Looking For Alaska

* CONTAINS SPOILERS

           The book Looking for Alaska by John Green is divided into two sections: before and after. The "before" section covers the part of Miles Halter's (A.K.A. "Pudge") life before Alaska Young's car crash, effectively ending her life. It begins before Miles even leaves for Culver Creek (the boarding school he will be attending), and it goes on to when he meets the Colonel, Alaska, Lara, and Takumi, all of whom change his life. The "before" section ends when Miles received the news that Alaska had died. The "after" section covers the time in Miles's life when he tries to absorb the fact that Alaska had died and get over his grief for her. There are many major themes that pop up in unexpected places throughout the book. The themes are death, expectations vs reality, romance, and the Pursuit of the Great Perhaps.
           In the beginning of the book, we learn that Miles is obsessed with memorizing the last words of famous people. He values the moment of the person's death rather than their life. Alaska is in a similar situation. She said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." (page 44). Death is one of the most important themes in this book, and it presents itself in many forms: from Alaska's death to Miles and his friends smoking in the woods.
           As a new student at the Culver Creek school, Miles has many expectations about how his new life at the school will be and how different it will be from the life he had at his old school. He conjures up scenarios in which he makes countless amounts of friends, but his expectations crumble when the Colonel announces himself to be unpopular and unwilling to help Miles make friends. One of the most important set of expectations that Miles makes is his relationship with Alaska. After her death, he struggled to understand her actions and to redefine his relationship with her. He idolized her when she was still alive, but he only comes to understand her complexity when she is gone.
           In the book, romance is presented as a further exploration of the complexities of human relationships rather than actual love. No one is in love, although Miles thinks he is, but in reality, they are a group of teenagers trying to figure out who they are and what they want to be. When Miles and Alaska kiss and then Alaska dies, Miles was unable to understand that he loves Alaska for everything she brought into his life, but that he was not in love with her.
           As he transitions from his old school to Culver Creek, Miles goes searching for the Great Perhaps. Since he is constantly unsatisfied with his current condition, the Pursuit of the Great Perhaps gives Miles hope for a better, more exciting life. The Great Perhaps is appreciating the moments you have, but the Pursuit of the Great Perhaps prevents Miles from experiencing it as it happens. After Alaska's death, Miles realizes that the Great Perhaps has always been there and will continue to be there because he is alive.
           In conclusion, Miles is more interested in finding his own personal purpose, which he calls "the Great Perhaps". However, because of the friendships he develops, Miles realizes that he needs friends and family to support him and to make his goals and desires mean something. It takes time for Miles to come out of his shell and become a functioning member of society. It is these realizations that allow Miles to grow as a person. He understands that it is his relationships with others that really matters, not his idealistic goals. While he may never become someone famous, as long as he has friends that he matters to, he will never be forgotten.