Analyzing Quentin and Margo in Paper Towns

In the book Paper Towns by John Green I think that Quentin is an interesting character in the book. I think that Quentin has a want deep inside of him for adventure but is never able to express it because his parents are really smart and he was brought up in a really  smart oriented family. I think that he is so in love with Margo because he knows how adventurous she is and he wants to experience the side of life that she lives in. I think that he wants to break away from the tight ropes and rigidness of his parents and be able to be free and be able to have an adventure. Even when Margo and Quentin were kids and they found a dead body Margo wanted to find out more and discover all about the dead man and even went on her own little investigation to find out why he died, whereas Quentin was afraid and wanted to run away from the body and tried to get it out of his mind.


I think that Quentin is that way because he was brought up that way but the more he grows up the more he wants to experiment with other things because he sees how bad he looks staying in his own little confined bubble. I think that when he was younger he felt that it was okay to be that way and his parents also contributed to that by always trying to make him smart and them being smart people influenced him to shy away from adventures. Even though it is okay to not be a huge adventurous person you shouldn't shy away from every adventure set before you. You have to step up and take a chance because it isn't a fun life to live if you are someone who just stays with the normal all the time.


Also on the other hand Margo who is willing to go on any adventure that comes her way that can be a problem too. In the book you find out that Margo has a habit of running away from her house and living on her own until she is found or comes back. That is dangerous and even though it is not okay to live a boring life Margo lives a dangerous life which is not a smart thing to do either. Sometimes you have to draw the line and say that this is not something smart to do and be smart to not do it. Margo though doesn't have that and she tends to run around doing crazy things that have no purpose. I think that her parents have some connection to that too. By the little i've seen of them they don't seem to care about her that much and they seem to want to fit into society so much that they don't want to have any fun and Margo being the complete opposite her parents put her down and make her feel out of place in the family. That is what makes her run away and do crazy things for attention from others she can't get attention at home so she decides that she wants it from other people.


Margo and Quentin are opposites and they both do things for different reasons so I think that they came together not just because the are neighbors but because they both want the same thing. But even though they want the same thing Margo does it for attention and compensation for her parents not respecting her. Quentin on the other hand does things because he is tired of living in his little bubble he wants to experience he world like Margo and I don't think that that is such a good thing because she tends to have some self destructive behavior. I think that both of them need to find a balance between their two extremes.       

Character relationships in Looking for Alaska

I think that there are some interesting character relationships in Looking for Alaska. I think that the Colonel and Pudge have an interesting relationship because they are kind of like brothers. Also because of them helping Alaska drive off drunk and that lead to her death they feel connected and they are closer because of it. Even though they argue a lot because of their difference in opinion I think that they are still close because they have to be close to each other for support after the hard things that they have been through. 

 I think that Takumi is starting to play a bigger role because at first they stayed away from him because they were ashamed that they helped Alaska drive drunk and kill herself. I think that they need support and Takumi is their friend and he can help them get through the tough time that they are having. I think that this is going the hardest on Pudge because even though he knew her the least amount of time he loved her and he always had a fantasy of them being together even though he knew it would never happen. When Alaska was a live he had more control over himself in not wanting her and thinking that she would leave her boyfriend for him but after they made out he couldn't hold in his feelings and when he helped her kill herself before getting to express his feelings to her he was upset and horrified that he helped her.


I think that Pudge is going to eventually get over her because she will be a former memory but I don't think that his conscious will ever be clean because he will feel responsible for her death because no matter how many rituals he does in remembrance of her he will never get rid of that feeling that he is partially responsible for her death.  

Looking for Alaska

In the book Looking for Alaska by John Green I think it shows that people can bring others together but they can also break them apart. I think that this is showed by how in the beginning Alaska held them together like a glue she was the life and stimulator of the group and she always made things exciting, and after she died Pudge and the Colonel were always fighting and they could never stop disagreeing. The problems she caused them to have a big fight and for Pudge to leave the Colonel and go on his way. Also with Alaska they went on adventures and were much happier now that she is dead they barely even get together anymore and they never talk. 

It is not only that she died that is causing a stir it is the fact that they see her dying in a different perspective. Pudge is upset because he loved her and the day she died she made out with him and he hates her for leaving him and he wants to believe that she loved him and that she would leave her boyfriend for him. Everyone knew that she was random and impulsive and that her making out with Pudge meant absolutely nothing to her and he refuses to believe that even though he knows it. I think that if it meant something to her she wouldn't have risked riving drunk. The Colonel knows that that is what Pudge thinks but he knows that it meant nothing and he is more focused on finding out if it was a suicide or an accident. 

I think that the tension between Pudge and the Colonel is not going to subside but I think that Pudge needs to let go of the notion he has that Alaska secretly loved him. I think that if he lets that go them him and the Colonel might be able to reconnect. I think that Pudge hates Alaska because he knows that she really didn't care about the kissing and he hates her for being strong enough to be able to leave him and get herself killed. I think he is afraid to find out the truth about if it was a suicide because it would devastate him.

I think that it is important that Pudge lets go of his fantasy in order for the relationship to get back to the way it was. The Colonel also needs to be more supportive of Pudge and not just mainly focus on solving a mystery. I think that this problem can be solved and it will get better but without Alaska it will never be the same.