Alaska’s death has always been a mystery. Even though we know that she died in a car accident, the one question that bothers all of us that, what if it was not an accident but a suicide? Well, even Miles could not find the answer to this question because even John Green decided not to tell us what exactly happened with Alaska as he wanted to end the book with the note that sometimes in our life, we encounter many questions that have answers but are still unknown to everyone. In the end, we cannot find the answer no matter how hard we try.
This open end of the book lets fans decide what the end could be, and the end revolves around only one topic, ‘the reason behind Alaska’s death.’Written by John Green, Looking for Alaska was his debut book which was published in the year 2005. The book follows the story of Pale and timid Miles, who joins a boarding school, makes new friends, and falls in love. The story of the protagonist resembles the story of the author of the book, John Green. The book is fictional, though.
The book is from the point of view of Miles, and the main character in his story is Alaska, a reckless, confident, and attractive girl whom Miles fall in love with. However, she already has another boyfriend. Miles decides to rely on the hope that one day Alaska would also feel the same for him, and when his hope starts turning into a reality for him, he receives the heartbreaking news of her death. So, how did she die?
How Does Alaska Dies In Looking For Alaska?
As mentioned earlier, Looking for Alaska follows the story of Miles, an introverted boy who becomes part of a group of extroverts and experiences new things. He falls in love with Alaska, who already has a boyfriend, Jake. The school where Miles and Alaska study consists of both rich and poor students.
Later, students split up into two groups. One group consists of students who come from a financially weak background, while the other consists of rich students. Even though Miles barely talks with anyone because of his introverted nature, Alaska, Chip, Pudge, and Takumi welcome him into their group, with whom he spends the best time of his life.
Talking about Alaska, everyone knows how beautiful and brave she is depicted in the book. However, there’s a different side of her that makes her vulnerable. Even though she seems pretty confident and bold, she is depressed and guilty on the inside, and there’s something in her heart that makes her lose her mind always.
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Soon we find out that when she was eight years old, her mother died from an aneurysm. Alaska, who could see the suffering of her mother before her death, was unknown of the fact that she could save her by calling 9-1-1.
Her father always blamed her mother’s death on her, and even she felt guilty about the same. The guilt that she has been feeling is deeply rooted in her heart, and it starts taking control of her actions and behavior and fully devastating her mentally.
One day while partying with her friends, she receives an unknown call that makes her hysterical. She suddenly gets out of the school with the help of Chip and Pudge, sits in a car, and starts driving to an unknown place. After some time, her friends and Miles receive the news that she died while driving in an intoxicated condition. Police revealed that her car crashed with the police car that night.
What did Miles feel after Alaska’s death?
Since the day Miles saw Alaska, he knew how much he liked her. On the day of the party, Alaska dares herself to make out with Miles, and after kissing him, Alaska tells Miles, “To be continued.” This sentence of hers leaves Miles with many questions that if she really liked him or if she is really planning to end her life, or if she did not mean what she said at all.
Alaska’s last words continued to hover around Miles’ mind, who could not discover what the reason for her death was till the end.
Reasons Why Alaska’s Accident Was A Suicide
The book never explains if Alaska intentionally crashed her car into the police’s car or if everything happened unintentionally. No one other than Alaska knew what was going on in her mind while driving straight and fast to her mother’s grave. However, She always gave hints about her depression and her wish to die. She once said, “Y’all smoke to enjoy it…I smoke to die”.
Her depression was recognizable, but no one could ever understand it. Perhaps she felt alone and could not get herself out of the labyrinth of suffering that she always talked about. It was also depicted that before sitting in the car, she brings her mom’s favorite flowers that she always lays on her mother’s grave. Later we find that she was doodling the same flowers at the party.
As she was already intoxicated after the phone call when she got out of the school to reach her mother’s grave, perhaps her guilt about her mother’s death started to increase, which led her to make the horrible decision to end her life.
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