"Looking For Alaska" Character Reading Response

         

        Alaska in "Looking For Alaska" is an extremely complex character. She has many different personalities depending on tiny events that could change it in an instance, and has different relationships with all of her different friends. Although she has different relationships with different people one thing never changes, she loves them all, them meaning Chip (The Colonel), Miles (Pudge), Takumi, Lara and Jake, her boyfriend. Alaska has an extremely complicated life in general and although she shows it in her actions, she does a pretty job of keeping it undercover. Alaska has never been one to spare ones feelings for herself, she likes to let herself go and be a free spirit, although when Jake came along she swore to him and herself she would stay truthful. That was until Miles happened. She did a good job of keeping under control, she knew Miles had feelings for her but she just laughed it off saying: "You're cute, but I love my boyfriend". That was until that night, and I think thats what tipped her over the edge. Alaska had different relationships with them all. 

        Alaska and Chip were like siblings. They fought, they laughed but they were always together. They had been friends for so long and they shared the same common interests (they may not have been good nor healthy ones but it was still the same). Alaska seemed to stick up for Chip under many circumstances. You really see this in the book when they were all walking, Chip and Alaska were smoking and when "The Eagle" sees them she admits she was doing the same as chip, to keep Chip out of trouble. When Chip and Miles are trying to figure out her accident they start talking about Alaska and how she was in general, then Chip brings up how annoying and rude she could get over tiny things yet when he has bad things happen to him she tells him not to whine. I think here you see the sibling factor come out. They got so close they never noticed when these sorts of things happened yet when she's gone Chip starts to notice and gets angry, saying it wasn't fair. Alaska and Chip told each other everything, so when Alaska never told him she ratted out Marya I think he took it like a bullet. He must have been so hurt and while I understand Alaska's reasoning for not telling him, it was a little unthoughtful of her. When Alaska died I thought Miles should have put more thought into how Chip may have been feeling. He kept telling him not to be so mad and that she was gone and thats that, Miles seemed more sad than Chip but not as mad and I thought he should just let him grieve. Chip had been so close with Alaska and yet Miles had known her for merely a year. I didn't think he was being fair acting like he knew Alaska better. This is what Alaska and Chips relationship was like. 

        Alaska may not have had the relationship with Miles like she did with Chip but it was still very strong. You could tell that she wanted the best for him. Examples of that are: setting him up with Lara, getting him used to Culver Creek, standing up for him in class when he was staring out the window and the teacher told him to leave the classroom, and there were so many more. Miles felt so strongly for Alaska I think the fact that he had to hide it and live with the fact that she loved Jake so much killed him. He must have been so happy on "that night", he must have thought he had that chance that he never thought he could get close to but then he never found out. That was the worst part. It's terrible that Miles being happy about the situation may have made Alaska feel bad enough to do what she did that night. But he can never find out. Alaska may have liked Miles, it seemed so much like she did at times and that could be part of the reason why she killed herself. but we can never know. If I was Miles I would feel terrible. Not only would he have to live with letting her go but also with the fact that he could have actually been the factor of her wanting to. I think he was really unfair to Lara but I also think Alaska was. I think this because Alaska was the one who set them up and I think the reason that she did was so that she wouldn't have to deal with Miles being "in love" with her, because she probably felt the same way. This was what Alaska and Miles' relationship was like.

        This book is so difficult to read because you have so many events that never seem to have a real resolution and Alaska was such a mysterious character. You could have something happen with Alaska and someone else and you will want to know how she felt about it nut you can never find out anything! You can only hope it all ties together in the end and that they can finally, find the true Alaska.