“Looking for Alaska” by John Green and Valerie in “Hate List” by Jennifer Brown

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“Looking for Alaska” by John Green and Valerie in “Hate List” by Jennifer Brown Unreliability of the characters Miles in “Looking for Alaska” by John Green and Valerie in “Hate List” by Jennifer Brown Research Question: How have the authors, Jennifer Brown and John Green, created biased and unreliable protagonists in their novels “Looking for Alaska” and “Hate List”? ! ! ! Abstract!–! ! This!essay!analyses!the!hints!left!by!John!Green!in!Looking'for'Alaska!and!Jennifer! Brown!in!Hate'List!that!their!protagonists,!Miles!and!Valerie,!are!biased!and! unreliable!narrators.!It!examines!the!way!the!authors!create!relatable!characters! to!conceal!the!bias!of!the!narrations.!Both!protagonists!have!lost!a!close!person! through!suicide.!Both!protagonists!are!emotionally!connected!to!the!deceased! character.! ! One!of!the!most!obvious!ways!in!which!the!bias!and!the!unreliability!of!the! protagonists!are!hinted!at!is!through!the!splitting!of!the!novels!through!parts.! From!one!part!to!another,!the!change!of!perception!of!the!protagonists!towards! the!deceased!characters!becomes!apparent.!! ! Both!protagonists!want!to!keep!their!deceased!character!to!themselves!and! therefore!mould!their!memories!to!fit!their!wants.!Both!authors!leave!hints!in! their!novels,!however!through!creating!a!relatable!protagonists!these!hints!are! not!as!apparent!as!they!could!have!been.! ! All!theses!factors!bring!forth!the!following!research!question:!How!have!the! authors,!Jennifer!Brown!and!John!Green,!created!biased!and!unreliable! protagonists!in!their!novels!Looking'for'Alaska!and!Hate'List?!This!is!the!question! that!is!being!answered!with!this!essay.! ! ! ! Words:!205! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2! Table of Contents: ! ! ! ! I.! Title!Page! 1! ! ! ! II.! Abstract! 2! ! ! ! III.!Table!of!Contents! 3! ! ! ! IV.!Introduction! 4! ! ! ! V.! Summary!of!Plot! 5! ! ! ! VI.!Illusions!! 7! ! ! ! ! VII.!Before!Death! 9! ! ! ! VIII.!!After!Death! 11! ! ! ! IX.! !Unreliability!and!Bias! 13! ! ! ! X.! Closure! 15! ! ! ! XI.!Conclusion! 16! ! ! ! XII.!!Acknowledgements! 18! ! ! ! XIII.!!Bibliography!&!Works!Consulted! 19! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 3! Introduction!–! The!research!question,!the!basis!of!this!Extended!Essay,!is!“How!have!the! authors,!Jennifer!Brown!and!John!Green,!created!biased!and!unreliable! protagonists!in!their!novels!“Looking!for!Alaska”!and!“Hate!List”?”!This!question! will!be!analysed!in!thorough!detail!during!the!Extended!Essay.! One!character!dealing!with!the!death!of!a!character!that!they!were!close! to!is!a!storyline!many!novelists!pursue.!John!Green’s!Looking'for'Alaska'and! Jennifer!Brown’s!Hate'List!are!classified!as!young!adult!novels!that!both!follow! this!popular!storyline!as!well.!The!protagonists,!John!Green’s!Miles!and!Jennifer! Brown’s!Valerie,!are!distanced!from!society!and!suffer!tragic!throwbacks!in!their! lives!due!to!the!loss!of!their!dear!friends.!Miles!loses!his!friend,!a!young!girl! named!Alaska,!who!he!is!madly!in!love!with,!and!Valerie!loses!her!boyfriend.! Both!characters!die!through!suicide.!The!leftover!protagonists!have!to!deal!with! memories,!which!shape!their!new!lives!without!their!friends.!However,!they! shape!these!memories!so!that!they!suit!their!image!of!the!deceased!character.! The!affection!they!have!towards!the!deceased!character!makes!then!unreliable! narrators.!! Both!novels!handle!the!issue!of!suicide.!The!concern!of!suicide!is!often! considered!a!taboo.!It!is!an!emotional!subject,!and!it!is!often,!unfortunately,! tossed!aside!as!a!topic!with!little!importance.!Suicide,!discussed!too!little!in! school!and!other!learning!facilities,!is!what!drew!me!to!these!novels.!How!open! the!characters!handle!this!issue,!and!how!in!public!it!has!to!be!masked.!The!use! of!teenaged!main!characters!makes!it!easy!to!relate!to!the!protagonists,!though! the!circumstances!may!be!very!foreign.!This!is!why!I!have!decided!to!use!these! two!novels!as!the!basis!of!my!Extended!Essay.!! ! 