In this series of posts I will be exploring Looking For Alaska in depth, including summaries and analysis, here is part 1:
Pages 1-20
SUMMARY
Miles Halter’s mom throws him a going away party a week before he leaves for a boarding school in Birmingham, Alabama called Culver Creek Preparatory School. Only two people show up to his party, Marie and Will, and he finds them uninteresting. His parents wonder if his lack of friends is the reason why he wants to leave, Miles uses Francois Rabelais’s last words, “I go to seek a Great Perhaps” as his reason.
Miles arrives at Culver Creek, unpacks and is ready to be separated from his parents. When parting, Mile’s dad advises him to not do anything stupid and to not do drugs, drink, or smoke. After taking a shower Miles meets his roommate Chip Martin, Chip shows Miles his ability to memorize countries and Miles shows off his ability to memorize last words, beginning with Henrik Ibsen.
Chip points out the two types of groups at Culver Creek, the regular boarders and the Weekday Warriors who he sees as the rich cool kids that he does not like. Chip makes it clear to Miles that he is not his entrée into the Culver Creek social life. Chip renames Miles Pudge, to be ironic as Miles is skinny, and tells Miles to call him Colonel.
Both Chip and Miles walk five doors down to room 48 where Miles meets Alaska for the first time and describes her as the hottest girl in human history. Miles buy’s cigarettes from Alaska and later Miles and Chip meet up “at the lake” where Miles smokes for the first time. Chip leaves and Alaska meets up with Miles “at the lake” and Miles shares more last words that he knows. In exchange, Alaska shares the last words of Simon Bolivar from, The General in his Labyrinth. Miles recognizes Simon Bolivar’s last words as great and also sees the beauty and curves of Alaska. Alaska then challenges Miles with the questions; is the labyrinth living or dying? Is Simon Bolivar trying to escape the world or the end of it? Consequently, Alaska and Miles make a deal, Alaska will get Miles laid if he can figure out what the labyrinth is and how to get out of it.
ANALYSIS
Miles leads a boring and friendless existence and consequently seeks a Great Perhaps. The Great Perhaps embodies adventure, a chance at better life experiences, unpredictability, happiness and more importantly hope for something better.
The embodiment of the Great Perhaps is also evident in Mile’s name, “I’m Miles Halter…as in ‘to go before I sleep’?” (10). In other words, Miles has a journey ahead of him that he must take before he dies. Sleep here symbolizes death. The aforementioned also refers to the Robert Frost poem titled,
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening:
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sounds the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
For Robert Frost the woods are attractive and seductive “The woods are lovely, dark and deep.” The woods are like a lullaby that puts you to sleep, almost like being cast under a spell. The woods here symbolize dark mystery and death. Frost does not succumb to the seduction of the woods, although he momentarily considers it, as he recognizes that he has, “Miles to go” or a life to be lived before he can respond to the beck and call of death.
The woods are also a metaphor for Alaska, “…she is beautiful. In the dark beside me, she smelled of sweat and sunshine and vanilla, and on that thin-mooned night I could see little more than her silhouette except for when she smoked, when the burning cherry of the cigarette washed her face in pale red light. She had the kind of eyes that predisposed you to supporting her every endeavor” (19). Alaska herself is lovely, her description is washed in darkness, and the mysterious nature of Alaska demonstrates her depth. The “pale red light” symbolizes pleasure and desire and her eyes being responsible for, “predisposing you to supporting her every endeavor” reveals her seductive nature that is similar to the lull of the woods.
In the first section of the novel you are introduced to the last words of Simon Bolivar, “‘He…was shaken by the overwhelming revelation that the headlong race between his misfortunes and his dreams was at that moment reaching the finish line. The rest was darkness. “Damn it,” he sighed. “How will I ever get out of this labyrinth!” (19). Miles then asks a central question in the novel, “What’s a labyrinth?”: this question is then followed by Miles realizing “the importance of curves,” wherein he describes the slopes and curves of Alaska’s body.
The literal definition of a labyrinth is:
- A complicated irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one’s way; a maze
- An intricate and confusing arrangement
The literal definition of a labyrinth alongside Miles’s description of Alaska’s body demonstrates that the labyrinth is a symbol for Alaska. Furthermore, this sheds light on the significance of the title, Looking for Alaska who herself seems to be a mysterious intricate maze.
But is the labyrinth only a symbol for Alaska or does it symbolize something more? Alaska states, “That’s the mystery, isn’t it? Is the labyrinth living of dying? Which is he trying to escape—the world or the end of it?” Clearly we can see here that the symbol of the labyrinth goes beyond just representing Alaska. As the reader you are encouraged to join Miles on his quest to:
- Figure out what the labyrinth is
- Figure out how to get out of the labyrinth
Two central questions that frame the book.
Next post in the series:
Looking For Alaska Study Guide Part 2.
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