Looking for Alaska is a wonderfully powerful novel, full of literature beyond its measure. That is to say that it is greater than the sum of its parts. If you haven't read the book you may struggle to keep up with this post, as I will be revolving around the book here, but I will do my best to explain things all the same.
The main character goes to boarding school, seeking more for his mediocre and mundane life. "I go to seek a Great Perhaps" he explains, using the famous last words of François Rabelais. As the book gets going (though it certainly does take its time) we are introduced to the wild Alaska Young. Though erratic and eccentric, she posses an extreme beauty and has a vivid love of literature. She quickly introduces us to the following quote:
"He was shaken by the overwhelming revelation that the headlong race
between his misfortunes and his dreams was at that moment reaching the finish line.
The rest was darkness. 'Damn it,' he sighed. 'How will I ever get out of this labyrinth!'"
She turns it into a question, asking not how to escape the labyrinth, but what the labyrinth itself is. You see, she is the rare type of person that causes you to think and grow, to be greater than you are. What a Gem. Alaska later explains that it is the labyrinth of suffering in life, that we doomed to wonder endlessly. At the end of the book we see that she takes the approach of escaping the labyrinth "straight & fast", and we are left with the mystery of whether she did escape the labyrinth or not, and whether it was by choice or not.
She is so influential and pivotal that their religious education teacher uses her question for their final paper: how will we ever get out of the labyrinth of suffering? It is an interesting piece of literature, and a very interesting point. Though wild and untamed, she posses a mind to rival the greats.
"I am interested in how you are able to fit
the incontestable fact of suffering into your understanding of the world,
and how you hope to navigate through life in spite of it."
We see so many great pieces of literature, both by John Green and by others, in this book that it is difficult to even consider them all. That piece though, is a very interesting one to me, especially once I had finished the novel. In the last few pages we see one of the characters take a very interesting turn on the question.
"I choose the labyrinth. The labyrinth blows, but I choose it."
He chooses the labyrinth, he knows the pain and difficulty it holds and yet he chooses it. This, I believe, holds great wisdom and strength (though it is not show as powerfully as I think it should be). It is not unlike life at all. Life certainly can be compared to a labyrinth, and a labyrinth of suffering would only be a slight push. There is no doubt that life is tough, that there is suffering, and that you often do not really know what is going on. Yet there is also so much more to life; there is beauty in the world. The labyrinth of life may hold great suffering, but it teaches us many things and contains much worth living for.
"Suffering was caused by desire."
"We had to forgive to survive in the labyrinth."
"Hating takes an awful lot of energy and I'd given up on it a long time ago."
Sure, there is suffering, but a lot of it lies in our hands. A powerful paradigm. Regardless of how true it may be, I do know that I choose the labyrinth. I choose to be lost in the suffering at times, because I believe that it is worth it. I believe that we hold the power over our own lives (to a larger degree), and I am willing to endure the difficulties for the beauty and wonder that is life. It may be messy and tough, but life has got a blissful splendour. A Gem that cannot be ignored.
"'You shall love you crooked neighbour with your crooked heart.'
It says so much about love and brokenness - it's perfect."
We also learn a bit about 'love and brokenness'. I agree, it is a glorious quote, perfectly capturing the brokenness of our love. We are all damaged and messed up in a way, but the point is not to be perfect, the point is to love in your brokenness.
"Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia."
"You just use the future to escape the present."
As I have been on a journey to live in the present and appreciate the moment, these two quotes have shown me a great wisdom. Both statements are very true, for me at least, and I find that they open my eyes more to the truth. The future is not true; the past is not true; all that is true is the present. To live outside of the present is to not really live at all. It is a very difficult concept for me to embrace, as I often mind my head dwelling on the past or looking to the future, but I believe it is key to living a happy life. There is no joy like the present, and being present and appreciative (I find) brings a joy all of its own.
In closing I would like to leave you with a few more quotes that I really enjoy.
"The Great Perhaps was upon us and we were invincible."
"Awful things are survivable, because we are as indestructible as we believe."
"We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken."
"I believe now that we are greater than the sum of our parts...
that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end,
and so it cannot fail."
I challenge you to see past naivety. I challenge you to see the power of confidence and positivity, the youth see it and we foolishly mock them for it. You are in control of your own life, if you would but take it. Choose, choose to learn, choose to grow, choose to love, choose to live.
One day the Great Perhaps will be upon you, you need only choose the labyrinth and keep going.
"She made me different."
Jem.
