Miles In Looking For Alaska

In “Looking for Alaska” by John Green, Miles “Pudge” Halter moves to a new boarding school to find his ‘Great Perhaps,’ which is the adventurous, exciting life that he feels he deserves. I find Miles’ self perception of being an unwanted social outcast extremely irritating. He tends to focus on the negative aspects in his life and what he doesn’t have, rather than the positive things. For example, he does this when he first enters his new school. After meeting and becoming friends with his new roommate, the ‘Colonel,’ Miles feels cheated when the Colonel tells him that he “not going to be your entree into the social life at Culver Creek.” Instead of being grateful that he likes and has become friends with his roommate he'll have for the rest …show more content…
Prior to Culver Creek, Miles had never smoked a cigarette nor drunk for fun, but within the first few days of hanging out with the Colonel and Alaska, he’d bought cigarettes and gotten drunk. Reading the novel, I didn’t feel as if Miles was pressured into doing those things, and I think he did them out of curiosity and to satisfy his search for his “Great Perhaps.” I think Miles, and many teenagers in our age group, feel as if he needed to partake in those events, in fear of being left out. However, it does make me think about peer pressure and the teen drinking culture in modern day New Zealand. I definitely believe that there is a fine line between offering a drink, and pushing a drink, and that you should never do anything you’re uncomfortable with. However, not everyone is as thick skinned as I am and may not be able to withstand the taunting that may come with not drinking, smoking or doing anything of the sorts. I don’t care if my friends or peers drink or smoke etc, but I believe it’s important to know what you’re doing and be in control of yourself at all times, as well as being aware of the repercussions that may come from your actions. I, without doubt, think that the stigma we’re exposed to of being an alcohol free teenager needs to go. I have never experienced peer pressure in any way, shape or form, so I probably have an extremely different perspective on peer pressure than to people who have. I imagine peer pressure as an obvious ultimatum: either conform to what the bully wants, or forever be the social outcast, which is what I see happening in movies and American tv shows. If I ever am put in the position where I feel even slightly pressured to do something I don’t want to, I hope that unlike Miles, I have the power and self confidence to say no, and do what I feel comfortable doing. We, as teens, should never succumb to the