Escaping the Labyrinth: Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska is a riveting novel about the adventures of Pudge, the Colonel, and Alaska on the campus of Culver Creek Preparatory School. Self-destructive, Alaska Young, completely unraveled during one late night of drinking, in which led to her tragic death in an unforgiving car accident. Pudge and the Colonel - left broken themselves – attempted to piece together the events leading up to her decision to drive off campus and leave. Was it Suicide? Were they the ones at fault? Where was she going? These were all questions the asked relentlessly throughout part two.

The readers, the fanatics, the enthusiasts are now able to experience this hunt and actually look for Alaska themselves through geocaching.

ge·o·cach·ing

verb

1.      the recreational activity of hunting for and finding a hidden object by means of GPS coordinates posted on a website.

Objects and clues will be placed in each location leading up to the solution of Alaska’s death. The readers can take however much time necessary to complete the scavenger hunt. For example if they wish to experience this investigation as they read the book. This is available. The first location starts with the first and most devastating of events from part two: the realization. During this event the Eagle comes to Pudge and the Colonel’s room to tell of the news from the previous night, referring to Alaska’s terrible death, and how sorry he was from the line of events. So the reader will start out on the Looking for Alaska website and listen to an audiotape of the Eagle and his news. Then, the line of events starts there, a set of coordinates will be displayed below the audio file, and finally the journey has begun.

During these line-of-events the reader will go to all of the places that Pudge and the Colonel went to: the funeral, Alaska’s dorm room, etc. In each location there will be a sheet of paper stating the GPS coordinates for the new location. At every location there will be a wooden box with quotes and items inside that were found in that location from the book. For example, when the reader goes to Alaska’s dorm room, there will be a multitude of items. One of the items will be Alaska’s favorite book by Simon Bolivar who’s last words were, “How will I ever escape this labyrinth?”. Finally at the end - after all the clues have been found - the reader will have the satisfaction of going to the site where Alaska passed, whether it be on foot or by car, the reader decides. At this location a mass amount of quotations from before Alaska’s death and objects in her memory will be found. In conclusion to the journey on single excerpt from after her death will be found, larger than the others, “I would never know her well enough to know her thoughts in those last minutes, would never know if she left us on purpose. But the not-knowing would not keep me from caring, and I would always love Alaska Young, my crooked neighbor, with all my crooked heart.”

In between every event you have the choice of either attending class or skipping – to get the full effect of the novel. The only class listed is Religion’s Class. Every class period there will be about a five to ten minute lecture about life and the questions surrounding it. Most will be references from the book, but other concepts are extras that have been mentioned in other John Green books. A couple of the contemplative questions that will be asked during this worldwide search for Alaska includes, “What happens when we die?” along with the question “Without pain, how could we know joy?”. At the end of the scavenger hunt you will be left with a slip of paper with a single essay question: “how will you personally escape this labyrinth?” You have the option to write. You have the option for discussion. If you decide to write an essay you can share it with the world, send it to John Green, or just keep it for yourself.

Looking for Alaska is a very contemplative book. It brings about many questions and thought provoking statements. This geocaching experience is meant to encourage a higher level of thinking and create a journey for the reader as if they were actually in the book. The interactive aspect of it will draw in new interest for the book itself and to John Green book’s as a whole.

What is a book?

A book is a concrete form of literature – or at least should be. Our modern-day society wants to acquire more and more with more convenience. For example say, the kindle? But the reality of the matter is if we surround ourselves with digital this and digital that, then we aren’t being surrounded by anything at all. We aren’t just data on a computer, we are human beings. So we should be surrounding ourselves with concrete, physical objects instead of codes being emitted from computer systems. A book has a cover, a back, pages in between, and stories imprinted onto all three. With a nook you can’t flip through the pages, you can’t highlight or write on top, you can’t rip it up if you hate it, and you can’t display it on your bookshelf if you love it. Then, what happens if a database crashes or your kindles get a virus? Will our vast selection of books disappear into thin air – maybe as if they weren’t even there to begin with? Does this ring a bell? Well, that’s what I’m getting at. A book is not just a concept, idea, or train of thought. A book is something you have, own, lend, and borrow -- physically hold.

The evolution of acquiring a book has gone from going to libraries/book stores, ordering off amazon, to purchasing off amazon. First we cut the journey from the comfort of our home to the bookstore, then even the wait for the book to come in the mail. Everybody talks about how it’s not the destination that matters, but the journey right? Then why are we carving ourselves shortcuts through society? The effort it takes to get a book has been reduced, so the appreciation of the book has been lost. This is a very sad occurrence. The mass production of books has even stopped. Literature is being handed out like digital candy and just as easily being thrown away. If this process continues, I fear that books will become faceless entities of the past.

Why Do I Read?

I read for a multitude of reasons. The more popular being that I just enjoy reading for entertainment or to learn. But the main reason I like to read is to hear the thoughts that go on inside other people's heads. When you read books, you get a glimpse into the lives of others. You see the wisdom and knowledge they've acquired over the years. This feature is more prevalent in poetry, that's why I love poems so much. The Wild Iris is by far the most insightful book I have ever read. Every line dripped with hidden meanings waiting to be uncovered. Other great books with insight include Looking for Alaska, Skinny, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Because I am Furniture, etc. I find that I learn more about life in books such as these, than I could ever have absorbed in any old textbook. A great concept that i've grown to love was in the form of a quote in The Perks of Being a Wallflower: "we accept the love we think we deserve." I never quite understood at first, but then the idea grew and grew along with material from other books and written works.