This section contains 849 words (approx. 3 pages at 400 words per page) |
Strings
Paper Towns is full of symbols, which the characters are aware of and analyze together. The first of these symbols is that of "strings," which are internal to each person's psychology. Strings are what keep each person sane and grounded in their particular time and place. When one's strings break, she is gradually removed from this state of normalcy. The metaphor first makes its entry when Margo and Quentin encounter the dead body of Robert Joyner. It is remarked that Joyner killed himself since he could no longer handle his life after divorce and depression. But the metaphor is most applicable to Margo, whose strings may have begun to break on that day. It is Margo who draws the string metaphor with reference to herself. The pressure she placed on herself to be cool and mysterious alienated her from her family and her friends. As time went on...
This section contains 849 words (approx. 3 pages at 400 words per page) |