Paper Towns, Green
Name:
Grade12 (Incoming)
Part One: The Strings
Prologue - chapter 4
pp. 3 - 45
Question that assesses
themes and central ideas
of chapter
Margo has a momentary lapse from her usual calm and collected
self. Her voice elevates and she pounds her fist in anger. “‘I’M
NOT P*SSED AT YOU!’ Margo shouted, and then punched the
dashboard (43). What causes Margo to momentarily reveal this
more vulnerable side? What does this tell readers about her
character as a whole?
Question that assesses
knowledge of vocabulary
Q explains that he isn’t the type of person to hook up with Becca
Arrington because, “She may be hot, but she is also 1.
aggressively vapid…(38).”
Author, John Green uses this same phrase in a video blog in
referring to Daisy from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehjTS6AhMJ8
Explain what vapid means and what its use in describing Becca
Arrington, allows you to infer about Daisy even if unfamiliar with
the text.
Questions that assesses
syntax and structure
Green often capitalizes entire words and sentences such as
when Radar reflects on his parents, “IT IS NOT MY FAULT
THAT MY PARENTS OWN THE WORLD’S LARGEST
COLLECTION OF BLACK SANTAS” (22). What does this
capitalization suggest and how does it impact your reading of the
text?
Chapter Summary
1
Part One: The Strings
Chapters 5 - 9
pp. 46 - 82
Question that assesses
themes and central ideas
of chapter
Question that assesses
knowledge of vocabulary
As morning dawns, Q encourages Margo to spend more time
with him. He says, “Just hang out with me. My friends are
actually, like, nice” (81).
What does this suggest about Margo’s friends? What other
textual evidence supports this assertion?
Q accuses Margo of using a word wrong but admits that he’s not
certain of the word himself.
Is Q correct that Margo has misused a word when she says,
“He’ll never know what depilatated him” (62)?
Explain the meaning of the word, as well as her use.
Questions that assesses
syntax and structure
Green utilizes lists throughout his text. How does the format he
presents them in, impact the text? How would your read differ if
the lists were written in paragraph form. (Example of list: page
54)
Chapter Summary
Part Two: The Grass
Chapters 1 - 4
pp. 85 - 117
Question that assesses
themes and central ideas
of chapter
p. 104 When the detective speaks to Q, he likens Margo to a
helium balloon saying kids like her “...strain against the string
and strain against it, and then something happens, and that
string gets cut, and they just float away.” Would Margo have
agreed with his metaphor? Explain.
Question that assesses
knowledge of vocabulary
p. 97 & 98 - Q signs his email “Your Friendly Neighborhood
Nemesis, “ when writing to Jase with his demands. How is this
an appropriate and powerful use of the word nemesis?
Questions that assesses
syntax and structure
p. 97 When writing his demands to Jase, Q chooses to number
them in a list. How does this seems to be a more effective way
than summarizing them in paragraph form? Why do you think he
chooses this format?
Chapter Summary
2
Part Two: The Grass
Chapters 5 - 10
pp. 118 - 157
1 Question that assesses
themes and central ideas
of chapter
All his life, Q has enjoyed routine, structure and predictability.
He has never encountered true fear until he arrives at 8328
Bartlesville Ave. during his search for Margo. Explain the
different levels of fear he faces here and how his life to this point
only increases these levels.
1 Question that assesses
knowledge of vocabulary
Why is the choice of the word rancid a good choice in the
sentence, “As soon as the car stopped, my nose and mouth
were flooded with the rancid smell of death”?
1 Questions that assesses
syntax and structure
John Green uses metaphors and symbolic objects throughout
the book and to build anticipation. What is his reason or purpose
of mentioning the incomplete subdivisions, the dead raccoon and
the abandoned strip mall while the boys are searching for
Margo?
Chapter Summar
Part Two: The Grass
Chapters 11 - 14
pp. 158 - 195
1 Question that assesses
themes and central ideas
of chapter
p. 171 While in the strip mall, Q reflects on his knowledge of
Margo and realizes that all of his searching was “What I needed
to do above all. I needed to discover what Margo was like when
she wasn’t being Margo.” Explain.
