Parents' Pressure

Parents' Pressure
Empathy

Continuing "Paper Town" by John Green, I realized that Margo's parents sort of expect her to be an ideal student. Based on the story, she disappears after the night she had completed a series of revengeful attacks with Quentin Jacobsen. Margo's parents went crazy after discovering that she is gone (even though this was her 5th time). They made sure that Margo goes to a good college, which is the last time she would even want to talk about. I suppose that her parents seem to have more expectations on her school performance, rather than care about how she truly feels. I feel that if I were to be in her parents' shoes, then instead of being mad at her, I would learn to understand why she chose to leave.

A routine is something that is done on a daily basis. I feel that Margo is stressed from the routine her parents want her to have. Getting good grades, being popular, and going to a great college means nothing to her. I can tell that it's not the life she wants. That same routine gave her no freedom. If I were to be in her parents shoes, I would have allowed her to follow her dreams. Furthermore, she is a grown adult now. She can live without them. "The town was paper, but the memories were not," Quentin had said. Parents who really want the best of their kids should permit them to create their own wonderful memories and let them be who they want to be. Those who only pressures their children are selfish creatures who cares only about themselves. Quentin had said, "what a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person." Someone who you see as popular may just be someone like you in reality. Margo's parents has to understand that she is a human too. She also want to have a social life without the pressure from them. And to sum up, I believe that i would have tried to learn and comprehend why she chose to leave home instead of being grumpy at her disappearance since that won't solve any problems.

In addition, I guess rebelling is her way of telling her parents what she wants to do, to live in a word where she doesn't have to be what her parents expect her to be. She wants to tell them that she also have a world to chase, a dream to follow, a life to maintain. Of course grades are also essential, but you can still allow some freedom for her to have. Margo's parents doesn't seem to show any interest with what she is doing on a regular basis, except when it involves with her disappearing. They gave no concerns for what she desires. If I were to be her parents, then I would talk to her with diplomacy. And that's not something that is similar to what they had done for now.

In brief, I think her parents are pushing her to do something that she isn't comfortable in doing. Instead of being peer pressure, it is like parent pressure. In my case, my parents let me off easily. They aren't as strict as Margo's parents and they leave me accountable, making it less likely that I would rebel. Her parents need to set a limit at how much they can mind her life. After all, she is 18 already. She is an adult and so she can take care of herself. She won't learn anything when her parents babysitting her. Therefore, if I'm her parents, then I would have done things differently.

Paper Town: The "Fake" Self

Paper Town
Author's Intrusion

How can you tell between something real and something fake? I've began to read John Green's "Paper Town" a few days ago, which is about a teenager named Quentin Jacobsen who secretly watches the life of Margo Roth Spiegelman, until the real person climbs into his room and demanded for him to participate in her revengeful plans. The excerpt, "from here, you can't see the rust or the cracked paint or whatever, but you can tell what the place really is. You can see how fake it all is" (57). I think this quote shows a lot about the author's message. Therefore, I believe that the extract shows an author's intrusion.

Firstly, I can tell that it means how nothing is as it seems. Something that could look beautiful may actually be "uglier close up" said Margo, page 57. When you look from far away, everything seems to be simplified. The weaknesses are like hidden by a human's eyes when you look from a distance. But up close, you can see all the imperfections. There are scratches, cracks, and stains. It can't be buried forever. In this case, Quentin, who seems to think he knows Margo really well, is completely surprised to find that she may be more realistic than he had thought she was, after the night he had completed the quest with her. "The rust or the cracked paint or whatever" seems to represent everything in our lives. Anything. Margo was not how Quentin had thought she was. Nothing is as you think. You may live your entire life with someone and never understand anything about that person exactly. I suggest that Green wants to tell readers that something that may look beautiful on the outside could just be hidden, to mask the uglier layer underneath. Nothing can be trusted because there isn't anything in the universe that is exactly how you see it as.

Secondly, "you can see how fake it all is" sort of reminds me of the title of the book, "Paper Town". I think John Green is saying that you can't decide that something is what you had imagined by referring that the world is fake like a paper town. No matter how strong you may think the paper-made houses and buildings is on the outside, with a gust of wind, the entire place could easily collapse onto one another. Margo has more struggles than her parents think she has. She, a straight A popular student, is tired of the "college: getting in or not getting in. Trouble: getting in or not getting in. School: getting A's or getting D's. Career: having or not having. House: big or small, owning or renting. Money: having or not having" (33). Humans are difficult to understand because we're not animals. We can't be "explained" by someone else. You can't say how someone is something else without being them. Margo said, "those streets that turn in on themselves, all the houses that we built to fall apart" (57). Nothing is how you had thought it was. Overall, I assume that the author has intruded into Margo's voice to explain to readers that there will be times when you just won't "get it" because something once described as perfect may not also be the same forever.

Lastly, I feel that the John Green, a very influential author, has intruded into the story to give people a message. It's like saying how you can't trust something as how it is. People may camouflage themselves to stay in the society in order to get accepted. Someone who you thought you knew very well may actually not be the "real" them. That's why everything is fake. In other words, I believe that John Green has the intention to make people realize that even though we may think that we can see through people in our lives, sometimes it may just be a camouflage of their true self.

