Looking For Alaska (Warning: SPOILERS!!)

            I just recently finished author & nerdfighter, John Green's, first novel, "Looking for Alaska". I can find no other way to describe this book other than “utterly fantastic”. It’s a less whiney, more enjoyable version of “The Catcher in the Rye”. Actually, in a lot of ways, it’s more like “Catcher in the Rye” meets “The Great Gatsby”.  The book is through the point of view of Miles Halter, who leaves his safe life in Florida to go to Culver Creek Boarding School in Alabama. There he makes new friends with whom he wreaks all kinds of havoc, as well as falls in love with the stunningly beautiful, never dull, and always unavailable, Alaska Young. Then disaster strikes and Miles’s world is turned upside down. From this point on, the book is about how Miles and his friends deal with this change and the mystery behind it. There is a section in the back of the book with discussion questions. I’ve answered these questions to the best of my ability, but be warned, spoilers run amok in this Q&A.

1.      Discuss the book’s unusual structure. Why do you suppose Green chose this strategy for telling his story? How else might he have structured the same material?

            I’m not really sure how to answer this question (I know, first question & I can’t answer, lovely). The structure just didn’t seem too strange to me. It was certainly creative. The countdown from “before” to “after” made me anticipate knowing what was going to happen to make “after” necessary. The book didn’t really have any clearly marked chapters. Just notes of time gone by and the two parts marked “before” and “after”.  This, along with the compelling story itself, made it extremely hard to put the book down, so I read it in two days. I don’t think this would have been the case, had there been distinguished chapters.

  

2.      Miles tells the story through his own first person voice. How might the book differ if it had been told in Alaska’s voice or the Colonel (aka Chip)? Or in the voice of an omniscient narrator?

  
            The book through the point of view of Alaska or an all knowing narrator would have been, I think, a lot shorter and a lot less interesting. Alaska was mysterious and unpredictable. It was the excitement of these characteristics that made the reader, as well as everyone around her; want to get in her head. Not knowing or fully understanding Alaska made reading the story more interesting. If we knew everything from being in Alaska’s head or being an all knowing narrator, that mystery and intrigue would be gone. Although, I think through Alaska’s point of view there would have been a lot more commentary and mention of great poets and writers which, in turn, would result in more excerpts to contemplate. Everything would be something of a riddle, because that’s what Alaska was. A living riddle. Through the Colonel’s point of view, there probably would have been a lot more angry self-mutterings and a LOT more profanity. Along with this would be a deeper background and history of Alaska. The reader would probably understand her better, and see her as she really was rather than the romanticized Alaska Miles had painted in his head. I think through the point of view of Miles, the true nature of Alaska Young is very sugar-coated.

3.      The Colonel says, “Everybody’s got a talent”, do you?

            I like to think so, but I can’t be too sure. I believe everyone has at least a few talents, whether they are aware of them or not. Mine happen to be in the “nurturing” and “creativity” categories. Not always as interesting as Miles’s ability to recall famous last words of the Colonel’s talent for memorization. Personally, I’m naturally a very nurturing person. I like to be there for people and take care of them. I think it’s important for everyone to have a “someone” they can go to, whether it be just for a listening ear or a pep talk. I like to be that person. Talents creativity wise….well….that’s what all this *waves arms around Webpage* is for.

4.      Miles’s teacher, Dr. Hyde, tells him to “be present”. What does this mean?

            To me, “being present” means being aware. Conscious of what is going on around you. “Stopping to smell the roses”, if you will. There are so many distractions and so many things going on around us all the time that is seems like we’re living at the speed of light. To me, “being present” is enjoying life in the moment rather than getting pulled into the warp of time. It’s taking a moment to appreciate what’s happening now in your life. “Being present” is acknowledging that you’re alive. Alive in that moment.

5.      John Green worked for a time as a chaplain in a children’s hospital. How do you think that influenced the writing of “Looking for Alaska”?

            Well considering I don’t entirely understand what a chaplain does, and that John Green described how it influenced him in the “Some Last Words on Last Words” section of the book, I’ll keep this short and sweet. I think working in the hospital really showed Green just how young people react to drastic changes.
 
6.      What do you think “The Great Perhaps” means?
           

            To me, “The Great Perhaps” is all the opportunities, chances, all the experiences, all of the unknown, and all of the “maybes” in life. The Great Perhaps is a term for possibilities and seeking it is how we change and grow. I don’t think there’s just one “Great Perhaps” in life. It can be an event, person, or possession. Sometimes, we may not even know we came across a “Great Perhaps” until it is already gone. The Great Perhaps, to me, serves as life’s “what ifs”.

