The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns Comparative Essay
The books The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns have the same theme, that the characters want to live life to the fullest, because the characters are on the verge of their lasts, they share similar wild personalities, and all dream of a adventure. In The Fault in Our Stars the characters Hazel Grace and Augustus (Gus) Waters both are near their deaths because of cancer.
In the book Paper Towns Quentin Jacobsen and his friends Radar, Ben and Margo Roth Spiegelmen are on their last years of high school. When people are desperate they tend to want to live their life to the fullest because they know they don’t have that much time left. Even thought people may argue that they are just stubborn and teenagers, but I say that when you are on the verge of death, what would you want to do? First of, in the very beginning of the book Margo leads Quentin (Q) on a small adventure. In this adventure Margo and Quentin performs an eleven part revenge and thanks. All eleven parts all touch the law although not so seriously.
As Margo says, “We’re technically not breaking in, since the window is already open.” Margo is a extremely spirited girl and she has the wildest dreams. Ever since she was small she dreamed of going on road trips to different places. Every time she left for her little road trips she always left little clues behind her, urging people to follow her. Although her intention was not so, her parents were drowned in the believe that she desired attention only. Like Quentin’s parents said, “Worst parenting I’ve ever seen.
” Similarly in The Fault in Our Stars, Hazel Grace dreams of visiting the author Peter Van Houten who lives in Amsterdam. This was a big dream for a girl who lived in a small town in the US. But never less, because of her boyfriend, Augustus’s cancer privileges, they wished for a trip to Amsterdam. Before the trip was even made, the doctors that were looking after Hazel had extreme concern for her health because the high pressure on the airplanes could be extremely dangerous for her. But then later on, the doctors organized a deal with Hazel’s parents, expressing that if her mom went to Amsterdam with her it would be a lot better because there would be someone who understood her condition. This connects to my first reason to why the themes are similar because the characters in both books are on the verge of their lasts, one being high school, the other being death.
Secondly, Margo and Hazel share a similar personality because they both have an extremely wild fantasies. For example in Paper Towns, Margo plans various road trips to abandoned places, and she not only does she travel alone, she also doesn’t notify anyone. Also during the concluding part of the book, Margo plans to escape her parents and never return back home. She decides that she will live on her own for a while so she can experience life. Also, since she already graduated she is not longer a missing minor so her parents can’t demand a manhunt for her. This troubled her parents a lot because they were really pissed at how she kept on disappearing without notifying anyone.
Likewise, in The Fault in Our Stars, Hazel demands a journey to be made to Amsterdam, where she could visit Peter Van Houten and ask him about an alternative ending to the story. In a way both of these characters are very immature and demanding even though Hazel has cancer and Margo has terrible parents. Then Quentin and Gus also share a similar role in both books, they are the support for the girls. In Paper Towns when Margo went missing, Quentin risked everything for a journey that he hoped would lead to Margo. Just to find a clue Quentin traveled 35.6 miles to a abandoned factory and looked for clues to where Margo could be.
He searched hundreds of abandoned facilities for signs of Margo. Similarly in The Fault in Our Stars, Gus uses his one and only cancer privilege wish on going to Amsterdam with Hazel. This shows that both Quentin and Gus possess a huge amount of generosity and gratitude. It also shows how much they cherish what they have. Quentin is willing to risk his life and Gus is willing to use his one and only wish.
When I was reading this book I felt like it was sort of a supply and demand cycle. The girls demanded wild things and the boys supplied them with it and when they didn’t the girls ran away and the boys pursued after them despite everything they will lose. This also shows that Quentin and Gus genuinely likes the two girls, not only just because of their looks but also because of their person. Thirdly, ever since Margo was small she always planned little road trips that led her around the country. She did all of this alone, although she did leave clues for people to search for. During her last trip when she finally decided that she will never return back home, she intended for no one to be able to find her.
But then Quentin, who knew that Margo always left clues, some how discovered “clues”, this led him to a chase for Margo. Just before this last trip, Quentin and Margo went on a small adventure within town, sabotaging Margo’s enemies houses and a house of Quentin’s enemies. Although all of these actions are touching the law Margo still insists on doing them because she was always one to express her feelings. Similarly, in The Fault in Our Stars, Hazel desires a trip to Amsterdam where she could discuss with the author Peter Van Houten about the ending of the book “Imperial Affliction”. Even thought she had cancer she still demanded that she must make it to Amsterdam.
In a way both the girls in the books are very stubborn, but the good thing is that they were always stubborn about the right thing. Margo lived her peaceful life alone away from her terrible parents and Hazel had a wonderful time in Amsterdam. In conclusion, the books show that they the characters want to live life to the fullest because they are on their last moments, they share similar wild personalities, and all dream of adventure. This is an adventure that was written out but this could also happen in real life. So, what would you do? what would you choose? lie on your bed and await death or experience the best of life before its too late?
