Quote 4
"I am interested in how you are able to fit the uncontestable fact of suffering into your understanding of the world, and how you hope to navigate through life in spite of it." (122after.3)
The Old Man is pretty smart, and this is a good essay for students to write as they struggle to come to terms with their classmate's death and their own suffering. It forces students to consider the idea (introduced by Alaska) that suffering is universal and inescapable, and focuses them on the challenge of how to live or move beyond it.
Quote 5
"I must talk, and you must listen, for we are engaged here in the most important pursuit in history: the search for meaning. What is the nature of being a person? What is the best way to go about being a person? How did we come to be, and what will become of us when we are no longer here?" (126before.17)
The Old Man serves as a starting point for many of the musings Miles has about life and consciousness. What makes him such an important figure in Miles's exploration of life and the meaning of existence?
Quote 6
"Everything that comes together falls apart," the Old Man said. (51after.2)
There are so many ways to interpret and think about this statement—including what Miles thinks of Alaska, the relationship that he and Alaska had, life in general, and the meaning of "apart." It's all fair game, and it's all really deep stuff.