Who called Alaska before she died?

In the novel Looking For Alaska the character Alaska Young is killed in a car crash. During the section of the book that takes place after she dies, two of her best friends, the Colonel and Pudge, attempt to figure out if the crash was an accident or something purposeful. At the conclusion of the story, Pudge and the Colonel decide that there is no way to tell if her death was voluntary or unintentional and that they had "had enough of chasing after a ghost who did not want to be discovered"(212). However, I believe that that there was a way to discover her true intentions, and that her self-destruction was all too willful. To understand the reasoning behind Alaska's death one must first understand the circumstances behind it. Alaska Young died in the early morning of January 11th. Just before this she left the campus of Culver Creek, the school that the book is set at, while Pudge and the Colonel distracted the dean of students. During all of this Alaska is hysterical, distraught and drunk. She died after she drove her car at full force into a police car, the steering wheel crushing her chest. She was driving to her mother's grave, as she had just recalled that the day before was the anniversary of her death and that she forgot to bring flowers to her grave. When Pudge and the Colonel had finally gathered all of this information they deduced that she died in one of two ways: either she believed that she could fit past the cop car in her frantic hurry to get to her mother's

Miles Halter is tired of his predictable and friendless life (check out the going-away party for him at the beginning of the book), so he decides to attend Culver Creek boarding school in Alabama for his junior year of high school. He tells his parents that he's going to seek a Great Perhaps, that there's something more for him.

Table of Contents Show

Who was the snitch in Looking for Alaska?
Why did Alaska get in the car?
Is Alaska dead in Looking for Alaska?
Why does Alaska leave that night?

And there is. The story is split in two parts: before and after.

Before

Miles meets the Colonel (real name Chip Martin), Takumi, and Alaska Young. The Colonel grew up in a trailer park, Alaska and her dad don't get along (mystery alert), and Takumi is just kind of there for a while. The three take Miles (nicknamed Pudge because he's so skinny) under their wing and introduce him to the social order of campus, mischief-making, smoking cigarettes, and drinking. They have to avoid the Eagle—the aptly-named dean of the school—when they're creating mischief so they don't get brought before a peer jury and appropriately punished.

Miles's favorite class is religious studies, taught by an old man nicknamed… the Old Man. He lectures all the time and makes Miles think about religion, philosophy, and life, and Miles loves it. Alaska doesn't.

After Miles is hazed pretty hard by the Weekday Warriors (students who stay only during the week at the boarding school), his new friends vow to help him return the favor. Miles meets Lara, and goes on a triple date with her, the Colonel and his pseudo-girlfriend Sara, and Alaska and her college-aged boyfriend Jake. The date ends with Miles getting a concussion from a basketball and ralphing on Lara's shoes. Also, the date doesn't really mean anything, because Miles is well on his way to falling in love? lust? some combination? with Alaska.

Time passes and Miles continues his involvement in shenanigans and obsessing about Alaska. He stays on campus for Thanksgiving to try to get with her, but all he gets for his trouble is a sense of homesickness and confusion. Miles, the Colonel, Takumi, Alaska, and Lara pull an epic prank on both the Eagle and the Weekday Warriors that involves blue hair dye and fake progress reports, and during their hideout, all the friends find out that Alaska's mom died of an aneurysm right in front of Alaska when Alaska was eight… which explains a lot about Alaska.

A couple nights later, Miles and the Colonel and Alaska are hanging out in Alaska's room. Both the Colonel and Alaska are drinking to celebrate the epic prank, but Miles isn't. Alaska and Miles make out a little (dream come true moment for Miles), but then Alaska gets a phone call from her boyfriend Jake because it's their eight-month anniversary. Ooh—drama. Then she freaks out and leaves campus in her car. Miles and the Colonel help her go by setting off fireworks on the Eagle's porch.

After

All students are called to the gym the following morning for an announcement. The Eagle says that Alaska has died in a horrible car crash. Emotional train wreck ensues for all students… but especially for Miles and the Colonel.

The Colonel and Miles are consumed with guilt. They flail about with each other, in classes, and with their other friends because they are caught up in how Alaska died, their culpability, and whether or not she committed suicide.

The two friends try to unravel the mystery: they go to talk to the officer whose car Alaska hit, they steal a Breathalyzer from the Eagle's house to figure out how drunk Alaska actually was, and they talk to Alaska's ex-boyfriend, Jake. In the midst of this, they ignore both Takumi and Lara (she and Miles dated for like, a day). And at the same time, Miles is trying to come to grips with who Alaska was and who he wanted her to be.

Then Miles and the Colonel, with Takumi and Lara (who have forgiven them for their single-minded grief), plan the most epic prank ever seen by Culver Creek Boarding School. It involves a class speaker, a stripper, and a lie told by Miles's father. Dedicated to the memory of Alaska, it is a huge success.

Life marches on. Eventually Miles and the Colonel come to terms with their loss and grief and give up on the mystery of Alaska; then they throw themselves into their studies. The Old Man assigns a final exam essay that asks how each student personally gets out of their own labyrinth of suffering. Miles, finally, has some answers for the question and writes about them in his final exam, thus writing himself out of his own labyrinth of suffering about Alaska.

Who was the snitch in Looking for Alaska?

He then ends up with a great deal of egg on his face when it's revealed that the rat was none other than Alaska, who told on the others in order to keep herself from getting in trouble. The revelation that Alaska is the rat brings forth the end of what was a fairly idyllic time at Culver Creek Prep for Miles.

Why did Alaska get in the car?

Even though Alaska was intoxicated during the makeout session she had with Miles, she remembers that she had to go bring flowers on her mother's grave, causing her to panic and then ultimately die. It is believed for some time throughout the novel that Alaska drove into the car intentionally as a way to commit suicide.

Is Alaska dead in Looking for Alaska?

Alaska dies in a car crash midway through the book and Miles' heart is broken. Miles and Chip were with Alaska the night she died. They were all drinking together, and fell asleep in her dorm room. In the middle of the night, Alaska got a call and then ran out of the room crying.

Why does Alaska leave that night?

They discover that the day Alaska died was the anniversary of her mother's death, as well as the day she met her ex-boyfriend Jake. When he called to remind her it was their anniversary, she remembered the importance of the date and drove off in a hurry.