Life Without Hope In L. B. Tillit's Monster
What is life without hope? This is a theme that we have seen over and over again in the YA novels that we have looked at in our young adult literature class. I would like to look specifically at how Edge of Ready and Unchained by L.B. Tillit, Looking for Alaska by John Green and Monster by Walter Dean Myers addresses this idea of hope. Each one of these novels approaches the idea of hope differently.
Edge of Ready by L.B. Tillit is the story of Dani and how she over comes having to help take care of her little brother and juggle school as well as being raped. This book in general is super heavy. Often older siblings in single parent households have to take on a parental role with their younger siblings. This means missing school to watch a …show more content…
Even in the darkest hours, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Looking for Alaska by John Green is the story of Miles Halter and his adventure of going to a boarding school. In this novel we see Miles finally make friends and fall in love. This novel deals with peer pressure and dealing with the death of a friend.
Miles looks for his “Great Perhaps” (Francois Rabelais, poet) at the Culver Creek Preparatory School. Where he meets The Colonel and Takumi but most importantly Alaska. These people he befriend is his fist show of hope for his “Great Perhaps”. “If the colonel though that calling me his friend would make me stand by him, well he was right” (Green 28)
Miles has the experience of the “grate perhaps”. He plays pranks and smokes cigarettes and drinks for the first time. He breaks out of his shell. He becomes a different version of himself. This couldn’t have happened without the help of his friends.
Alaska dies. This completely tears Miles up. He feels completely hopeless. He feels at fault for letting her leave when she was intoxicated. “I thought: It’s all my fault” (139). It is through The Colonels and Miles putting together what happened to Alaska that night that Miles finds hope that Alaska would have forgiven him. “That she forgave us”
Edge of Ready by L.B. Tillit is the story of Dani and how she over comes having to help take care of her little brother and juggle school as well as being raped. This book in general is super heavy. Often older siblings in single parent households have to take on a parental role with their younger siblings. This means missing school to watch a …show more content…
Even in the darkest hours, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Looking for Alaska by John Green is the story of Miles Halter and his adventure of going to a boarding school. In this novel we see Miles finally make friends and fall in love. This novel deals with peer pressure and dealing with the death of a friend.
Miles looks for his “Great Perhaps” (Francois Rabelais, poet) at the Culver Creek Preparatory School. Where he meets The Colonel and Takumi but most importantly Alaska. These people he befriend is his fist show of hope for his “Great Perhaps”. “If the colonel though that calling me his friend would make me stand by him, well he was right” (Green 28)
Miles has the experience of the “grate perhaps”. He plays pranks and smokes cigarettes and drinks for the first time. He breaks out of his shell. He becomes a different version of himself. This couldn’t have happened without the help of his friends.
Alaska dies. This completely tears Miles up. He feels completely hopeless. He feels at fault for letting her leave when she was intoxicated. “I thought: It’s all my fault” (139). It is through The Colonels and Miles putting together what happened to Alaska that night that Miles finds hope that Alaska would have forgiven him. “That she forgave us”