Comparing and Contrasting "Paper Towns"; the Book and Movie

  The Differences Between the Book and the Movie 

                                    The Book                                            The Movie    

 

                 - Radar's girlfriend, Angela, decides          - Angela joins the group as they go

                   to stay in Orlando while the group             on the road trip to find Margo.

                   goes to look for Margo.              

 

                - Radar is quite obsessed with the              - The  website, Omnictionary, is barely

                  website he made, Omnictionary.                  even mentioned in the movie.

 

                - People kept having the thought               - Everyone automatically thinks Margo

                  that Margo could possibly be                       has just went somewhere; there were

                  dead.                                                             no thoughts that she could be dead.

 

                - The group starts their big road trip          - The group starts their big road trip a

                  right before their graduation is                    few days before prom; which makes

                  about to happen.                                           them rush the trip.

 

                - When they get to Agloe, Margo is           - Margo isn't in Agloe, and the group

                  furious that the group has found out            doesn't want to wait to see if she'll

                  where she is at.                                             arrive so they leave Quentin.

                

                - Quentin and Margo break into Sea          - Quentin and Margo go to the Sun Trust

                   World as the last of the 12 things                building as the last of the 9 things

                   Margo had planned.                                     Margo had planned.

 

                - Margo needed 3 whole catfish, Veet,      - Margo needed a Red Bull, tissues, one

                  Vaseline, six-pack of Mountain Dew,        catfish, a club, a lot of saran wrap, spray

                  dozen of Tulips, bottle of water,                 paint, petroleum jelly, and an air horn.

                  tissues, and a can of blue spray paint.

 

 

 

     The Similarities of the Book and Movie



               The following are the similarities in the book and movie, "Paper Towns" :

 

• Ben, somehow, gets Lacey Pemberton to be his date to prom.
• Margo decides to stay where she is, rather than to go back to Orlando.
• Margo leaves town after her and Quentin's night of sabotaging people.
• Radar's parents have a really large collection of black Santa's.
• Quentin has been in love with Margo since they were friends as children.
• The group had to arrive in Agloe in a certain amount of time.
• The clues were Margo left for Quentin, were the same.

 

 

 Connection to Text/World:

 

The similarities and differences between the book and movie of "Paper Towns" has a connection to text and the world because when most books are made into movies, a lot of stuff is cut out. However, some parts are still the same.

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/PrVnnwoOP7s

A link to a clip of, personally, my favorite part of "Paper Towns".

 

 



The Themes of "Paper Towns"

In the book, "Paper Towns", you will come across different themes that vary from false perceptions to friendship. The following are some of the major themes in "Paper Towns".

False Perceptions

In the book, Quentin spends most of his time obsessing over Margo that he forgets about his own life. Quentin holds on to the memories him and Margo had as children, whereas Margo has long ago abandoned the friendship they had as children. After Quentin has discovered the whereabouts of Margo, she shows little concern for what everyone has gone through due to her disappearance Although Quentin will always love Margo, he realizes that he can no longer hold up his life for her. This growth stems from him overcoming his false perceptions and seeing his love in a truer light.

Identity Searching

Very few teenagers have a full understanding of their identity, and the characters in "Paper Towns" are no exception. Margo references to the idea of "strings" that hold a person together, repeatedly. The "strings" represent emotional stability and inner peace. In the beginning of the book, Quentin tells the readers about a memory in which he and Margo discover a dead body in a  park that is by their houses. While Quentin is disturbed of the discovery, Margo is quite fascinated. Margo infers that "maybe all the strings inside him broke." The memory and the idea of strings follow Quentin as the years go on. The search for one's strings represent the identity crisis both Quentin and Margo undergo. Quentin's occurs as he comes to terms with the false representation he has created of his childhood crush. When Margo's occurs, she learns to stop fleeing responsibility and loses Quentin as the realization comes too late.

Friendship

Quentin eventually realizes that his friendships with Ben, Radar, and Lacey are more fulfilling to him than a relationship with Margo. As Quentin discovers himself and Margo in a realistic light, he begins to prioritize the individuals in his life that have shown genuine care for him. Lacey, who was once Margo's best friend, criticizes Margo for her lack of regard for her supposed "friend's" feelings. Once timid and complacent, Lacey grows more comfortable with expressing her opinions to those who truly care to listen. While Quentin's friendship with Ben and Radar were once overshadowed by his love for Margo, he learns to appreciate them and recognize their loyalty to him.

