Blog Post #4: Reflecting on the Theme

                                      A Satisfying Ending to a Satisfying Book

I found the ending to this book extremely satisfying. When Takumi writes the letter for Pudge and the Colonel explaining that the reason Alaska had been so upset the night that she passed wasn't in fact due to her relationship with Jake and/or Pudge but in fact was because it marked the day her mom passed and she hadn't remembered. This is a huge shock to the readers because we had been so convinced that quite possibly it was suicide and maybe it was but the chances are much less likely now knowing the circumstance. Having the book end by writing his way out of the labyrinth was one of the best ways to finish off the memories of Alaska. It gave Pudge the chance to finally set free all of the guilt in which he held within him since she passed, to recognize the beauty and the pain that Alaska held within her over all of the months that he has known her. In Pudge's passage about the labyrinth he wrote, "I still think that, sometimes, think that "the afterlife" is just something we made up to ease the pain of loss, to make our time in the labyrinth bearable. Maybe she was just matter, and matter get's recycled." -(220) This is such a powerful message to send because it's completely true. Pudge is making a point in which he's suggesting that although she is gone, she will never be forgotten. When he says "Maybe she's matter, and matter get's recycled" he's emphasizing that although her time has come to an end, she's not really gone. Everywhere you look a part of Alaska will shine brighter than what's truly in front of you and that's truthfully Pudge's idea of the existence of "the afterlife". Having the book end on the passage of the labyrinth left the reader reflecting on the message that Pudge was expressing but at the same time left room for the reader to in a way, make the ending their own. I think that the explanation of the anniversary of Alaska's mother's passing left the book with no unresolved issues. I was completely satisfied with the ending and couldn't have ended it better myself. 

The message that 'Looking For Alaska' sent to me is that no matter what, you will experience pain, hurt, and loss and you will also experience love, joy, and happiness but in the end, it will always make you stronger. When Alaska passed away, Pudge and the Colonel experienced a great deal of loss but they were in it together and it made them stronger. "...we're going to sit down together and try to figure out what happened,"-(170) Colonel explained to Pudge and because they offer that support to each other, it helped them both become stronger and heal from such a devastating loss. 

Another example throughout the book that corresponds the theme of the book is when Pudge, Colonel, Alaska, Lara and Takumi are all in the barn playing best day/worst day. This is a perfect example because when everyone shares their best day, they have everyone there to celebrate the best day and when they discuss their worst day, they have each other to condole and support their losses and bad experiences. When Alaska tells the story about how her mother passed and her dad blamed her (119) it gave Alaska a sense of relief. In real life it's often encouraged to talk about the bad experiences with people you trust because if you keep it bundled up inside it increases the chances of depression and stress, so by Alaska sharing this to the group it shows that she trusts them, gives her a sense of relief and also makes her stronger at the same time.

 Lastly, at the ending of the book when Pudge finally comes up with the answer to the labyrinth, something that he made a promise to Alaska he would some day figure out, he is full of so much joy. In his passage he writes, "I believe now that we are greater than the sum of our parts." (220) The joy of his ideal theory about the labyrinth makes him stronger because it's his final chance at an official goodbye to Alaska Young as well as upkeep of his promise. Prior to Pudge establishing his theory, he was filled with the feeling of guilt and sorrow so by him establishing the theory it made him strong. That just goes to show that in the end, no matter how good or bad the situation, it will always make you make stronger as proven in many circumstances throughout 'Looking For Alaska". Was the theme that you came up with similar to this one? 

Blog Post #3: Realistic or Not?

                                                       Realistic Fiction

Although 'Looking For Alaska' is a fiction novel, the way that the author describes the situations and experiences throughout the book, convinces the reader that it is a non-fiction book due to how realistic the situations are.

When Pudge and Alaska undid the bottle of vodka from a field just off campus, Pudge experiences one of his first encounters with peer pressure. Alaska unscrews the bottle, takes a sip and passes it to Pudge and says, "Don't worry about the Eagle tonight" then Pudge explains, "I thought about it for a moment as I held the bottle by the neck, but I wanted to trust her, and so I did. I took a minor sip, as as soon as I swallowed, I felt my body rejecting the stinging syrup of it. It washed back up my esophagus, but I swallowed hard, and there, yes, I did it. I was drinking on campus." -(81) Although Pudge was extremely uncomfortable with the whole situation of breaking the rules and drinking on campus, he let his feelings for Alaska get in the way and fell into peer pressure. This is something that happens to students in high school and post secondary all of the time which makes this situation very realistic to the real world.

The very first day that Pudge meets Alaska and the Colonel, Colonel convinces Pudge to go have smoke with them in the designated 'smoking hole'. Of course smoking isn't something that Pudge had ever considered doing because it's completely out of character but due to the fact that he is looking for someplace to fit in, he does anyways. His explanation is "1) I was on an Adirondack swing by myself, and 2) I had cigarettes, and 3) I figured that if everyone else could smoke cigarette without coughing, I could damn well, too."-(18) Once again this goes back to realistic possibilities of peer pressure and wanting to fit in with the crowd. His explanation is an explanation in which many young smokers may recite almost the same thing about trying it because they figure if everyone else can than why can't they. I believe that if he had denied the cigarette that it would quite possibly make the story unrealistic due to the increase of teenaged smoking influenced by peer pressure.

