Self-destructive behavior is commonplace in this book written by John Green. According to psychologists, self-destructive behavior is used as a coping mechanism when one is overwhelmed. In this novel, this type of response is seen mainly in Miles and Alaska. They both have different reasons for this behavior, as well as very different outcomes. Say no to plagiarism. Get Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original EssayMiles Halter is the protagonist. He is depicted as a mostly passive participant in the novel. He is not particularly handsome or interesting, but gets drawn into exciting situations by his new friends. Alaska, for Miles, is a dream. She is passionate, elusive and unpredictable. For him, Alaska is an inaccessible animal that refuses to be caged. His admiration for her is essentially one-dimensional. He likes the attributes of her that she herself puts forward, even if her personality type seems neither natural nor lasting. Miles seems like the perfect person to tell the story, as the perfect bystander. His self-destructive behavior comes, on the one hand, from the fact that he ends up falling in love with someone as broken as Alaska. He seems blinded by this new personality. On the other hand, another source of self-destruction comes from not having been very popular at his last school (his leaving party to which only two people showed up). Suddenly he's part of something and he doesn't want to let this opportunity pass him by. His passivity also translates into his love of biographies, probably the only genre of book in which a person cannot consider himself a part. Alaska Young feels a deep sense of guilt for her mother's death, which she blames herself for, because she was too young to call the police. It's the root of her personality and the reason she acts the way she does. She's not unstable, but she's reckless, like someone who knows they're living on borrowed time. “Alaska finished his cigarette and threw it in the river. “Why are you smoking so quickly?” » I asked. She looked at me and smiled widely, and such a wide smile on her narrow face might have looked ridiculous if not for the impeccably elegant green in her eyes. She smiled with all the delight of a child on Christmas morning and said, "You all smoke to enjoy it." I smoke to die. (Chapter Nine). Smoking is one of the many ways Alaska can express guilt by punishing herself. This type of behavior is more pronounced in her personality because she is fully aware of what she is doing to herself. This type of act is reminiscent of someone suffering from an eating disorder. She deprives herself of positive things in her life, like a future. Alaska is special in the sense that it remains aloof and cool in a way few people can. People end up losing their distance. The collapse of Alaska seems to be part of this enigmatic personality. In fact, everything she does seems to be part of this image. For example, having an older boyfriend who is obviously in love with her, but flirts with Miles. Self-destructive behavior is seen time and again among today's youth. The hardest part is recognizing it. For Alaska, the main reason for her self-destructive behavior was known to her, but some of us may not realize why we act the way we do. Some just want to feel alive, while others, like Alaska, want to punish themselves. In addition to the most self-destructive behaviors.