Admiration

In "Paper Towns", Margo isn't quite a celebrity, but everyone in school treats her as though she's a goddess among them. Margo is of two minds about this: she clearly likes the attention because she keeps doing things to keep the attention coming, but she also isn't able to make normal connections with the masses. This makes her not just out of touch with other people, but also out of touch with herself.

Dissatisfaction

After you've read "Paper Towns" many times, watched the movie many times, and looked up information about it, you might be bored. Maybe even a little dissatisfied with life. Now you know how Quentin feels after Margo disappears from their town. So what's a boy or girl supposed to do? You could obsess over Margo. Who is she? Where is she? Why is she? Or you could do something. Organize a road trip, even if it's just to find out where Margo went. You might have quite the adventure along the way.

Text-to-World

The themes, shown above, of "Paper Towns" have a connection to the world because most teenagers nowadays admire someone, are dissatisfied with something in their life, have difficult friendships, are searching for their true identity, and have a false understanding of something in their life.

A photo of a map with a quote by the author of "Paper Towns".

 

 

The Plot of "Paper Towns"

Rising Action

As Quentin and his friends try to finish their senior year of high school, they begin to gather clues that they believe Margo has left for them. One of the important clues is a poem they found in her room by Walt Whitman. The clues lead him to an abandoned mini mall where Quentin thinks Margo has been spending time at recently. The mini mall has what he believes are clues to Margo's whereabouts. Quentin convinces himself to believe that Margo has committed suicide and wants him to find her.

Climax

The climax of the novel is when Quentin finally discovers that the map of New York lines up with the pin holes that he found on the wall in the abandoned mini mall. One of the points specifically lines up with Algoe, New York. Quentin and his friend do some research on Algoe on "Omnictioary" and they discover that someone has posted that the population of Algoe "Will actually be One until may 29th at Noon." This post alerts Quentin because he only knows one person who capitalizes words in the middle of sentences, Margo. On May 29th, also being the day of graduation, Quentin and his friends set off on a journey to find Margo.

Falling Action

Quentin, Ben, Radar, and Lacey all decide to skip their high school graduation to take a 19 hour road trip to find Margo in Algoe. They have 24 hours to find her and they experience many bumps along the road, including a near death experience. They finally arrive in Algoe and discover Margo in yet another abandoned building. They discover that Margo isn't the same person they all thought they knew.

Resolution

When the group of friends finally find Margo, she is furious that they went to find her. However, the group of friends is also upset that she is not the Margo they knew before she disappeared. They come to the conclusion that they don't need to be who everyone wants them to be. They are all now graduated from high school and they can choose any direction in life that they want. Margo will decide to travel and will no longer be the fake, "paper girl" she was in Orlando. The novel ends with Margo and Quentin kissing, but both characters realize that their relationship will never be anything more than friends.

Text to World

The plot of "Paper Towns" has a connection to the real world because some times, a guy will do whatever he could to be able to be closer or to have the girl he has fallen in love with.

 



Get to know the Characters of "Paper Towns"

Major Characters

Protagonist:

Quentin Jacobsen, or "Q", is the narrator of this book. Secretly, Quentin has been secretly in love with his neighbor, Margo, since they were young. As the school years went on, they grew apart and they separated into different social groups. Quentin is a nerdy guy who hang out with the band geeks. The night Margo asks for Quentin's help, he is willing to help because he has always idolized her. When Margo mysteriously disappears the next day, Quentin is heartbroken and feels like he is the only person who actually cares about her well being. He always has thoughts about her and tries to use the secret clues to find out where Margo is.

Antagonist:

Margo Roth Spiegelman isn't the "villain" of the story, but she is in the center of conflict of this story. Margo was the most popular girl at school, she's obviously gorgeous, and has a popular jock boyfriend, Jase. She describes herself as a "paper girl". She doesn't correct people on the fact that she is actually quite a mysterious person. Margo is a very adventurous person, which is a trait she doesn't hide from people. So, it is no surprise when he disappears after the eventful night with Quentin.


Minor Characters

Ben Starling:

Ben is one of Quentin's best friends, and he is a band nerd. He acts like a ladies man, when has actually never been in a relationship with anyone before. During the course of the book, Ben develops a relationship with Lacey. Ben also helps Quentin in the search of Margo.

