Statement of rationale
When one first reads the summary on the back of Paper Towns, it seems like just another teen romance book. However, there is much more that can be taken from it than just a love story. In the story, the main character Quentin’s crush goes missing, leaving clues for him to use to find her. Paper Towns is very useful as part of a curriculum for junior high school English classes because it helps to teach important lessons about life while also helping to teach important literary elements such as theme and vocabulary.
At the beginning of the novel, Margo appears in Quentin’s window and takes him on a little adventure to get revenge on some of those who have wronged her. The next day, Margo does not show up at school. This does not surprise anyone, as Margo has disappeared many times before and always coming back with stories of her adventures. This time, however, she leaves clues for Q. During the second part of the novel, Q and his friends try to put together the clues to figure out where Margo could be. Their clues lead them to a variety of places around the area where they live. During the last part of the novel, Q and his friends go on a twenty two hour road trip from Florida to New York to find Margo. The novel ends with Margo and Q agreeing to go there separate ways so they can live their incredibly different lives.
Paper Towns does a very good job of engaging its readers and keeping them wondering what will happen next. “Carlsen’s third generalization about adolescent reading habits holds that most young adults make reading selections based on the subject matter of the book rather than the literary merit, language difficulty, or complexity of the story” (Bushman 21). Adolescents simply will not read a book they do not find interesting, whether it is part of a school assignment or something they picked up for leisure reading. Paper Towns entertains readers and keeps them reading.
Paper Towns also has several themes that students will be able to identify by the end of the novel. The themes of Paper Towns include “how do we see other people,” “how much of the world is ‘ours,’” and “real versus fake.” These are themes that students can relate to and think about in terms of their own lives. The theoretical perspective used to approach Paper Towns is reader response. “High school students need literature to which they can connect, literature that has moral or ethical issues for them to confront” (Bushman 8). Q has to confront that he has spent his whole life thinking about Margo as more than human. One of the most important discoveries Q makes is that “the fundamental mistake I had always made -- and that she had, in fairness, always led me to make -- was this: Margo was not a miracle. She was not an adventure. She was not a fine and precious thing. She was a girl” (Green 199). People have a tendency to think of those they admire (celebrities, crushes, etc.) as more than they are. Paper Towns asks students to see this and learn from this mistake at an age when they think this more often.
There are problems that could come up in this novel. Q goes to an after prom party where everyone is drunk except for him, including other main characters. In teaching this part, it is important to point out Q’s reactions and opinions of those around him. The tone of this particular point of the plot makes it clear that Q neither approves nor finds interest in his friends’ lapses in judgment. It is also implied that two characters have sex. The consequences of this (Margo breaking off the friendship of the two involved and one of the two getting emotionally hurt by the other) should be pointed out to students. Several swear words are used throughout the book, as well. However, swearing is a part of language for teenagers. “In most cases [of teenagers swearing] it’s just the way teenagers salt their language…or at least a way for teenagers to perceive that they sound older” (Aubrey). If a parent were to feel strongly that their child should not read Paper Towns, another book that teaches a similar theme is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice teaches that sometimes there is more to person than what one first perceives.
Piaget’s theory of development helped to form the purpose of the online guide. According to Piaget, those of high school age are in the formal operational level. At this stage, “these students have reached intellectual maturity, and most are able to think in a systematic manner, to reason by implication at the abstract level, and to bring together variables through synthesis” (Bushman 6). Students at this stage can think of the themes in terms of themselves and others. They can decide what would be a good idea in real life and what would not (I.e., acknowledging that underage drinking is not a good idea). They can reflect on what they think Q should have done and how that would have had different results than what happened. They can answer who they see as being “larger than life” and how that reflects on themselves and those around them. They can think about if they lead others to believe that they themselves are larger than life.
