“Ya’ll smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die.” John Green’s Looking for Alaska explores the concepts of life and death, or more specifically how to live and die. Main character, Miles Halter, desires an exciting life and decides to leave the safety of his home to attend Culver Creek boarding school. Here he meets trailer-bred genius Chip “the Colonel” Martin. The Colonel introduces him to a life of fun and mischief. More importantly, Miles discovers the beautiful, clever, and self-destructive Alaska Young. When Alaska dies in a car crash, he is consumed with grief and confusion. Throughout the rest of the novel, Miles and the Colonel try to unravel the mystery of whether her death was suicidal or accidental. The theme of memorialization appears
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What makes this novel unique, is that it focuses on the concept of how to live and how to die. This theme is even prevalent in the title as it is called Looking for Alaska rather than simply Alaska. The word “looking” implies an adventure because in this story, it is the journey that matters. Miles leaves Florida in search of a “Great Perhaps.” This idea comes from Francois Rabelais. Miles describes him in this quote: “He was this poet. And his last words were ‘I go to seek a Great Perhaps.’ That’s why I’m going. So I don’t have to wait until I die to start seeking a Great Perhaps” (Green 5). When Rabelais sought a “Great Perhaps,” he was referring to the mystery of what might await him after death. Miles reinterprets this quote to be about living rather than dying. He memorizes people’s last words because it helps him understand their life. Miles’ World Religions class explores how different cultures answer life’s biggest questions. One concept the class focuses on is how to get out of the “labyrinth” of life. When Alaska escapes from her own labyrinth, she creates a new one for Miles. After months of grieving and anger, Miles chooses to forgive himself and Alaska. He decides to move forward in his search for a “Great Perhaps.” Miles learns that it is the uncertainty of life that makes it worth …show more content…
He has a gift for leading and brings everyone together. Although he emanates confidence, the Colonel carries a rough past with him. Chip describes to Miles why he chose to go to Culver Creek. Miles tells the readers: “...so he wrote his application essay about how he wanted to go to a school where he could read long books. The problem, he said in the essay, was that his dad would always hit him with the books in his house, so Chip kept his books short and paperback for his own safety” (Green 11). His abusive father left Chip and his mother. His relationship with his mom is full of love and appreciation. The Colonel takes the loss of his father and uses it as determination. Just like Miles, he deals with Alaska’s death with anger. However, Chip is the one that brings everyone back together. Along with this, he takes his grief and turns it into motivation to bring his grades
What makes this novel unique, is that it focuses on the concept of how to live and how to die. This theme is even prevalent in the title as it is called Looking for Alaska rather than simply Alaska. The word “looking” implies an adventure because in this story, it is the journey that matters. Miles leaves Florida in search of a “Great Perhaps.” This idea comes from Francois Rabelais. Miles describes him in this quote: “He was this poet. And his last words were ‘I go to seek a Great Perhaps.’ That’s why I’m going. So I don’t have to wait until I die to start seeking a Great Perhaps” (Green 5). When Rabelais sought a “Great Perhaps,” he was referring to the mystery of what might await him after death. Miles reinterprets this quote to be about living rather than dying. He memorizes people’s last words because it helps him understand their life. Miles’ World Religions class explores how different cultures answer life’s biggest questions. One concept the class focuses on is how to get out of the “labyrinth” of life. When Alaska escapes from her own labyrinth, she creates a new one for Miles. After months of grieving and anger, Miles chooses to forgive himself and Alaska. He decides to move forward in his search for a “Great Perhaps.” Miles learns that it is the uncertainty of life that makes it worth …show more content…
He has a gift for leading and brings everyone together. Although he emanates confidence, the Colonel carries a rough past with him. Chip describes to Miles why he chose to go to Culver Creek. Miles tells the readers: “...so he wrote his application essay about how he wanted to go to a school where he could read long books. The problem, he said in the essay, was that his dad would always hit him with the books in his house, so Chip kept his books short and paperback for his own safety” (Green 11). His abusive father left Chip and his mother. His relationship with his mom is full of love and appreciation. The Colonel takes the loss of his father and uses it as determination. Just like Miles, he deals with Alaska’s death with anger. However, Chip is the one that brings everyone back together. Along with this, he takes his grief and turns it into motivation to bring his grades