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30. One Day 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
Kevin shows up at Miles and the Colonel’s room and congratulates them on dying his hair blue. He asks for a truce, but the Colonel says he has more trouble coming. Kevin is nice about this and says they can talk after the Colonel is finished, but the Colonel continues to be rude to him.
The Colonel continues to be unforgiving and resolute in his hatred of the Weekday Warriors, even though he has gotten them back for hurting Miles. He perseveres whether or not he is going after a worthy cause.
Themes
Lara and Miles spend the day hanging out. Lara tries to give Miles a blow job, but neither of them know what she’s supposed to do. They end up having to ask Alaska for help, who demonstrates in great detail what Lara should be doing. Miles and Lara try again, and this time it works. Then Lara does homework while Miles reads a biography. Lara asks him why he likes last words so much, and Miles realizes that he has never thought about it.
Miles’ and Lara’s sexual encounter is entirely passionless. Miles enjoys the experience, but they are so lacking in intimacy that they immediately return to their homework after they finish. This experience presents a stark contrast to Miles’ relationship with Alaska, which is full of passion yet devoid of physical intimacy.
Themes
Miles thinks a bit and then tells Lara that the way people die is often indicative of the way they lived. Last words give him a lot of information about how someone ended up being interesting enough to have a biography written about them. After explaining this, Miles and Lara have trouble making conversation and eventually Miles leaves.
That night, Alaska and the Colonel get drunk to celebrate the success of their prank. There are white tulips in Alaska’s room, and she tells Miles that Jake got them for her for their anniversary. Eventually Alaska suggests a game of truth or dare, which Miles has never played, and she dares Miles to hook up with her. He starts to kiss her. Miles worries about Jake and Lara as they make out, but Alaska interrupts him to teach him how to kiss better. After a while, Alaska says, “This is so fun but I’m so sleepy. To be continued?”
On the same day that Miles has an awkward physical encounter with Lara, he has an incredible interaction with Alaska. All they do is make out, but this is infinitely more exciting to Miles than Lara’s blow job. Alaska, however, could hook up with Miles at any time, but she only does so in the context of a game. What is deeply meaningful for Miles is not necessarily as significant to Alaska. Her “last words” here will come to haunt Miles.
Themes
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When the Colonel drunkenly realizes that Miles hooked up with Alaska, he tells Miles that things are not going to end well. Miles falls asleep and vaguely hears Alaska go answer the pay phone that is ringing in the hall. When she returns she is hysterically crying. She screams that Miles and the Colonel have to help her sneak off campus.
The Colonel is entirely correct in his assessment that things are not going to end well, although the outcome of the evening will end up having little to do with Alaska and Miles’ hookup. Once again, Green relies heavily on foreshadowing.
Themes
The Colonel and Miles don’t understand why Alaska is so upset. She keeps saying that she forgot something and she messed everything up. They decide to help her, and they set off their leftover fireworks so that she can drive away unnoticed. They do not tell her that she is too drunk to drive, or demand to come with her, or tell her to wait until the morning. She leaves, and Miles and the Colonel fall back asleep.