As a result of reading this book, students will not only have more experience with certain literary skills, but will also have learned valuable lessons they will keep with them throughout their lives. Students will have had more practice identifying themes and applying them to their lives. They will realize that people are more than just who they see them as. They will realize that different people see people differently. Like all good literature, Paper Towns will change students for the better by helping them to understand who they are and who those around them are.
Works Cited
At the beginning of the novel, Margo appears in Quentin’s window and takes him on a little adventure to get revenge on some of those who have wronged her. The next day, Margo does not show up at school. This does not surprise anyone, as Margo has disappeared many times before and always coming back with stories of her adventures. This time, however, she leaves clues for Q. During the second part of the novel, Q and his friends try to put together the clues to figure out where Margo could be. Their clues lead them to a variety of places around the area where they live. During the last part of the novel, Q and his friends go on a twenty two hour road trip from Florida to New York to find Margo. The novel ends with Margo and Q agreeing to go there separate ways so they can live their incredibly different lives.
Paper Towns does a very good job of engaging its readers and keeping them wondering what will happen next. “Carlsen’s third generalization about adolescent reading habits holds that most young adults make reading selections based on the subject matter of the book rather than the literary merit, language difficulty, or complexity of the story” (Bushman 21). Adolescents simply will not read a book they do not find interesting, whether it is part of a school assignment or something they picked up for leisure reading. Paper Towns entertains readers and keeps them reading.
Paper Towns also has several themes that students will be able to identify by the end of the novel. The themes of Paper Towns include “how do we see other people,” “how much of the world is ‘ours,’” and “real versus fake.” These are themes that students can relate to and think about in terms of their own lives. The theoretical perspective used to approach Paper Towns is reader response. “High school students need literature to which they can connect, literature that has moral or ethical issues for them to confront” (Bushman 8). Q has to confront that he has spent his whole life thinking about Margo as more than human. One of the most important discoveries Q makes is that “the fundamental mistake I had always made -- and that she had, in fairness, always led me to make -- was this: Margo was not a miracle. She was not an adventure. She was not a fine and precious thing. She was a girl” (Green 199). People have a tendency to think of those they admire (celebrities, crushes, etc.) as more than they are. Paper Towns asks students to see this and learn from this mistake at an age when they think this more often.
There are problems that could come up in this novel. Q goes to an after prom party where everyone is drunk except for him, including other main characters. In teaching this part, it is important to point out Q’s reactions and opinions of those around him. The tone of this particular point of the plot makes it clear that Q neither approves nor finds interest in his friends’ lapses in judgment. It is also implied that two characters have sex. The consequences of this (Margo breaking off the friendship of the two involved and one of the two getting emotionally hurt by the other) should be pointed out to students. Several swear words are used throughout the book, as well. However, swearing is a part of language for teenagers. “In most cases [of teenagers swearing] it’s just the way teenagers salt their language…or at least a way for teenagers to perceive that they sound older” (Aubrey). If a parent were to feel strongly that their child should not read Paper Towns, another book that teaches a similar theme is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice teaches that sometimes there is more to person than what one first perceives.
Piaget’s theory of development helped to form the purpose of the online guide. According to Piaget, those of high school age are in the formal operational level. At this stage, “these students have reached intellectual maturity, and most are able to think in a systematic manner, to reason by implication at the abstract level, and to bring together variables through synthesis” (Bushman 6). Students at this stage can think of the themes in terms of themselves and others. They can decide what would be a good idea in real life and what would not (I.e., acknowledging that underage drinking is not a good idea). They can reflect on what they think Q should have done and how that would have had different results than what happened. They can answer who they see as being “larger than life” and how that reflects on themselves and those around them. They can think about if they lead others to believe that they themselves are larger than life.
As a result of reading this book, students will not only have more experience with certain literary skills, but will also have learned valuable lessons they will keep with them throughout their lives. Students will have had more practice identifying themes and applying them to their lives. They will realize that people are more than just who they see them as. They will realize that different people see people differently. Like all good literature, Paper Towns will change students for the better by helping them to understand who they are and who those around them are.
Works Cited