In many novels throughout literature, the concept of The Quest from Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor is extremely prevalent. John Green's Paper Towns is no exception. Essentially, the basis of the plot can be seen as a quest, because the vast majority of the book is Quentin and his friends searching for their lost friend named Margo Roth Spiegelman. A literary quest contains five essential elements: a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go to said place, trials and tribulations along the way, and the true reason for the journey which is always self knowledge. In P
The quester: In this case, the questers are Quentin and his friends
The stated reason to go: To locate Margo since she ran away
The desired location: The desired location is to be wherever Margo is. Because they don't know where she is, this element is a little ambiguous
Trials and tribulations: Well the trials and tribulations are just their attempts at gathering the clues Margo left behind in hopes of finding her. There are also challenges in hoping to retrieve her before a specific time they believe she will commit suicide, which includes driving nearly 24 hours up to New York. During this drive they encounter struggles with staying awake, finding time to use the restroom, etc. etc.
Self knowledge gained: Ultimately, the self knowledge that Quentin gains is the fact that some people don't necessarily want to be found and leave for a reason. Once they find Margo in New York, she explains to him that living there is what's best for her, and that she wanted to leave so she could start fresh. This concept never occurred to Quentin, so he gains knowledge in that aspect. He also learns about what he is capable of figuring out and doing for the people he cares about. Because the task of finding Margo was so challenging and taxing, Quentin is able to grow and realize the things he can do.
aper Towns, all of these elements are present:
The quester: In this case, the questers are Quentin and his friends
The stated reason to go: To locate Margo since she ran away
The desired location: The desired location is to be wherever Margo is. Because they don't know where she is, this element is a little ambiguous
Trials and tribulations: Well the trials and tribulations are just their attempts at gathering the clues Margo left behind in hopes of finding her. There are also challenges in hoping to retrieve her before a specific time they believe she will commit suicide, which includes driving nearly 24 hours up to New York. During this drive they encounter struggles with staying awake, finding time to use the restroom, etc. etc.
Self knowledge gained: Ultimately, the self knowledge that Quentin gains is the fact that some people don't necessarily want to be found and leave for a reason. Once they find Margo in New York, she explains to him that living there is what's best for her, and that she wanted to leave so she could start fresh. This concept never occurred to Quentin, so he gains knowledge in that aspect. He also learns about what he is capable of figuring out and doing for the people he cares about. Because the task of finding Margo was so challenging and taxing, Quentin is able to grow and realize the things he can do.