What It Is: Everyone knows what a nickname is, even if they haven't got one themselves (consider yourself lucky). What It Means: While you wouldn't normally think of nicknames as a trope, they're used so often and with such frequency in Green's novels that they absolutely merit inclusion. A quick example of Green's abundance of nicknames: In Looking For Alaska, the protagonist Miles is known as Pudge, he's friends with The Colonel and the school is governed by the Dean of Students also know as The Eagle. In Paper Towns, the protagonist is Q and he has a best friend named Radar. Throughout these books (and Green's others) many characters are given and referred to by nicknames. But why so many? Put simply, nicknames in Green's novels are essentially the same as physical descriptions. A unique nickname is a piece of characterization, before a character has even spoken or been described. Not only that, but nicknames give the impression that Green's creations are much more than just characters in a novel. They've got stories and a history we don't know about. What this basically amounts to is the feeling that Green's stories are lived in.
