Left foot, right foot… in Looking for Alaska,Culver Creek operates on a strict rules and order basis. There's a social order, there are clear consequences when students break the rules, and even the student pranks have a particular kind of order to them: one social group pranks another, and the mischief is returned. In fact, much of the shenanigans at the Creek involve rebelling against the rules and order imposed on the students: smoking, drinking, having sex, and playing pranks. Maybe Alaska breaks so many rules to feel in control, or to rebel, or to feel alive… We never really know. But we do know that her death upsets the order of the entire Culver Creek community.
Questions About Rules and Order
- What are the unwritten rules and social order at Culver Creek? What do these rules value, and how do they affect how relationships develop and how students act?
- What is the Colonel's unwritten set of rules? Miles's set? Alaska's set? Why are there differences between them?
- How much does the Eagle know about what goes on among students at Culver Creek? Do you think he knows more than he lets on and permits it implicitly, or is he ignorant of all the drinking and smoking? What makes you say this, and if he knows, why doesn't he do more about it?
- How does Alaska's death change the rules and order at Culver Creek?
Chew on This
It is inevitable that the students at Culver Creek will break the rules there.
Some people, like Alaska, were meant to be rule-breakers. Others, like Miles, were meant to be rule-followers.