Chip (the Colonel) Martin is not the central character of John Green’s “Looking for Alaska”, however, his complex nature allows for in-depth character analysis.
The Colonel grew up in a family that was on the edge of falling to pieces, the main conflict being his father, who was an unfaithful, irresponsible, and most notably, abusive man. After leaving the family behind, his father did not think twice to call him in order to explain the situation to him or to simply say goodbye. Chip endlessly waited for a phone call that was never going to arrive. In the aftermath following that day, the Colonel’s mother took full custody of him and raised him in a very small trailer park home. All the two had left was each other and the trailer park home in which they called home.
As a result of the circumstances in which the Colonel grew up in, he has been able to develop himself into a hardworking, and remarkably loyal individual. He has essentially became an individual that would heavily contrast his father’s character in which he despised.
Difficult as it was for his mother to send him to school, as it would separate the loving family of two, the Colonel’s mother gave him the opportunity to spread his wings at Culver Creek. After all, he had worked hard to earn his scholarship. On the other hand, the Colonel never dismissed the idea that it was difficult for his mother to send him to school, and in result, he made up his mind to not disappoint his mother. During the difficult time in which the Colonel and Miles were both struggling to move on from Alaska’s death, studying did not lose any importance to the Colonel. Unlike the Colonel, Miles was mentally able to settle with a 3.0 GPA, but for him, nothing less than a 4.0 GPA would suffice. The Colonel had two ambitions and to achieve both ambitions, studying hard and doing well in school would be the only ways to achieve those ambitions. Despite being a complete goof at times with his planning and executing of pranks, smoking and drinking habits, the Colonel would never go to the extent of committing any expellable offenses, as in the end, he had a great desire to attend an amazing college. Following the graduation from college, he had a vision of settling down with a high-paying job that would allow him to achieve his second ambition, expressing his gratitude to his mother in the form of a luxurious home. The parents of the Weekday Warriors he once despised, but internally became envious of, would eventually become his mother’s neighbours. In his younger years, the Colonel was only a bystander who was unable to stop the foul treatment that his father was giving his mother. In order to compensate for his inaction in the past, the Colonel wants to become the man that could support his mother; to have the ability to provide her with a better life; the opposite of his irresponsible father.
The Colonel’s tragic past not only inspired him to become hard-working, but it also caused him to become an individual who is highly concerned with the entire idea of loyalty. There were many instances throughout the novel in which the Colonel portrayed his loyal nature. When Miles first arrived to Culver Creek, he was informed by the Colonel of the one rule to never forget while on campus; to never rat. Although it hadn’t been long since the Colonel met Miles, he nonetheless gave Miles the same treatment as he would to any one of his close friends. The Colonel was an man of action, he did not hesitate at all to develop a counter-strategy to seek justice from the Weekday Warriors for Miles. Additionally, there was another instance in which the Colonel, along with Alaska took the blame for being accused as the smokers at the Jury, which allowed Miles and Takumi to get off the hook without any punishment. Miles could not come to understand the reason behind why the Colonel took the fall for him, as out of the entire bunch, the Colonel had the most to lose. If anything, the Colonel had both his ambitions at stake, but his loyal nature came above his ambitions at that moment, portraying the Colonel’s ultimate loyalty towards his friends. The Colonel’s sense of loyalty once again surfaced when Alaska rushed into Room 43 and begged the Colonel and Miles to help her to escape. It can be argued that in the moment, the Colonel internally hesitated for a quick second about her safety and well-being, but eventually let her go just for the sake of it and carried out his decoy mission in support of her. Alaska’s escape turned out for the worse, and the Colonel couldn’t handle all the guilt that built inside of himself. Despite of this, he still did not rat when the Eagle (Mr. Starnes) asked the Colonel if he was responsible for setting off the firecrackers that night. Regardless of how severe the consequences of his actions were, the Colonel could never betray his own sense of loyalty.