4! Although!the!storyline!of!leftover!characters!has!been!transformed!into!a! novel!many!times,!these!two!authors!play!with!the!reader’s!perception!of!their! characters.!Only!after!numerous!readings!is!it!clear!how!flawed!and!biased!these! characters!are!as!narrators.!Therefore,!this!Extended!Essay!will!analyse!the!main! characters!of!the!novels,!Miles!and!Valerie!in!Looking'for'Alaska!and!Hate'List,! respectively.!The!authors!have!created!characters!who!are!unreliable!and!biased! because!their!perception!is!coloured!by!the!proximity!of!the!event!and!by!their! relationship!towards!the!dead!character.!It!will!be!demonstrated!that!both!John! Green!and!Jennifer!Brown!leave!many!hints!for!the!reader!throughout!their! novels.!Examples!would!be!how!Miles!changes!Alaska!from!an!annoying! emotional!wreck!into!an!idol!and!how!Valerie!holds!onto!her!memory!of!her! boyfriend!rather!than!accepting!that!he!was!a!murderer.! ! Summary!of!Plots!–! ! Looking'For'Alaska' Miles!Halter,!a!sixteenbyearbold!boy!from!Florida,!goes!to!boarding!school! at!“Culver!Creek!Preparatory!School”!1!in!Alabama.!He!is!a!new!student,!and!it!is! his!first!semester!abroad!from!home,!in!search!for!the!Great!Perhaps2.!His!love! for!famous!people’s!last!words!has!always!made!him!an!outcast.!This!changes! when!he!meets!Alaska!Young!and!her!friends.!She!sucks!him!into!her!world!of! pranks,!secrets!and!selfbdestruction.!At!first,!Miles!is!attracted!to!Alaska’s!body.! However,!after!her!suicide!one!late!night,!she!becomes!something!beyond!death.! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1!Page!6,!Looking'For'Alaska.!Green,!John.!Penguin!Group.!Print! 2!François!Rabelais’!last!words! ! 5! He!idolises!her.!He!spends!the!rest!of!the!year!trying!to!deny!her!death,!wanting! to!have!her!for!himself.!Miles!reconstructs!the!story!from!a!future!point!in!time;! many!of!his!memories!have!been!tweaked!to!fit!his!renewed!idolised!image!of! Alaska.!The!story!is!told!in!past!tense,!showing!that!a!distance!has!been!created! between!the!date!of!telling!this!story!and!the!date!the!story!actually!occurred.!! ! Hate'List' Valerie!Leftman!has!always!lived!as!a!recluse.!Her!clothes!aren’t!what!her! classmates!accept,!she!listens!to!strange!music,!and!she!loves!the!colour!black3.! Her!only!friends!are!outcasts!as!well.!Her!life!is!uneventful,!until!she!meets!Nick! Levil,!a!boy!with!the!same!interests!as!her.!She!falls!in!love!with!him,!and!soon! after!they’re!in!a!relationship.!Valerie!and!Nick!start!a!list!of!all!the!people!that! torment!them;!all!the!people!that!make!their!life!hell,!all!the!people!they!hate.! One!of!these!people!is!Christy!Bruter,!a!girl!that!Valerie!knew!since!Kindergarten! “After!all!these!years!she!still!hadn’t!tired!of!the!same!old!stupid!jokes.!Still! hadn’t!grown!out!of!them.”4!All!the!“bullying,!the!teasing!the!namebcalling…”5! hurt!them.!They!call!this!the!Hate!List.!This!is!the!list!Nick!uses!to!choose!his! targets!during!the!school!shooting!he!initiates!five!months!before!the!story! begins.!Valerie!throws!herself!in!front!of!a!target,!taking!a!shot!in!the!leg.!She! awakes!days!later!in!the!hospital,!unable!to!remember!anything.!She!is! investigated!as!a!suspect!but!also!a!witness.!Worse!for!her!is!however,!that!Nick! has!killed!himself.!She!is!left(man)!to!face!a!hard!semester!of!inquiries,! psychologists!and!doubtful!looks!alone.!The!narration!is!not!done!in! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3!Page!31!Hate'List.!Brown,!Jennifer.!Little,!Brown.!Print! 4!Page!59!Hate'List.!Brown,!Jennifer.!Little,!Brown.!Print! 5!Page!388!Hate'List.!Brown,!Jennifer.!Little,!Brown.!Print! ! 6! chronological!order.!The!reader!is!constantly!unsure!of!the!time!frame.!There!are! snippets!of!newspapers!to!show!how!the!public!learned!about!what!happened!at! the!shooting,!showing!another!point!of!view!of!the!story.!! ! Illusions!–! In!both!novels!the!protagonists,!John!Green’s!Miles!and!Jennifer!Brown’s! Valerie,!create!false!illusions!of!their!deceased!friend!in!order!to!make!their! deaths!more!bearable!and!explainable.!In!Hate'List,!Valerie!refuses!to!picture!her! boyfriend!as!a!murderer:!“(…)!I!looked!in!Nick’s!eyes!…!I!knew!what!I!saw!and!it! was!good!(…)!So!sometimes!it!makes!sense!to!me!that!maybe!it!was!Jeremy6!who! put!those!ideas!about!shooting!up!the!school!in!Nick’s!head.!Not!me.!Jeremy.!He’s! the!bad!guy.”7!Because!both!deaths!are!suicides,!the!social!pressure!is!enormous,! because!they!are!left!to!explain.!They!are!left!to!explain!the!why!and!how!the! suicide!occurred!but!also!the!how!and!why!of!their!relationship!towards!the! dead!person.!They!must!live!with!being!blamed!and!blaming!themselves.!They! clamber!onto!this!truth!for!as!long!as!possible,!almost!stubbornly!blocking!out! anyone!else’s!attempts!to!say!differently.! ! Miles,!also!referred!to!as!Pudge,!is!retelling!the!story!from!a!future!point! in!time.!He!splits!his!retellings!into!two!sections:!