Alaska

Outgoing and mysterious 

Alaska is one of the main characters in John Green’s novel Looking for Alaska. She comes from Vine Station, a small town in Alabama. She describes this place as ugly and depressing, which is why she has wished to get away from there since she was a small child (p. 51). She is also in the 11th  grade and therefore presumably 16 years old like Miles. She grew up with both of her parents. She describes her mother as "something of a hippie" (p. 51) and her father as "real Republican" (p. ibid.).

The first thing readers learn about Alaska is that she has a single room at Culver Creek boarding school because her roommate was kicked out of school last year and that she always has cigarettes (p. 18). She has a curvy body, wears cut-off jeans and a pink undershirt when she first meets Miles, and speaks loudly and quickly (p. 18-19). Her face is narrow and she has green eyes that particularly catch Miles's eye. He describes them as "fierce emeralds" (p. 22). There is something mysterious about her smile, which Miles describes as a Mona Lisa smile (p. 31). She is described as creative (p. 23), which is shown, for example, by the fact that she chose her own name (see Title analysis).

For Alaska’s seventh birthday, her parents give her the opportunity to choose her own first name. When Alaska is eight years old, her mother dies of an aneurysm. Her relationship with her father has been difficult...