On a separate note, the Colonel’s loyal nature was also evident in his relationship with Sara. It was without a doubt that the relationship between the two individuals was not a smooth ride, however, in spite of this, the two remained together. The Colonel once confessed, “’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’” (38). It is arguable that the Colonel stays in the relationship to remain loyal to Sara in the same way that Sara stays with him, portraying her loyalty towards him in return. Moreover, after witnessing first-handedly the end of his parents’ relationship, the Colonel did not want to see a repeat of the same fate in his own life. To keep the relationship together, he had ignored all the issues that were going on between the two. Unfortunately, the relationship between the Colonel and Sara eventually came to an end. Despite of this, the Colonel remained loyal to Sara in the way that he did not mentally prepare to enter another relationship any time soon.
There was another example of the Colonel’s loyalty that I wanted to include into this character analysis, although it may seem irrelevant to some readers. The above examples that I have provided, exemplified the Colonel’s loyalty towards animate beings, however, the Colonel also demonstrates his loyalty to an inanimate object throughout the novel. It may be the result of the Colonel’s past, but he learns to appreciate the value of everything despite its physical appearance. At the beginning of the novel, the Colonel introduced Miles to his couch that, “was about 30 percent baby blue faux leather and 70 percent foam” (12), but still considered it to be “’a damn nice couch’” (12). It is arguable that the couch is a representation of the Colonel’s rough past, which is why he didn’t discriminate against it when he first saw it. Later on in the novel, the couch nearly became 100% foam and Alaska reminded him that he needed a new couch, but the Colonel completely ignored Alaska’s suggestion. He never once complained about the couch, but instead, appreciated it, which ultimately portrayed his loyalty towards the couch.
In the past, the Colonel was an individual that could only stand off to the side and watch as time passed by, but throughout the novel, he became someone completely different. According to Alaska, without Culver Creek in the Colonel’s life, he would only be intelligent and nothing else. His intelligence would only be contained within himself, and wouldn’t be put to any use. In the end, Culver Creek proved to be the place that allowed the Colonel to strive for his dreams, and the disgusting last impression that his father left him with, fueled his drive to surpass his father.
Note: Now that we’ve read to the end of “Looking for Alaska”, are there any questions that you have about the book? Well, you’re just in luck! John Green has a webpage that is entirely dedicated to answering questions about the book! Check out the Q&A below (but beware of spoilers!):
├ Bonnie's Blog ┤ 
I do not agree with you regarding your point about the Colonel’s loyalty to Sara. I don’t think that the reason he put up with her was because he wanted to be loyal and/or avoid recreating his parents’ relationship. Instead, I believe it was because he wanted a taste of the life he wished he had.
From the beginning of the novel, it is made clear to us, the readers, about the Colonel’s hatred towards the Weekday Warriors. This alone is a question we must ask ourselves. Why does the Colonel hate the Weekday Warriors? Sure, they prank him and pick on him, but that could have been any one of the other students that attends Culver Creek at normal times throughout the year. I believe that the hatred he feels towards them stems from the fact that he is envious of their easy lifestyle. The Warriors have everything handed to them in life on a silver platter. They come from good homes and their parents are together (as far as we know). They have no financial issues and are free to come and go as they please. The Colonel on the other hand comes from a dingy trailer park and a broken home. His parents split at an early age. He had witnessed his father beat his mother on multiple occasions.
I believe that Chip’s relationship with Sara is a way for him to be a part of the in-crowd. With a Weekday Warrior as a girlfriend, he gets a slight taste of the luxurious lifestyle he desires in his future. For example, he is invited to attend an opera with Sara and her parents, an opportunity that he would not typically get considering his background. He sticks with her because he does not want to let go of his dream just yet. Without Sara, the only way he has access to that glamorous world is through academics, which is why he pours himself into his studies, even after Alaska’s death.
Being with Sara and experiencing the life he desires serves as a temporary escape from his labyrinth of poverty. He forgets about his worries and academics and enjoys life for a moment. After his breakup with Sara, it is made clear to the reader that he attempts to fill the void in his life by immersing himself in his courses and memorizing more capitals (and later populations) of the world.
