Identity In John Green's Paper Towns

Life is very complex and often hard to define. However, this challenge does not stop people from trying to sum up the meaning of life in one word. In Paper Towns by John Green, the three metaphors the strings, the grass, and the vessel are used throughout the book to chronicle the protagonist’s, Quentin, experiences. The novel revolves around Quentin Jacobsen, a high school senior. When his former best friend and long time crush, Margo Roth Spiegelman, comes back into his life and then suddenly disappears, Q attempts to piece together the clues he believes Margo left behind for him. Each of these three metaphors represent what Q is feeling and allow him to view life from different perspectives. As

In life, there is always that one person who is two faced and acts different around every person, and their best friend sees who they actually are on all sides. In Paper Towns by John Green, Q is the best friend of Margo and he sees who Margo really is, this causes Q to change and become fearless and brave in his relationship with Margo.

In our society everyone expects to be the same, however, no one is ever going to be the exact same. Everyone has different beliefs and different interests. Today people judge the nice stuff people can afford and the way people dress. In the story, “The Doll’s House”, there were two girls known as the Kelvey sisters and they were really poor. “They were dressed in “bits” given to her by the people for whom she worked” (Mansfield 203). Nowadays people judge you on appearance and if you are dressed sloppy you are more likely to be made fun of. If you cannot afford the up to date things people have a reason that they don’t want to talk to you. If you are wealthy you are more likely to be judgmental. Not all people are like this but it is known

Lacey, the last main character in Paper Towns, is a kind-hearted person who helped Quentin during his road trip to Agloe. In the book, Lacey describes Margo, “‘I honestly never thought of her as anything but my crazy beautiful friend who does all the crazy beautiful things,’” (Green 185). In the quote, Lacey talks about Margo, like she was her friend and cared about her, even though Margo

These days we are surrounded by the latest technology: smartphones, hybrid automobiles, and robots that clean your floors. Companies are constantly finding ways to capture your attention; to keep upgrading and spending endless amounts of money on items that you don’t need. In “Honestly–You Shouldn’t Have” by Anna Quindlen, the reoccurring theme of materialisticness is mentioned and is applied to every American, starting from the Industrial Revolution up until now. In reality, having these upgraded objects and over expensive clothing represent how socially insecure they are. They simply cannot live looking poor or old fashioned, they need to show others that they are not bottom feeders. People see what they have and know there is a better model

Zig Ziglar once said, “Don’t be distracted by criticism. Remember: The only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you.” The criticism of appearance causes many people to hide their legitimate self. The superficial life that many people are able to live is not for everyone. Going against one's community is ethical when their judgment of an individual does not allow them to truly be happy.

Unfortunately, if we are constantly comparing ourselves to celebrities and other people we will never learn to appreciate what we have. Delia Ephron, a writer for the New York Times, writes her stance on having it all in an article entitled “You Can’t Have It All, but You Can Have Cake”. In the article she describes how social media and society as a whole have provided this unattainable image of what it means to have it all. You have to have a nice car, fancy house, perfect children, high-status job… the list goes on and on. This “depressingly American” notion assumes that having it all is the same for everyone, that this version of life is desired by all; however,

Many people want to be just like the others. They want to fit in and therefore act the way others act. This is the type of shit people need to get out of there head. Everyone is different and it is what makes everyone their own unique selves. If

A person can live a fulfilling life by not conforming to society’s standards and opinions. Society today has expected a certain level of conformity. People tend to worry what other people think and it prevents them from revealing their true inner feelings. In the movie “Dead Poet’s Society,” many of the boys didn’t

People with cancer often begin to define themselves based on their experience with their illness, this self-definition through one’s cancer is one that the characters fear in John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. The novel shows how the characters strive to discover their identities, but despite that are still identified by their illness. The novel also makes the argument that young people with cancer are not any more virtuous or different than other kids rather, they are just normal kids living with an illness. Augustus wants to be remembered and also be more than just a boy who battled cancer, but despite his efforts is still identified by his illness.

To fit into the social standards, tremendous amount of people change themselves. It’s a psychological feeling to want to belong, so altars are made to the appearance and personalities. Why is it that outrageous actions are made, so that an individual can be considered “normal”, by society's beliefs? The natural man seeks acceptance within a community and sometimes by wanting approval, dignity and self actualization of an individual counterfeits who they really are. According to Brené Brown, from the book “The Gifts of Imperfection”, “we often try to acquire [belonging] by fitting in and by seeking approval, which are not only hollow substitutes for belonging, but often barriers to it.” In the world, many people want to feel included so fitting

another persons style of living. People do this so that they can fit in easier

People all around you is trying to change themselves to fit in. Excepting who you are is a big leap , believe me, I took that leap. I was a girl who got persuaded and got sucked into believing that I needed to change myself to be ‘’perfect’’ .Media,

The main character of Paper towns is Quentin Jacobsen. He is 18 years old, lives in Orlando, Florida, and is a senior about to graduate high school. He is a regular person in the beginning of the book with fears and isn't special in any way and he lives a very normal life, except for that he is madly obsessed about his lifetime neighbor, his childhood friend, and his lifelong crush, Margo Roth Spiegelman. Margo unlike Quentin, lives a very not normal life and her personality is the complete opposite of Quentin’s. Margo is brave, curious, confident, and is downright awesome. These attributes make Quentin feel like Margo is amazing and make him want to be with her. Nine years ago at the age of nine, Quentin and Margo find a dead body in Jefferson park, Quentin is scared of it and backs away while Margo on the other hand is curious and approaches it. Margo says that she can see that all the strings inside of the dead guy are broken. Then Quentin grabs her and they run home away from it. This shows that Quentin is a person that is easily scared and afraid of things, but he also really cares about the people he love. Then nine years later, Quentin Jacobsen is an average, unpopular student that is still afraid of things, while Margo Roth Spiegelman is one of the most popular girls in the whole school and is still courageous and brave. Quentin and Margo now hardly even talk to each other now until, One night, Margo goes to Quentin’s room and asks him if he wants to

In order for Quentin to find margo, he has to follow the clues until it leads him to a “paper town” which Margo referred to the night before she left, even though it didn’t seem like an actual place. Margo even said, “It’s a paper town...all those paper people living in their paper houses, burning the furniture to stay warm...Everyone demented with the mania of owning things...I’ve lived here for eighteen years and I have never once in my life come across anyone who cares about anything that matters.” However, what Margo is saying here is more figurative than literal. For instance, when she goes to the “paper town” she isn't actually going to a town made of paper, she is