‘Before!Alaska’s!Death’8,!and! ‘After!Alaska’s!Death’9.!Separating!the!novel!into!two!parts!is!a!hint!to!the!reader! that!for!Miles,!time!has!stopped!when!Alaska!died.!He!splits!happenings!into! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 6!Nick’s!mysterious!friend!! 7!Page!27!Hate'List.!Brown,!Jennifer.!Little,!Brown.!Print! 8!Page!1,!Looking'For'Alaska.!Green,!John.!Penguin!Group.!Print.! 9!Page!135,!Looking'For'Alaska.!Green,!John.!Penguin!Group.!Print.! ! 7! before!Alaska’s!death!and!after!Alaska’s!death.!For!him,!there!are!only!these!two! time!intervals.!Miles!obsessive!love!towards!Alaska,!a!girl!he!could!never!be!with,! becomes!most!apparent!after!her!death.!However,!her!other!friends!are!telling! him!what!kind!of!person!Alaska!really!was:!about!her!alcohol!abuse,!“The!way!
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  • Burek Pierce, Jennifer
    Vlogbrothers and the Vade Mecum: Guiding Young Readers' Participation in Civic Culture Best-selling Indianapolis novelist John Green, with his brother Hank, created the Vlogbrothers YouTube channel in 2007. Their online exchanges attracted a following of those who enjoyed young adult novels and nerdy, off-beat humor. Over time, the community of readers and viewers came to be one invested not just in literature but in civic and civil culture. The guidance for that participation in civic culture and community improvement is a thread that runs through both Vlogbrothers videos and the novels. In this essay, I argue that the novels of John Green represent more than engaging and skillful narratives; the actions and viewpoints of his characters offer ideas about how to live and conduct oneself in contemporary society. The Fault in Our Stars, for example, opposes the life philosophies of Augustus Waters, who aspires to great and memorable actions that resonate broadly, while Hazel Grace Lancaster, who argues that the most important impact a person has is on his or her immediate circle. Other novels, like Paper Towns, call for us to understand one another’s humanity, regardless of the image a person projects or appearances. Nerdfighteria’s mantra of “Don’t forget to be awesome,” a call to be kind and do well in the world, also embodies these tenets. Further documents, like John Green’s “Imagine Others Complexly” essay that has been suggested for inclusion in Wikipedia’s civility essays, and Hank Green’s “How to Vote” videos, encourage readers and viewers to carry their actions and attitudes from page and screen into the world.
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  • M-A Incoming 9Th Grade Summer Reading
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  • Grade 11 Summer Reading Guide
    2019 Summer Reading Guides Rising Eleventh Grade The following study guide and questions offer suggestions which should help you in your understanding of the Summer Reading selections. Plan to take some notes as you read so that, even if you read the books early in the summer, you will have some material to review before the test or essay on each book. Tips for reading all Summer Reading selections: 1. Read the study guide questions before you begin reading the book, so you will know what to think about and look for while you are reading. 2. Have a pen or pencil ready to jot down notes. 3. Using a highlighter is good for marking the important passages and ideas in the book. 4. Write notes and questions to yourself in the margins of the book. 5. Look up meanings of words you do not know. 6. Use an encyclopedia or atlas to help you think about the setting and context of the book. 7. Read the front and back covers of the book and read the preface or introduction. 8. Reread a passage or chapter if you need to. 9. Discuss the book with others who are also reading it; discuss the study guide questions as well. 10. Keep a list of the questions that you have as you read the book; write down the page numbers about which you have questions. These questions may be asked the first day of the class in the fall. 11. Think especially carefully about the ending of the book; it usually has enormous clues about the major themes or ideas of the book.
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