Journal Entry #4

        The final quarter of Looking For Alaska was really interesting. As Miles, the Colonel, Lara and Takumi attempt to figure out whether Alaska’s death was intentional or an accident, their lives start to relax back into the normal routine. The gang also finally reaches the realization that they just aren’t going to be able to figure out what really happened to lead to Alaska’s accident, even with all of the clues they think they’ve found. With this realization, they all agree that her name should always be remembered by a prank that’ll go down in Culver Creek history. I thought the prank they did was pretty hilarious. The group got all the juniors in on choosing a made up guest speaker who would really be a male stripper in disguise who would scream Alaska’s name as he “performed” quickly in front of the whole school. I like how this prank had been Alaska’s idea and how even though they should probably have consequences, the Eagle just let them off because it was all done in her honor.

        I think it was a good decision that the author, John Green, didn’t tell the readers what happened in the car that night and how, when asked about it himself, he says he doesn’t know either. It creates the feeling where you as the reader have to put together the pieces of what happened and if you still don’t know then it just contributes to the point in the book, being that sometimes in life there are questions that just cant be answered or don’t have an answer to be found. As much as the group all loved Alaska, there is no way for them to know what happened or to prove any of this was their fault (even if Miles and Colonel think if they hadn’t let her leave the room they could have saved her or if Takumi thinks he could have stopped her when he talked to her before she got in her and saved her), they just have to accept that they don’t know the answer.
         “I knew when I started the book that we would never be inside Blue Citrus with her that night, and so I still don’t have any idea what happened to Alaska—which is to say that I genuinely don’t have an opinion. I really believe that your reading of a book I wrote is just as legitimate as my reading of a book I wrote. (It’s possible you can even read the book better than I can.) I know that’s not a terribly fulfilling answer, but it’s the only answer I have. Frankly, I kind of want you to be haunted by the unansweredness of the question, because I think being haunted by such things is a valuable part of being a person.” – John Green.

-Lauren