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43. Twenty-Seven Days After
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
The next morning Miles takes a French test that he hasn’t studied for at all. The exam asks him about the significance of the rose in the book The Little Prince. Miles has no idea what it signifies, so he writes that it symbolizes love. He does not really care about the answer to the question, however, and wishes instead that he could figure out the significance of the white flowers.
In The Little Prince, the prince discovers that caring for and giving to his rose is more valuable than anything his rose might give back. Miles could learn from this—he might realize that the act of loving Alaska is more important than winning her reciprocal love—but he hasn’t read the book.
Themes
Miles and the Colonel tell Takumi about how they helped Alaska leave, and he says they were stupid but he isn’t angry at them. The Colonel insists that they won’t be able to figure anything else out without talking to Jake. Miles and Takumi agree, but they both ask the Colonel to tell them only what they absolutely need to know about Jake and Alaska.
Takumi readily forgives what Miles and the Colonel consider an unforgivable act. While Miles has spent much of the time after Alaska’s death feeling that no one understands him, Takumi’s decision to forgo learning about Alaska and Jake’s relationship suggests that Takumi might. Miles wasn’t the only one in love with Alaska.
Themes
