What does smoking symbolize in Looking for Alaska?
What does smoking symbolize in Looking for Alaska? For the Colonel and Alaska, smoking cigarettes is a way of defying authority—something the Colonel makes very clear when he smokes in front of the Pelham police officer. However, even if Alaska smokes to be cool, she also smokes because she is sad. She tells the others, “Y'all smoke to be cool. Did they actually smoke in Looking for Alaska? Did you have to smoke real cigarettes for the Colonel's smoking scenes? No, they're herbal, fake cigarettes. They smell the same, and taste I think worse than real cigarettes. My parents used...