Alaska Young In The Novel Looking For Alaska By John Green

In the novel looking for Alaska by John Green. Alaska young has both positive and negative influences on the character Miles Halter also known as ‘Pudge’. When Miles arrives at culver creek he has no understanding that his life will change so much from the good study focused teen into a rebel.

Alaska Young has been troubled by a situation that happened ever since she was seven years old. As we find out in the novel her mother dies after having an aneurysm. Alaska watches her mother die and sits with her for hours after until her dad arrives home. After this moment in her life Alaska has blamed herself “what seven year old can’t pick up a phone and dial 911 ? “ Alaska uses cigarettes and alcohol to forget the blame and to try and make her feel better. This masks her judgment and creates a false sense of security towards herself.By doing

miles is peer pressured on numerous occasions and shows just how much wanting to fit in and be considered a friend or ‘part of the squad’ can do to someone.l As everyone lights up and takes a drag Alaska says to the group “ y’all smoke to enjoy it I smoke to die !” at this point Alaska has a negative effect on Miles and Miles has already begun to change into someone he hoped and never thought he would be. Miles believes that by doing what everyone else is doing and joining in with the decision to smoke he will slowly hurt himself just like what people do in the real world. They will do something just because their friends are doing it so they will decide to do it so they are not harassed and then it will become a habit an addiction and then it will just become the normal for them and they will be accepted then but what they are doing to themselves is harmful and horrible .

Another way that Alaska young has a negative influence and effect on Miles Halter is how she persuades and peer pressures