Looking for Alaska Questions

1. Explain the significance of the title of the novel. Explore other titles which might (or might not) have been more appropriate.

"Looking for Alaska" pretty much sums up the entirety of the story. Loss, looking for what is lost, and finding the strength to accept that it is gone. Pudge loses Alaska, a person that had become really important to him. She was his best friend and the girl he loved, and then poof, she was gone. He spent the part of the story after her death searching for her. He continuously tried to figure out what had happened to her, why she had to go, with a question lingering in the background. Accident or suicide? The title of the book puts everything in a nice little box; Alaska dies, Pudge gives up on life while looking for her, and in the end, he finds the strength to accept that she is gone, but she will not be forgotten. She is more than the sum of her parts, after all.

I think the title fits the story perfectly, but for the sake of answering the question completely, let me break out my creativity. Perhaps something along the lines of "Escaping the Labyrinth" or "Straight & Fast", or even "More Than the Sum of Her Parts" would work, though that last title is aimed specifically toward Alaska which may not be the best way to go about this.

2. Select what you consider to be the most important chapter in the novel and prove your opinion by relating it to the novel as a whole. 

The most important "chapter" of the novel would be the chapter where Pudge finds out that Alaska has died. It is important because it brings everything into perspective and sets the rest of the story in motion. Alaska, his best friend and his love, is gone. She has passed on, never to return, and this shatters Pudge. This also begins his journey and investigation to find out exactly what happened to her. This is where he begins looking for Alaska. This ultimately leads to Pudge's epiphany at the end of the novel that Alaska was more than just the sum of her parts, or the things that she loved or the things that she did. As long as he remembers her, she will never be forgotten. The chapter where Alaska's death is revealed is the pivotal moment of the story, and it leads to the closure (well, almost closure) that was needed.

3. Select what you consider to be the most important quotation in the novel and prove your opinion by relating it to the novel as a whole.

While there are so many amazing quotes in Looking for Alaska, the most important is "We had to forgive to survive in the labyrinth", which Pudge says on page 218. This explains the entirety of the story. The point is that life can really suck, and there is pain and suffering everywhere that everyone feels (the labyrinth). People become trapped in this labyrinth and fight to find a way out. But the only real way out is forgiveness. Alaska would forgive all of the guys for doing the stupid thing and letting her leave in the state she was in. Pudge ultimately forgives Alaska for leaving them, which helps him cope and let go of some of his pain and his grief over her death. This quote shows that the only true way to make it in life is to learn to forgive and let go of the things you cannot control.

4. Select what you consider to be the most important symbol or image in the novel and prove your opinion by relating it to the novel as a whole. 

I believe that the most important symbol in the story was the white flowers that Alaska always had or was always doodling. These symbolized so much for her; they symbolized both her relationship with Jake, and her mother's death (her mother liked white flowers). It is theorized that the doodle of the flowers Alaska created while on the phone with Jake was what made her snap, which lead up to Pudge's loss of her, his attempts to find her, and his ultimate acceptance and forgiveness of her death. The white flowers symbolize forgiveness, in a way, as well. They reminded Alaska of her mother, and though she didn't forgive herself for her death, I believe she forgave her mother for leaving her, and forgiveness is what the story is entirely about.

8. Relate some aspect, character, event, chapter, or quotation in the novel to something of importance in your own life.

Pudge's quote about having to forgive to survive in the labyrinth has had a great impact on me, personally. I carry around so many things that I shouldn't carry with me. I feel so many things and I hold grudges against myself for things that are not my fault. I make myself feel so much pain, and I shouldn't. This quote made me see that if I'm going to survive in this world, I have to forgive myself for some of these things. I need to let these things go before they make me worse.

I also really relate to Alaska and her inner struggle with wanting out. She spoke about death and finding her way out quite a bit, and I understand exactly how she feels. I often struggle with life and balancing my fears and the fact that I desperately want out.

14. Relate some aspect, character, event, chapter, or quotation in the novel to another novel you have read.

I'm going to take the easy way out and relate this novel to Perks of Being a Wallflower. Pudge certainly reminds me of Charlie, in the sense that they are both dealing with change and hope, and they both have to learn to forgive so that they can survive in life.

Alaska reminds me of Sam, in the sense that they are both seemingly unlikeable characters who have very dark pasts and have struggled in life.

Alaska's death reminds me of Aunt Helen's death in Perks, mainly because both deaths send the main character of the stories on a journey that ultimately leads to forgiveness and acceptance. Both Charlie and Pudge realize that in order for them to keep living, they will have to forgive the people that hurt them the most and left them hurt and broken. They realize that everything will be okay, in time, once they extend this forgiveness.