Previous
24. Forty-Four Days Before
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Looking for Alaska, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
How to Live and Die
Mystery and the Unknown
Loyalty and Forgiveness
Memory and Memorial
Identity
Mischief
Summary
Analysis
Everyone goes home for Christmas break—even Alaska. Miles spends most of the break studying for his exams, which start the day after he gets back to school. His parents avoid talking about London because they feel guilty for enjoying themselves and leaving him alone, even though he was the one who asked to stay at school. Miles feels immensely grateful to have a family and forgives them for Thanksgiving.
After having seen the conditions in which the Colonel grew up, and having witnessed how deeply Alaska is afraid of going home, Miles is relieved to have a stable and well-to-do family. He forgives his parents because, in the context of Miles and Alaska’s family, their offense of going to London while he was out of town does not seem so severe.
Themes