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Great job doing an in-dept analysis of Chip Martin’s character! I agree with your points! I like how you used Chip’s past, present and future and how those experiences influenced him and motivated him to change into a loyal, smart, caring teenage boy.
I actually deconstructed some of Chip’s characteristics a little differently. In the past he had a rough childhood with his father, whom left his mother and him alone with just a trailer as a home. You’d think that Chip would actually not consider to be in contact with alcohol or cigarette since he is such a smart and mother-loving boy as alcohol could also lead to abusive relationships. After all, he did grow up in a poor neighbourhood of trailers and he has potential to go to such great colleges and succeed so much in his life. He fancy talks a lot and says that he would buy his mother a very big house like you mentioned comparable to the weekday warriors whom he hated. We can see that he is definitely a very hardworking guy, but why would he touch drugs? wouldn’t he want to spend and save all that money and time towards something that can potentially benefit him in the future? You say he’s all hardworking but he gets wasted, pulls pranks does things that could potentially get him expelled. I wouldn’t come to say that he knows his limits as I think that he actually goes over his limits, especially with the fireworks before and on the day of Alaska’s death. I don’t think that all this freedom is going to help Chip just because as of right now, Chip seems to be (other than Alaska) the individual who is reckless and foolish. Chip and Alaska both execute these pranks together and they drink, smoke, I feel that even though Chip tries to stay between his limits to stick to his goal of taking great care of his mother, he will one day go over his limit and his hard-work towards his goal would all go to waste. I feel that yes, Chip is hardworking, but because he is smart, he doesn’t have to work for it as much as others would have to. That just helps him pull off the reckless side of him which will not benefit him in the future. Being intelligent gives him an excuse to slack off and not work as hard as he should, and as a result of that his goal may not be accomplished in the future.
I agree that Chip is indeed very loyal to all his friends and everyone around him in an attempt to be different compared to his father. He stays by Miles’ side when he was being bullied, he never ratted out anyone, he stayed true to himself and he was always honest. He helped Alaska when she needed help and became a big contributor to her death very much like Miles who was regretful about it. His loyalty is definitely a good thing when it comes to “having people’s backs”, but when it comes to being able to analyze the severity of situations, he completely fails. He was loyal to Alaska and helped her escape Culver Creek for that night not questioning why she was upset. He didn’t question himself morally but because he was so hung up on trying to be loyal, (to contrast his father) he gave into it something that was a mistake. Although at the end they all forgave themselves I feel that Chip tries too hard to be different. Chip’s father has impacted his childhood and he has developed deep hatred towards his unfaithful, abusive father. Because he was unfaithful he tries so hard to be the opposite of his father by being loyal no matter the situation. Little does he know, because of this hatred he could potentially turn into a worst version of his father in a sense that he does whatever he can to be loyal no matter the situation. Even if it means pushing his limits to stay loyal he will, which will cause chip to one day collapse because he is trying so hard to contrast his father that that has turned into his ultimate goal. As a result, he would neglect his mother like what his father would do and cause her to be alone again.
Despite his biggest effort to try to provide the best he can for his mother, he won’t be able to because of all the hatred. Hatred just leads to failure as people push beyond their own limits for the worst to accomplish what they can to reach those goals, and without even knowing, their limits expand. In the end I do agree that because of his father Chip has developed into a very strong hardworking and loyal character that cares so much for his mother. But it could also turn Chip into the exact same person as his father because of the hatred towards him. This hatred will only turn Chip into a worst version of himself despite his hopes to perfect himself to provide a better life for his mother. He will ultimately push his limits to stay loyal and hardworking, which will cause Chip to one day realize his boundaries and plummet as he could potentially be breaking rules or becomes his dad in the future. In the end I think that instead of hating his father, he should use his father as a lesson for himself to never to go to extremities but to know his limits and stop at a certain point where his morals are telling he’s that you’ve gone too far. When that happens, he shouldn’t ignore it as it will lead him back towards the right direction in life.
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