1 Question that assesses
knowledge of vocabulary
p.175 Explain the image created by the word cacophonous
darkness in the sentence, “Maybe she had sat here in the
cacophonous darkness and felt some kind of desperation take
over her…”
1 Questions that assesses
syntax and structure
How are the multiple purposes of grass Q finds in Whitman’s
poem a parallel to what Q knows or wants to know about Margo?
Chapter Summary
3
Part Two: The Grass
Chapters 15 - 20
pp. 196 - 240
1 Question that assesses
themes and central ideas
of chapter
1 Question that assesses
knowledge of vocabulary
On the brink of his high school graduation, Quentin considers the
many pieces of Margo that he never really knew and begins to
see how relevant one’s past is in forming one’s present and
future. Evaluate his meaning when he says that “The town was
paper, but the memories were not” (Green 227). What is he
beginning to grasp about Margo? How do these new realizations
deepen his understanding of himself?
Explain the meaning of the word crippling in the following
sentence:
“A voice in my head was like: WARNING
NOSTALGIA ALERT WARNING WARNING
WARNING. Great people, my parents, but prone to
bouts of crippling sentimentality.” (Green 197)
1 Questions that assesses
syntax and structure
Quentin recognizes Margo’s location by remembering her
fondness for erratic capitalization. Consider the Omnictionary
entry Quentin finds:
“fyi, whoever Edits this--the Population of agloe Will
actually be One until may 29th at Noon” (Green
236).
How does Margo’s irregular adherence to proper conventions
convey elements of her personality? Why is Quentin so drawn to
this? How does this contribute to your evaluation of his
character?
Chapter Summary
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Part Three: The Vessel
The First Hour - Hour 16
pp. 243 - 274
1 Question that assesses
themes and central ideas
of chapter
As he nears Margo’s location, Quentin once again contemplates
the real meaning of Whitman’s poem, stating that he “can almost
imagine a happiness without her, the ability to let her go” (Green
274). What has shifted that allows him this respite from his
pursuit of Margo? How does his latest understanding of
Whitman’s work reflect on the development of his character?
1 Question that assesses
knowledge of vocabulary
How does the use of the word biosphere in the following
sentence influence the mood of the road trip?
“The minivan has become a biosphere--give us gas,
and we can keep going forever.” (Green 254)
1 Questions that assesses
syntax and structure
Between the break on page 267 and the last full paragraph on
page 268, Quentin recounts the groups’ near-death encounter
with the cows on the highway. Reread these paragraphs, noting
the changes in sentence structure throughout--how does Green
use alternating simple and complex structures to help the reader
visualize this scene and experience with Quentin?
Chapter Summary
5
Part Three: The Vessel
Hour 17 - Agloe
pp. 275 - 305
1 Question that assesses
themes and central ideas
of chapter
1 Question that assesses
knowledge of vocabulary
Margo explains herself to Quentin after his long journey to her.
They discuss the significance of paper towns in relation to how
Margo has always perceived her place in her family and
community, touching primarily on the differences between what
is real and what is masked by facades. Evaluate the use of
facades among the characters in the book-in what ways do they
each create their own ‘paper dolls’? Provide analysis for at least
two characters with specific evidence from the text for support.
Analyze the use of the word monochromatic in the following
context:
“The sky is like a monochromatic contemporary
painting, drawing me in with its illusion of depth,
pulling me up.” (Green 299)
How does this help a reader not only visualize the setting, but
also better understand complexity of Margo and Quentin’s
relationship?
1 Questions that assesses
syntax and structure
On page 294, about the middle of the page, Margo reads an
excerpt from Plath’s The Bell Jar. Consider the way she speaks
of her understanding of Plath’s meaning. What do the
fragmented ideas tell a reader about Margo? What deeper
insight is provided about her journey as a whole?
Chapter Summary
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