Transition From Adolescence To Adulthood In Looking For Alaska By John Green

Reading coming of age stories are always interesting and at times nastolgic. Coming of age stories typically include a young protagonist forced to make a grown decision which is a transition to their first move into adulthood. In a sense, these stories show the protagonist shifting from innocence to gaining experiences. The two coming of age stories that we read in class were “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett and “The Man Who Was Almost A Man” by Richard Wright. Both being coming of age stories, they have similar features but were different in the sense that one protagonist seemed to have made a shift into adulthood whereas one did not.

Various novels can be classified as “coming-of-age” texts, this means that these are stories about a protagonist’s transition from childhood to adulthood or just growing up even as an adult. These novels show their growth and change in character over the length of the text. Novels such as The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston are all examples of coming-of-age novels. In Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God the story is focused on Janie Crawford and her growth over the course of the book.

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien is a perfect example of a coming of age story. Bilbo, the main protagonist, started his journey as a sheltered hobbit. It was clear that he had potential to do something great, but his own insecurities and his fear to stand out crippled his progression in life. He didn’t leave his house often, and he hardly took any risks. He failed to grow as an individual. Bilbo throughout the book he experienced personal growth through his encounter with the goblins he, he became confident through the events that happened at Mirkwood, and when he returned home at the end of the journey, he was filled with self-love and pride. At the beginning of the book, Bilbo told Gandalf that he did not want anything to do with the journey. He feared for his safety, and he had nightmares the night before the journey started. However, throughout his journey, he bonded and learned a lot from the dwarves. He found out who he really

Coming of age is an influential part of many people’s lives. They begin to leave behind their innocent childhood views and develop a more realistic view on the world around them as they step forward into adulthood. (Need to add transition) Many authors have a coming of age theme in their books; specifically, Harper Lee portrays a coming of age theme in his book To Kill A Mockingbird. Through the journeys of their childhoods, Jem and Scout lose their innocence while experiencing their coming of age moment, making them realize how unfair Maycomb really is.

“The trick is growing up without growing old” (Stengel). The process of coming of age occurs in everyone's life. To mature doesn't necessarily mean to grow in a physical way such as aging but also mentally. One grows as human, from speaking to understanding, to transitioning from adolescence to adulthood. In the novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, Lily Owens experiences far more than what she should at the age of fourteen.

For instance Miles wants to go to Florida to find his Great Purpose and find friends, and to that extent he does. Even though those friends introduced him to liquor and bad doings, they also accept him for who he is, and they don’t judge. But the Looking for Alaska also shows how messy these friendship can be, the friends don't always like each other, or agree with each other, friends tell each other their hard truths, and the friends end up getting into fights. When Alaska dies though, the bonds that have been created between the friends and around her help the grieving process between her friends, and her friends come to terms with her death and their role in it. Who doesn’t have friends? The early teen years are an especially exposed time for teenagers. The teens are subject to moodiness and negative coping skills as they adjust to different pressures. By the early teenage years, kids are capable of more complicated thought patterns and have a greater ability of ways to self-express themselves, which plays a role in who they pick as friends, and maintaining those

Yes, I consider that John Green captured teenagers in the way they are actually in this generation. In this book “Looking for Alaska” I found different types of personalities in teens that are around the same age, but this wasn’t a bad reason for them to be best friends. John made a good job, in which show us the reality of want happen with young people in a life college.

Apprehensive and unaware of true friendship, Miles followed along until he grasped the prospects of friendship including respect and loyalty to one another. He becomes comfortable around his new acquaintances, and he starts to open up to his true identity. In addition, his new friends push him to be a dangerous, thrill-seeking person, and they require him to develop new qualities. Furthermore, Miles found people he could trust and rely on, and he was their for each one of them when they needed him most. Throughout the novel, the bond between the five teenagers consistently grows stronger. Even after Alaska dies, they stand by her, and they are dedicated to doing her reputation justice. Overall, the aspect of being a friend hold together a group of teenagers, and it forces the group to interact and make the best out of their lives. The issue of standing by a friend is presented in a dramatic, yet believable way. Alaska is killed in a drunk driving accident causing inevitable putting her friends through their hardest test of friendship. The group is emotionally strained from the incident; however the revive and they become strongly bonded to one another. The novel teaches that a true friendship defies odds, and even when undergoing the toughest situations a friend will support you in your endeavors. When a person makes a mistake, a friend learns to forgive that person and move on with a

People mark the point of reaching adulthood in many different ways, such as the eighteenth birthday, puberty, or getting their drivers license. I consider the major transition point into adulthood as being when I got my first job. I was hired about a month after my sixteenth birthday. I had been applying for jobs so I would have something to do and a way of making money. I applied to numerous different places and many different kinds of places, including fast food restaurants and clothing stores. The day after I sent in all my applications, I got a call from Sonic Drive-In. I was so excited to have my first job. I have worked there for nearly six months and loved every minute of it.

Not everyone enjoys being a playground to children. I, on the other hand, bask in it. This past summer I was given the opportunity to experience the transition into adulthood by acquiring my first job. This was a crucial step in my life and I am proud to share it with others. Alas, this maturity also created the realization that my childhood was approaching its end.

I strongly believe that fiction books, play a huge role in a teenager’s life. Fiction books open up a whole new perspective of imagination. For some teens, reading is an escape from reality. Looking for Alaska, written by John Green, is a book that young readers can read to escape from reality, and imagine the story line as it is told. In the book, we are introduced to the daily lives of high school teenagers. We are shown what it’s like to be away from your parents and to get caught up in drugs, drinking, sex, and drunk driving. Despite the school board’s recent sentiments regarding the lack of value that fiction provides, I believe fiction books should remain in the school’s curriculum. Fiction stories help

We all enjoyed those days when we were children, free to play outside and run around all day with no hint of responsibility. When we are children, we are motivated to be like our parents and taking what we admire about them. Then when we hit the teenager stages, we think we know everything and that the entire world is looking at us for attention. Slowly but surely, we realize that the adult world is not all that we thought it would be, as we got older. Starting college, learning how to take care of rent and bills, figuring out your career path and taking care of your parents is not all that fun when you get down to it. We do what we do every day to take care of the ones that we love, especially our parents and

John Green’s novel Looking for Alaska tells the story of Miles Halter, a shy teenager who transfers to Culver Creek Boarding School for his junior year of high school, in search of the “Great Perhaps”. His roommate, Chip Martin, “The Colonel” takes Miles under his wing and nicknames him Pudge. Miles introduces him to the erratic lifestyle of smoking, drinking, pranks, and Alaska Young. Alaska Young is, witty, moody, beautiful, and self-destructive, and Pudge is attracted to her. When a few of the weekday warriors drag Pudge out of his bed, cover him in ductape and throw him in a lake, and urinated in the Colonel shoes. The Colonel promised himself to have revenge on them. The weekday warriors violated Pudge and urinated in Colonel’s

To some, teenagers appear to be the same in their attitudes and choices. However, this common stereotype is false. Individuals have various personalities and deal with different struggles mentally and physically. In the book Looking for Alaska, Miles Halter and Chip Martin, the main protagonists, both seem like average teenagers on the surface; but they each have their own unique qualities. Over time they learn more about each other and grow. During the development of their friendship, they see how they differ from each other. Although they may seem like average teenagers on the surface, Miles Halter and Chip Martin are different because of their origin, physical traits, and attitudes.

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?"