One of the most realistic situations in the entire book was Alaska's death. I know that I have referred to this in all of my blogs but that is because if how realistic and significant of and event it really was. Throughout your life you will always experience loss and most likely on multiple occasions and Pudge happened to experience loss in one of the worst ways. Alaska, the girl that he loved and his best friend died in a car crash while intoxicated, and Pudge knew that she was drunk and still let her drive, in fact he helped her escape. He was put into a very tough position when he saw the hurt in Alaska's eyes while she begged him to help her escape and that is the only reason that he let her go. After he found out about the accident and that she was gone, he began reading into it for some sort of explanation. -(165) Pudge suspected possible suicide and began looking up symptoms then looking back to see if Alaska has experienced any of them. Pudge shut himself down as any teenager in his position would. Having to experience what Pudge experienced, reflects the realistic attributes in Pudge's character when he shows guilt, sympathy and pain while mourning his loss. Were there any reasons regarding Alaska's death that you found made him a non-realistic character?

Blog Post #2: Questioning Character

Throughout 'Looking For Alaska' I noticed that Pudge has a round side to his character. Pudge's character is often persuade as mischievous, loyal and guilty.

Before the passing of Alaska when it was just her and Pudge at school over the break, they both got into some mischievous activities. They went on an adventure from room to room to 'discover people's secrets' while they were away, looking for things such as hidden alcohol, inappropriate magazines and anything else that could be used against people later. -(86-88) Throughout the book, Pudge always seems to be the good doer, never drinking or smoking, somewhat religious until he met Pudge and Alaska and that was the beginning of his character changes from flat to round.

Loyalty is one of the biggest attributes to Pudges character and is something that never changes from his character throughout the book. He is always loyal to his friendships and will help them out in any situation no matter how drastic. The night of Alaska's death although he knew that it wasn't right to let Alaska leave while under the influence, he was loyal to their friendship and helped her anyways. Him and the Colonel were the ones that set off fireworks to distract the Eagle so that she never got caught and that just shows that he is a loyal character to the people that mean the most to him.-(132-133) This makes him a round character as he is both loyal and mischievous.

The guilt within Pudge's character didn't become visible until after Alaska passed away. His feeling of guilt was triggered upon him not stopping Alaska and instead helping her leave which then resulted in her getting into a car accident. The guilt is also what made Pudge go into a denial faze where as I mentioned in my first, he started to convince himself that she committed suicide and drove into the truck on purpose and that in fact it wasn't his fault. "He knelt before a coffin at the front of the chapel. The coffin was closed. Closed. Never going to see her again. Can't kiss her forehead. Can't see her one last time. But I needed to, I needed to see her, and much too loud." -(151) This is just an example of the quilt that Pudge is feeling towards his decision to help Alaska.

Blog Post #1: Questioning the Narrator

                                   Can we Really Trust Miles "Pudge" Halter?

The narrator, Miles "Pudge" Halter from 'Looking For Alaska,' appears to be an unreliable narrator. From pages 80-170, there were many examples that express the possibility that the narrator is in fact unreliable. After Alaska's death, it's almost as if he completely forgets about who Alaska really was because he get's so caught up in the good of her opposed to the bad. Colonel calls him out on it saying, "Do you even remember the person she actually was? Do you remember how she could be a selfish bitch? That was part of her, and you used to know it. It's like now you only care about the Alaska you made up."- (165) This proves that even Colonel picked up on the unreliability of Pudge as a narrator. His unreliability was generated upon the death of Alaska. Before she passed, he was mesmerized by her and although he knew that she was not the one to always make smart choices, after the car accident he spoke of her as if she was so much better than what she really was.

When Pudge found out about Alaska's accident when the 'Eagle' announced the tragedy to the entire school at the gym, he immediately blamed himself. Afterwards, he convinced himself that it was not his fault at all and even at one point refused to believe that she was even dead. He then started to convince himself that Alaska truly loved Pudge but Colonel disagrees with that and feels that in fact he should stop trying to convince himself and just accept that in reality it was his fault. Colonel tries to pull Pudge into reality by calling him out in saying, "If she loved you so much, why did she leave you that night? And if you loved her so much, why'd you help her go? I was drunk. What's your excuse?"-Colonel (171) This shows that Pudge is unreliable as a narrator because he tries to convince the audience that it wasn't his fault when in reality Colonel has a very good point, why didn't he stop Alaska from leaving instead of helping her?

Alaska came up with this drinking game called best day, worst day and whoever loses has to drink. While playing the game, Pudge's turn comes up and he explains, "Best day of my life was today. And the story is that I woke up next to a very pretty Hungarian girl..."-(115) the only problem is, Lara is not Hungarian she's Romanian and so you would think since Pudge claims that he is in love with Lara and not Alaska, that he should at least know where she's from. This makes him an unreliable narrator because he is lying by saying that he is in love with Lara but truly is in love with Alaska. This sends mixed communications to the readers about his relationships and therefor makes him unreliable.Gunnar, did you notice any mixed communications with Pudge when talking about his feelings between Alaska and Lara throughout your pages in the book?