. The cold is one of the key things, if not the most important reason in this essay. Sometimes in Alaska it can go below freezing, and the cold seems like a very simple answer at first, but! They need to settle, work, and climb in it, the things that they need to do to get what they need, in this case oil, it will not be a very simple job. And most of the time they come back empty handed, so the payoff is worth it, and the money they waste is not the thing they worry about. Because sometimes they go home empty handed, but sometimes they don’t come home at all. And it’s more than you think.

“The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive”(Green, 213). This seemingly simple sentence from the end of John Green’s novel Looking for Alaska is not as simple as it seems, for it is what identifies the most important theme in the book. The best way to show how this quote truly expresses the greater meaning behind our story, we have to compare the journeys of our two main characters Alaska and Pudge, or more so, their individual endings.

Question 2: Character Description Miles “Pudge” Halter is the first person you meet in Looking for Alaska. He is tall and scrawny hence the irony of his nickname Pudge, given to him by his soon to be good friend the Colonel. Pudge had never had many friends in his hometown but when he moved to Culver Creek boarding school in Alabama he met some new friends that changed his life. He finally stepped out of his box and was smoking cigs and playing pranks and drinking booze, all things him and his parents never would've thought he'd be one to do. Pudge finally had some adventure in his life.

Pap then kidnaps Huck from the custody of the Widow and Miss. Watson Huck and his life becomes more intolerable than ever. Pap locks Huck in the cabin when he leaves to get drunk and beats Huck brutally when he returns. When Pap says “But when they told me there was a state in this country where they’d let that ni**er vote, I drawed out” (Twain pg.35). Huck can’t understand how someone like his father a racist, drunk, abusive person could possibly believe that he was above the African American Professor just because of the color of his skin.

The author puts this so that just like Miles, we too come to terms with Alaska’s death and accept the effects it has, whether it be good or bad. Although drinking is one of the main topics, and a controversial one, this book is also heavily themed on friendship, and tells the tale of a group of friends who have to deal with an unexpected

The main character in Looking For Alaska was a skinny boy named Miles. He was later given the nickname Pudge due to his physical appearance. He found a passion of learning and memorizing people's last

The following morning is the worst day of Pudge 's life. It is announced that the previous night, Alaska had gotten into a car

AExploring is rough especially through Alaska. The exploring of Alaska’s geography is difficult because snow-ice, traveling by foot and, wild animals.

After trying to discover what exactly happened to Alaska the night she died, Pudge and the Colonel decide that she is undiscoverable. Although they didn’t know what happened to Alaska, Pudge realizes something different and he states, “She didn’t leave me enough to discover her, but she did leave me enough to rediscover the Great Perhaps” (Green 213). Pudge will never know what Alaska was thinking or what exactly happened, but he got what he ultimately came to Culver Creek for, The Great Perhaps. Throughout Looking for Alaska, Alaska helps Pudge to discover The Great Perhaps and who he really is. Alaska brings Pudge on many adventures throughout the book and introduces him to many new experiences. At this point in the book, Pudge recognizes that he is a different person than he was pre-Alaska. Through the relationship with Alaska, Pudge’s personality as well as his habits change because of the influences of Alaska and the experiences Pudge has with her. With the assistance of Alaska, Pudge was able to discover what he wants to do and how he wants to

The Louisiana sun sizzled upon the black bed like the devil’s smile. Two of the labs had been used to the heat. Not Fudge. Halfway through our trip, nearing Opelousas in the heavy traffic, Fudge was no longer visible in the truck. Fear began to set in. We pulled over and saw her limp, unresponsive body sprawled out in agony, collapsed from heat stroke. We sped off in the opposite direction to find her water and a vet. Time seemed to speed by and drag on as the search for any open veterinarian office nearby who could take Fudge for the day continued until our prayers were answered twenty miles away in the town of Eunice. There was nothing left for us to do but continue on to my great-grandfather’s packed house in Mamou, Louisiana.

Looking for Alaska is a book about a boy named Miles that goes away to a private school called Culver Creek were he meets a group of friends that he starts to hang out with throughout the year. He becomes very good friends with everyone and they begin to let him in on their secret spot called "the smoking hole", where they all smoke their cigarettes without getting in trouble. Soon he starts to get a crush on a girl named Alaska, which seems to already have a boyfriend. As soon as Miles starts to fall in love with her a horrible thing happens. Alaska dies in a terrible car accident, which turns into a very mysterious and confusing death. When Miles and the other boys get the news, they start fighting to find out the truth on what really happened. After reading this novel, one is left with the question, "How will we ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering?"