Quote 7
But we knew what could be found out, and in finding it out, she had made us closer—the Colonel and Takumi and me, anyway. (118after.2)
There's something about the process of working through grief with friends that bonds them. Try to articulate how this works.
Quote 8
And then I screwed up and the Colonel screwed up and Takumi screwed up and she slipped through our fingers. And there's no sugarcoating it: She deserved better friends. (136after.12)
Miles is thinking about the responsibility that friends have toward one another, to care for one another despite tendencies towards self-destruction. We're left wondering if he'll remember this lesson forever or if he will forget it as he knows he will forget Alaska.
Quote 9
"How long have you been dating her?" I asked.
"Nine months. We never got along. I mean, I didn't even briefly like her…with Sara, there's never a honeymoon period. God, how could she think I was a rat? I know, I know: Why don't we break up? […] I guess I stay with her because she stays with me. And that's not an easy thing to do. I'm a bad boyfriend. She's a bad girlfriend. We deserve each other." (122before.35-36)
The Colonel on dating Sara, ladies and gents. How much of their relationship continuing happens just because they are used to each other? How does theirs differ from other relationships in the story? How much do you think the Colonel is influenced by his parents's relationship?