 

7.      And how about Bolivar’s “labyrinth”?

           

                        In the book, Alaska believes the labyrinth to be the labyrinth of suffering,    but I’m not sure if I agree. The labyrinth comes from a Simon Bolivar’s last words, “How will I ever get out of this labyrinth!” It was, at first, unsure whether Bolivar meant the labyrinth of life or death. Later in the novel, Alaska decides he meant the labyrinth of suffering. I’m not so sure if it’s suffering as much as struggle. There’s always a struggle in life. It’s something we will never escape as long as we live, and I believe that’s what Bolivar meant.

8.      In the “Some Last Words on Last Words” section at the end of the book, Green writes, “I was born into Bolivar’s labyrinth and so I much believe in the hope of Rabelais’ ‘Great Perhaps’.” What do you think he means by this?

                 Assuming that Green agrees with Alaska’s suffering theory; I’d say that the “Great Perhaps” to him is hope itself. Hope, as well as optimism. The hope that there is something wonderful after death and the optimism that is necessary to believe in it.

 

9.      Has this novel changed the way you regard human suffering and death?

            I’m not sure if it’s changed how I think about suffering and death, but it has definitely widened my views. It’s amazing how the seemingly happiest person can really be the one suffering the most, like Alaska. She clearly had issues, but she seemed so care free all the time that you wouldn’t expect her to describe herself as a “deeply unhappy person” (unless that was just the fog from the book being the Miles’s point of view). As for death, I’ve always been a follower of the Christian faith. Like any faith, mine has its weak points, but I’m not really sure what I expect Heaven or the afterlife to be. I don’t believe in being just “gone” like Miles and the Colonel did. I think there has to be more, but perhaps we’re not conscious of it…

 

10.  One of the characters, Dr. Hyde, says “Everything that comes together falls apart.” Do you think the author agrees? How does he deal with this Zen belief in his novel?

                       

                        I think Green agrees to some degree with this idea. He displays the togetherness and falling apart though the group of kids the story revolves around. They come together, disaster strikes, they fall apart. It is because of what comes after that I think Green only agrees to a certain degree, because the kids come back together again. Although it is plausible that that’s just how things work. It’s a constant system of coming together and falling apart, and coming together and falling apart. Or perhaps there are some things that are meant to permanently come apart. It’s all just part of the cycle that is the labyrinth and the Great Perhaps.

 

11.  Alaska loves these two lines from the poet W.C. Auden: “You shall love your crooked neighbor/ With your crooked heart.” What do these lines mean to you and why do you think Alaska likes them so much?

 

            I think these lines mean that we should love and be kind to one another, flaws and all, because we are all flawed and “crooked”. Maybe that in itself is why Alaska loves the lines so much. She, herself, is crooked, so she related to it closer than we expect her to. It implies a perfect act from an imperfect being.

  

12.  Miles writes, “Teenagers think they are invincible.” Do you agree? Why or why not?

                       

                        I definitely think this is true. Not only do we think we are invincible, but we also think we know everything. I think that’s where so much rebellion comes from too. We believe we already know everything, so we ignore authority figures. We think we are invincible because we are stuck in the mindset of “That won’t happen to me”. We assume bad things only happen to someone else. However, we forget that we are all someone else to someone else.

13.  Was it necessary for Alaska to die?

 

            To have the ending that the book did, yes. Her death made Miles think harder about life, religion, and himself. Alaska’s death changed him even more than Alaska herself did. It transformed him in a way that I believe was for the better. It made him grow, change, and mature even more. So, yes, Alaska’s death was necessary.

 

14.  This novel is filled with wonderful characters. Who is your favorite? Why? Do you know any people like these characters?

                       

                        Out of all the characters, it is incredibly difficult to pick out just one favorite. However, I think I fell just as deeply in love with Alaska as Miles did. She was a free spirit and fearless. Yes, she was moody, but what human being isn’t at some point? Alaska reminded me of a mix between two of my good friends and me. Mostly just in how she spoke and the way she interacted with other people. Miles reminded me of one of my very dear friends and if he’s reading this, he knows exactly who he is. I believe we all have friends like The Colonel, Alaska, and Miles at least once during our lives, whether it’s permanent or destined to fall apart.

 

15.  Can you imagine Miles and the Colonel as adults? What might they be like? What professions do you suppose they might choose?

                         I have a hard time picturing the two as adults. I imagine they would stay friends due to they’re connection though living together in school as well as what they went through together with Alaska and her passing. Miles would probably be married with a son of his own, most likely still in love with the memory of Alaska. The Colonel would be rich and successful, well on his way to buying his mother that great big house. Miles will probably be just like his father, once a badass, but those days were now just a faded memory. I could easily see him as an author or journalist. As for the Colonel, he would be a big shot CEO at a very prestigious business, still drinking, smoking, and cussing way too much.

            When I mentioned that I was going to start reading John Green’s novels, one of my friends told me to “be ready to cry and grow a little bit wiser”. Now I know what she meant.