Paper Towns: Reality v. Imagination

The image Quentin Jacobsen creates of Margo Roth Spiegelman has affected his perception of her and taught him that imagination is not equivalent to understanding.  He manages to create this idea of who he thinks she is. Quentin begins applying this to other aspects of his life so much so that he expects his friends to be other than who they are.  He becomes wrapped up in the mystery of Margo and the idea he created of her.  It’s not until he comes face to face with her once again that he realizes Margo can’t be wedged down into a simple idea.  Only after coming to understand Margo and her story do all the pieces begin to fit.  The preconceived notion he created about knowing others, particularly Margo, begins to take a life of its own. 

“Each of us,” from all walks of life “starts out as a watertight vessel.”  Then, things in life start happening—“people leave us, or don’t love us, or don’t get us, or we don’t get them” which ultimately leads to us “[losing] and [failing] and [hurting] one another.”  As this happens the vessel slowly “starts to crack open in places.”  The time before we collapse is crucial because “we can see one another” and we are given the chance to “see out of ourselves through our cracks and into others through theirs” (302).  The events of one’s life are vast and overwhelmingly numerous.  Every part makes an impact upon us and it is from the bruises those impacts leave behind that we begin to see things clearly.  We can see our own pain present in the eyes of others and we understand.  Quentin thought he could figure out who Margo Roth Spiegelman was on his own.  It wasn’t until he let go of his idealistic image of her that he recognized her “cracks.”

Never forget the essence of your spark!
Maire

(side note: this was actually an assignment for a class but I really like it so I thought I'd share)