Radar:

Radar is another of Quentin's best friends. Radar is also a band nerd, but he is extremely tech savvy. He is an editor for a Wikipedia type of website named "Omnictionary". He also helps during the search of Margo.

Lacey Pamberton:

Lacey is or was Margo's best friend before she disappeared. Besides Quentin, Lacey is concerned about where Margo is.  She develops a relationship with Ben after they attend prom together. She tags along with the boys during the search of finding out where Margo is.

The actors that play Margo and Quentin.

 

 

Text to World:

 

The characters of "Paper Towns" have a connection to the world because sometimes, a girl will cause trouble to guys or even to her friends.



 

 

All About "Paper Towns"

         Paper Towns is a book that contains adventure, betrayal, love, and everything in between. The book takes place in Quentin Jacobsen's, also known as "Q", and Margo Roth Spiegelman's subdivision in Orlando, Florida. When Quentin and Margo were younger, they decided to bike to a nearby park. When they arrived, they saw a dead man who had committed suicide after his recent divorce. The book then goes forward to when Quentin and Margo are now in high school. They have become distant as time went on. A while before their high school graduation, Margo suddenly appears at Quentin's bedroom window. She wants Quentin to help her with the 11 events she has planned to get revenge on those who have mistreated her in some way. Quentin and Margo first go to Walmart to get all the supplies they will need for Margo's plan. They get 13 pounds of catfish, the fat-daddy size of Vaseline, blue spray paint, a six pack of Mountain Dew, Veet, and a dozen tulips. They then go to Margo's best friend's house, where her best friend is currently sleeping with Margo's ex-boyfriend. Margo calls her best friend's dad to inform him what is happening in his basement, and Margo's ex-boyfriend then attempts to escape the scene while naked. Margo then instructs Quentin to take a picture of him. Next, Margo and Quentin break inside the house. They spray paint a 'M' to symbolize that Margo was there and leave a catfish to symbolize her best friend's betrayal. After, Margo and Quentin visit Margo's friend Karin and leave her a bouquet of flowers because she informed Margo about the affair between her ex-boyfriend and best friend. Next, they go to Margo's ex-boyfriend's house. They spray paint a 'M' and leave him a catfish. After, they go to Margo's friend, Lacey's, house and break into her car. They put a catfish underneath her car seat and spray paint a 'M' on the roof. Then, they break into the SunTrust bank building and go to one of the higher floors to see all of Orlando. There, Margo refers to Orlando as a "paper town". She describes it as "fake" and "not even hard enough to be plastic". As they are leaving the building, Margo gives Quentin the choice on who they should sabotage next. Quentin chooses the school bully, Chuck Parson. They break into Chuck's house, remove one of his eyebrows with hair removal cream, and put Vaseline all over the door knobs in his house. Next, they break into SeaWorld. Afterwards, Margo and Quentin return back to their homes. Quentin barely makes it to school that day, and spends the day wondering if Margo will start talking to him at school. However, she doesn't arrive to school that day or a few days later either. Her parents then file a missing persons report, but are more frustrated than worried because Margo has been missing a few times before. Since Quentin was the last person to be in contact with Margo, he was questioned a lot by an investigator. As days go on after Margo's disappearance, Quentin finds different hints that may help him find out where Margo has went. On the day of their graduation, he finally believes he knows where Margo may be. The only problem is that he believes she is in Agloe, New York. Quentin gets his best friends, Radar and Ben to go on the journey with him. Radar's girlfriend, Lacey, decides to join them and they start their journey to New York. Once they arrive in Agloe, they discover Margo was staying in an old barn. Margo was vey shocked when she saw the group of friends. She gets upset that they found her, claiming that she didn't leave any of the clues to be used to find her and says she didn't want to be found. The group of friends are angry with Margo's response so they leave Margo and decide to stay the night at a motel. The next day, Quentin goes to Margo, and they have a deep conversation of everything that has happened. Quentin and Margo then kiss briefly. Quentin wants to stay with her, but understands that the natures of his life at home restrict him from staying. At the end, Margo and Quentin promise to keep in contact with each other. In my opinion, I believe Paper Towns has a connection with the real world because teenagers generally run away from home to get away from the stress, like in Margo's case.