I recently read the book 'Looking For Alaska' by John Green and i'm currently working my way through the TV series.
For those who don't know, John Green has a reputation for writing a certain kind of book, or at least writing characters in a certain type of way. According to popular belief, the majority of his novels seem to follow a certain trajectory which goes something along the lines of this: hapless, nerdy, teenage boy experiencing issues at school or with his love life- or just having major philosophical and existential troubles in general- saved by adorable, quirky girl who is not even much of a character, just more of a plot point to further the story of the aforementioned boy character's growth. What people often don't mention is that although Green does conform to this trope of the notorious 'manic pixie dream girl', he also subverts the trope in such a way that demonstrates how harmful it is to view people as nothing more than two-dimensional characters only there for the benefit and growth of other characters.
Green's debut novel, 'Looking For Alaska' is no exception to the stereotypical formula of the 'manic pixie dream girl' and the 'teenage boy in the throes of an existential crisis' that has come to be associated with his work. The book follows the story of Miles Halter (otherwise known as 'Pudge') who leaves his regular life to go to boarding school. It is there where he meets a whole range of new people including- most pertinently, as the novel's title would suggest- Alaska Young, who is a 'manic pixie dream girl'. The difference between this manic pixie dream girl compared to others is that Green does seem to be aware that he is portraying Alaska as a manic pixie dream girl and seeing as the novel is written from the perspective of Miles who is arguably quite selfish, it does make sense to portray her with the idea that she is just a girl to fall in love with, rather than a fully-fleshed out person with her own hopes and dreams, as that is how Miles would see her. Besides, perhaps it's a bit too harsh of me to suggest that Alaska is not a full-fleshed out character. She is, and actually there are some interesting aspects of her backstory that we learn about her, such as her Mother's death when she was a child and how she blames herself for it, which have clearly shaped her as a person. It's just that there is less of a focus on her character as an individual and more as an idea, or even as a fantasy that Miles has created. And I think that this is the point. She is obviously meant to be mysterious- that in itself is suggested by the title: 'Looking For Alaska'... She is an enigma which can't be found. This all adds to her allure and feeds into her 'manic pixie dream girl' status.
In terms of the novel structure, the book is split into two sections: 'Before' and 'After'. Of course, when you're reading the story it's unclear as to what the 'Before' and 'After' is referring to but you are aware that you are counting down towards something as each chapter is titled with however may days before and after the 'event' it is. I think this is a really clever idea because the 'Before' section builds suspense and tension as to what the 'event' is, and the 'After' section shows you how Mile's mindset changes the further away from the event he gets and the more closure he receives. As for the event itself, I found it totally shocking. Whilst you presume that the event has something to do with Alaska, seeing as that is the title, her death still came as an absolute surprise to me. And the unexpectedness of it, made me relate to the characters so much more who were also dealing with the shock of her sudden death.
The ambiguity over Alaska's death- whether it was an accident or suicide- is what the 'after' section focuses on. We see how the characters, particularly Miles- come to terms with her death, what it means to them and we also watch them attempt to unfold the mystery of if she killed herself/why she killed herself. Her death acts as a major plot point in the novel which prompts a lot of character growth from Miles, who essentially gets to live with the deluded idea he had of her- that she was perfect and only had feelings for him regardless of her long-distance boyfriend. Her death means that she isn't there to either deny or confirm Mile's presumptions and so he can believe in the flawless version of Alaska that exists in his head, all he wants. This enforces the manic pixie dream girl concept. Even though it is a main part of the story, it does perhaps feels slightly wrong that Alaska's death happens primarily so that Miles can grow as a character. But this again is the point, as it forces Miles to realise that Alaska was just a normal girl and not this amazing, perfect person he had built up in his head. Even the other characters in the book acknowledge that Miles' view of Alaska was distorted.
Essentially, the 'manic pixie dream girl' trope is not necessarily a bad thing if it is used to teach a lesson about how we think of/view other people, and I think that this is how Green intends to use the trope. Whether or not he is successful in this is down to personal opinion. It's important to point out that Green is not the only purveyor of this trope. The whole concept of the 'manic pixie dream girl' (as described earlier) is rife in multiple forms of media and there are abundant forms of this genre of character through out much young adult literature. Whilst this is the point, there is often no real reason for it, whereas I think Green manages to utilise the trope in a way that shows why it is harmful.
The end of the novel is quite emotional and I think it does subvert the 'manic pixie dream girl' trope in a positive way as Miles comes to realise that his image of Alaska was not necessarily true and that her vulnerability and delicate nature- something he had attributed as aspects of her beauty- were what led to her tragic end. John Green builds a manic pixie dream girl and then takes her apart, showing why it is a harmful way to view women, like he does in other novels of his, such as 'Paper Towns'- one of my favourite novels. And 'Looking For Alaska' is a fantastic novel as a result, and one that I would thoroughly recommend.
By Frances Hudson
