Have you realized you would do something now, but wouldn’t have a year ago? It can be standing up to a bully, visiting an abandoned building, or skipping graduation. You might’ve changed your mind because of an event, an experience, or even a conversation. People are constantly changing. Changes are evident in our world as well as in narratives because it makes the story more captivating. In the novel, Paper Towns by John Green the main character, Quentin Jacobsen, develops as a person in many ways. This is shown as he gains confidence, becomes overly focused on one task, and when he finally finds his true self. His character change in Paper Towns is very crucial to the story.
Firstly, Quentin evolves from a shy boy to a confident teenager. In the prologue, nine-year-old Quentin, who lives in Orlando, Florida, goes to the park one day and sees a man slumped under a tree. When he realizes that the man is dead, he states, “I took two small steps backward,”
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As pointed out before, he has a crush on Margo even since he was a child. Her existence forms Quentin to what he is today. When Margo vanishes, Quentin consumes the idea that she is dead. He immerses himself in following Margo’s clues to hopefully find her. In the last part of the novel, he finally locates her in Agloe, New York and admits, “Except I didn’t get to be me,” (Green 284). He explains he “had to do all kinds of crap that [he] would never do.” Later, Margo tells Quentin that she will be leaving to go to New York City the next day and she offers him to come with her. It is anticipated that he will leave with her because of his obsession and his hard work to find her but he doesn’t. He is not letting Margo’s presence and her clues to control him anymore. Quentin reminds himself that he has a whole life in Orlando, Florida and the person he’s been is not really who he is. This smart decision is just the start for him to find his true