The Mask

The Mask 

Symbol & Theme

Everyone has something they want to change in their lives. No one is always satisfied with everything. Sarah's "What Happened to Goodbye", is about how Mclean Sweet chooses to become someone else every time she and her dad move to a new town. She is capable of casually becoming anything from a cheer leader to the school's president and just "shred her skin" after she moves to another place. I believe that every different identities she had made represents how she wants to leave her past behind because she can't accept who she originally is, even though she should be honest and accept what she is.

Whether it's Liz, Eliza, Lizbet, or Beth, they are all just one person. And that is Mclean. She creates a new profile on Ume.com (similar to facebook) every time she moves to someplace new. I think that those profiles symbolize changes for a new self so that she can forgot her old past. But what happens is that, “we make such messes in this life, both accidently and on purpose. But wiping the surface clean doesn't really make anything any neater. It just masks what is below. It's only when you really dig down deep, go underground, that you can see who you really are," she said. I think those identities are like the mess that she had left behind because she abandons everything behind, so that she can start over to perfect her life furthermore. "Accepting all the good and bad about someone. It's a great thing to aspire to. The hard part is actually doing it," she had also said. And that is true because you should be your true-self and accept your flaws, because no one's life is as pure and clear as crystals and so you're in good company.

I suppose that she chose to create a new character for herself because she is tired of having to deal with her parent's broken marriage and her mom's new life...without her dad. She wants to avoid her old life in order to reinvent herself in a place where no one knows much about her, but "your past is always your past. Even if you forget it, it remembers you.” And the thing is that I feel that it is irresponsible for her to want to escape from her life and other people that had loved her. Her different identities symbolizes change and how she lacks confidence to manage her stress. "I mean, it's impossible to fake anything if you've already seen the other person in a way they'd never choose for you to. You can't go back from that," she said. I feel the same way because you can't be someone you aren't destined to be. You can't just hide your true personality. You have to accept yourself for who you are so that others can do the same. I would encourage her to keep her original self and maintain that way. Just be yourself. All the other identities just makes me realize how she should remain as who she was before, even if it means having to living tirelessly again.

Hence, I believe that instead of pretending to be someone to escape from pain, she should face it honestly without any "make ups" to hide her flaws. Her fake characters seems to show how she wants change desperately, but she's just trying too hard. Therefore, she should accept herself rather than being a "fake" person to face her past.

Think Before You Act: It's too late for regrets

Think Before You Act: It's too late for regrets
Theme

I have began to read the book, "So Much Closer," by Susane Colasanti, which is about a girl named Brooke, who is so obsessed with the kid Scott Abrams that she moved over to New York City after hearing the news of him transferring there. She stubbornly decided that they were meant to be together even though they've never talked more than ten sentences. If there was a limit to admiring idols, then the limit for liking a crush must be justified, because I feel that Brooke had just went over the board. A lot of my disappointments are popping out because of her selfishness. “Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around.” I feel that Susane may want us to think twice when making decisions.

According to the text, I believe that you should value the importance of something before making a choice that you'll soon regret. I think Brooke is too self-centered because she doesn't care about what others feel. She left her hometown, along with her best friend April, just to follow a guy she hardly knows. And then she went ahead to make new friends, leaving April behind. “You can never completely know anyone, no matter how well you think you do. There will always be some truth about them you don’t ever get to know," she'd said. It's unbelievable how she would rather choose to exchange a friend that has always been by her side since childhood for a dude who is nothing but a piece of shit (not sure if this word should be used). Making right decisions is really important because sometimes it will scar you forever, and it's nothing that can be redone. I suppose that there's nothing you can do but regret. Almost all the people that smoked had wished that they didn't start at first because now, they are suffering just to quit. I can tell that the author wants to say that it's important to take the right actions now to prevent bad ones in the future.

Similarly, I assume that she had also hurt her mother's feelings when moving to New York City. Since Brooke's parents are divorced, It feels that she had picked her dad over her mother. Even though she didn't necessary moved there for her dad, who lives in New York, her mom doesn't know that. "What’s the point of digging up a lot of stuff that’s better off staying buried?...He gave me a reason to leave my whole world behind," she said. And as expected, "...maybe one day you’ll find out their truth. And you’ll wish you never had." There are communication problems that they should work on together, but if Brooke weren't so selfish, then maybe her life won't get so messed up. I suppose that she's the one to blame for all the troubles. If she would have made judgments that were based on the significance of the things in her life she might not regret too much. "Did I really think that everything would turn out the way I hoped it would? Life doesn’t work that way." Of course, and that's why you should always put others in consideration when doing something that may harm them--physically and emotionally.

I can tell that Susane wants to tell us that making appropriate decisions are an essential part of life. It's easier to make things right the first time around then to correct your mistake because like eraser marks, things would never go back the way you had before. This is why you should think twice before doing something. "No one can be everything you want them to be, " and so you have to count on yourself to create the life you want. The life that best suits you. You should careful with what you are doing because you'll never know when will that become a memory of yours that you will remember forever.