Paper Towns Blog

     The book Paper Towns by John Green, is fast pace with many exhilarating things happening in just the span of a couple of chapters. We have met a good variety of different characters like the main, Margo Roth Spiegelman and Quentin Jacobsen, and many supporting characters. Even though the book is based on the relationship and journey of Margo and Quentin, the supporting characters have a big impact on the story. All of which at some point, in the book, face issues. Most of those issues revolving around relationships with other characters or where they live, Jefferson Park in Orlando, Florida. Understanding these characters is a huge part of understanding this book.

    Margo is one of the main characters in the book, Paper Towns, alongside Quentin. Those who are around Margo considers her a mystery, including Quentin. Due to childhood experiences, she has grown to love mysteries eventually becoming one herself. A mystery that no one can figure out. The book states, “Margo always loved mysteries. . .I could never stop thinking that maybe she loved mysteries so much that she became one.” (page 8) She considers herself a “paper girl”, a girl who has been formed by the people around her but is not really her true self. The book states, “. . .I thought about I was made of paper. I was the flimsy-foldable person. . .People love the idea of a paper girl. . .Because it’s kind of great, being an idea that everybody likes.” (page 293-294) In school Margo is quite popular, she has many friends and even a boyfriend who is popular himself, Jason Worthington. Nobody really knows who Margo is behind her appearance. She is an insecure teenager who would rather hang out with Quentin and his friends than the friends she has now. She enjoys living on the edge and in the moment.

    Margo’s outer looks are a big part in her school life because that is what made her known throughout their high school. To Quentin, Margo wasn’t too skinny or fat, she was right in the middle. The book states, “. . .you could not say that Margo Roth Spiegelman was fat, or that she was skinny. . .” (page 50) She has blue eyes and chestnut hair, when she ran away to Algoe, New York, she cut her hair. The book states, “. . .and Margo’s blue eyes were staring back at me…Her chestnut hair, stick straight…Her hair is much shorter she has choppy bangs above her eyebrows. . .” (page 25-281) The book doesn’t state a lot of her appearance but with the information they do give us we can picture somebody in our heads.
 
     Quentin is the other main character of the book, Paper Towns. For almost his entire life Quentin has been in love with his neighbor Margo, but she doesn’t know it. He is a quirky, nerdy, geeky guy who hangs out with his school’s band members, Ben and Radar. Sometimes Quentin doesn’t have a lot of confidence in himself and with some of his actions. The book states, “I woke up late, took too long in the shower. . .enjoy my breakfast in the passenger seat of my mom’s minivan at 7:17. . .” (page 11) He is really unpunctual and doesn’t get to places on time most of the time. In some aspects, Quentin can be the complete opposite of Margo.