Psychoanalytic Analysis of Looking for Alaska Essay

Teenagers are seen as the most apathetic age group time and time again; with growing problems in today’s world concerning politics, the economy, and social issues, it’s no wonder the youth of today are they way they are. There is little to no hope for them to completely change everything for the better without help from the older generations. The youth should be able to live freely, as they choose without the restriction of older generation’s strict standards like the absolute necessity of a good reputation. Some choose to live their lives to the fullest, like John Grady from All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy. He and Alejandra risk overwhelming prejudice to be together. The passionate environment of the lake scene is reflected using

This novel was set during the post war period, this was a time when independence and rebelling against parents and law was more important than doing the right thing, during these times of independence, and teenagers needed friendship more than anything else.

One way that Kelleher creates the impression that teenagers can cope with danger in life-threatening events are through the employment of child and adult protagonists. Teenagers are engrossed to the novel through this suspenseful plot, which places Ben in

The friends of the narrator, however, do not hide in the imaginary world of childhood and are maturing into adolescents. Sally, “ screamed if she got her stockings muddy,” felt they were too old to “ the games” (paragraph 9). Sally stayed by the curb and talked to the boys (paragraph 10).

John Green’s, Looking For Alaska, is a book about the lives of a group of teenagers and how their experience, alone and together, shape their lives as they grow towards adulthood. The main character, Miles Halter, lives a boring and lonely life. He has no friends and wonders what he is missing and decides to go to boarding school in Culver Creek to try to search for his “Great Perhaps” (5), what lies beyond his known, safe life. The reader follows Miles’ journey as he makes friends, falls in love, takes risks, has fun experiences and deals with immense grief at death of Alaska. Looking for Alaska has been the subject of much debate, controversy and complaints and has been banned numerous times due to the inclusion of sexual content, alcohol

The trials and tribulations adolescents face as they shed their innocence and cross the threshold into adulthood is a universal issue facing young readers in all eras. The dazzling use of simile in Charlies’ statement “my exit from

S.E Hinton’s, “The Outsiders” and Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s ,“Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” are two young adult novels with greatly different stories yet support the same ideology. Both works focus on the lives of two teenage boys, Ponyboy, of Hinton’s novel, and Aristotle, of Sáenz’s. The story of Ponyboy takes place in the year 1969, and focuses on a huge but short period of his life. It tells about his struggle as an orphan under the care of his two older brothers and deals with gang violence, socioeconomic status, and death. Whereas, the story of Aristotle takes place during the 1980’s and covers a long period of his life and involves his experiences with his relationship with his hands-on parents, his sexual orientation, and struggling with his awkward years. There are many conceptions of what is appropriate for young readers, but these two novels defend that young people should be informed. By examining “The Outsiders” and “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe”, this ideology of communicating mature topics to these readers is supported as the characters of both novels deal with the challenges of belonging, identity, and staying true to themselves, as well as reinforce the notion that adolescents can benefit from this knowledge.

In coming of age stories, the protagonists often experience a pensive and dramatic moment where either they break through to adulthood or retreat to childhood - it is this moment that unveils the magnitude of growing up for the reader.

p. 82). Therefore, the adult narrator’s ability to comment and reflect on his child-self effectively emphasizes the naïve and vulnerable nature of youth, and contributes to the mood of foreboding and suspense throughout the novel, ‘now I was over confident. I expected things to go my way’ (Chapter 1. p. 28).

In adolescence, identity, transition to manhood, and emotional stability are salient, which is represented quite well in A Separate Peace and Dead Poets Society.

Junior’s discovery of identity and place within his world is a predominant theme in the novel and one with which teens can relate; however, several other young adult characteristics and developmental issues are addressed as well. Junior and his peers are experiencing a time of rapid physical, hormonal and cognitive development as are the most likely readers of the book. Like many adolescent girls, Penelope is concerned with her body appearance and popularity. She is a bulimic attempting to keep up her “pretty and smart and popular” (108) image. Junior is concerned with appearances in a more internal way - hiding his

Psychologists usually agree that the teenage years are among the most difficult periods in one’s life. Most teens are trying to figure out who they are, what they believe, and how they fit into the world around them. Beginning in the late 1970’s, a whole genre of fiction, referred to as coming-of-age literature, emerged and serves, at least for many teens, as believable presentations of young people learning to navigate the difficulties of their lives, often fraught with feelings of rejection, seemingly unresolvable personal turmoil, social problems, school and family issues, etc. Indeed one value of reading is to see and better understand some aspect of ourselves through studying others. The reading of SPEAK, a somewhat controversial book

Across the span of time in which literature has been written, there are countless novels and stories about personal and adolescent growth. Neil Gaiman’s Stardust (1999) is one of the fantastic novels that shows us that one must dare to look outside in order to find peace and true happiness within ourselves. While Stardust focuses on teenage Tristran’s incredible journey throughout the magical world of Faerie, the true story being told is Tristran transforming into his true self. By leaving Wall, Tristran is not only developing and maturing, but he is also discovering who he is as a person and who he is to his loved ones and those surrounding him. Stardust perfectly illustrates how necessary it is to get away from an oppressive, binding place

If there is one time in your life where everything that you do focus on your self image, your fears, your relationships, your beliefs, everything that is you, has to be in your high-school years. In the novel Looking For Alaska, the author John Green makes great use of the following literary devices symbols, similes, and the use of many significant themes throughout this dramatic novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel from beginning to end. The reason why I enjoyed this novel is because of all of the drama, conflicts, and comedy that occurs all the way to the end. This is truly an amazing read.

A young adult novel’s audience often desires relatable characters and a meaningful plot that helps them to find resolutions to their own uncertainties concerning life. Many authors employ the literary technique realism to satiate these cravings. Today, there are some popular novels that attempt to imitate this, such as the coveted The Fault in Our Stars or Divergent. These selections, while widespread in the hands of young adult readers today, will not stand the test of time in the way that The Outsiders has, written by S. E. Hinton in 1967, has. This novel, both produced by and intended for teenagers, instead is a better candidate of realistic young adult fiction. Other selections, from Hinton’s era and from today, do not radiate the same