There are a few things you'll always remember from high school, like your prom and your graduation, but all the books you read in high school will stick with you for a lifetime, too. And that's a good thing, since Quentin in Paper Towns skips both prom and graduation, so the books might be the only high school memories he has.
Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" captures Quentin's imagination, so much so that he takes it on a road trip in addition to Mark Twain, Ovid, and Melville. He finds things in the poem that change his perception of the world, a shift that coincides nicely with his graduation from high school, a.k.a. the official end of his childhood.
Questions About Literature and Writing
- How does Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" relate to Margo Roth Spiegelman, Quentin, and their relationship (or lack of one)?
- What lessons does Quentin learn from "Song of Myself" that he applies to his life?
- Does Margo miss the point of the poem?
- When Quentin quotes T.S. Eliot in Part 1 Chapter 4 ("Light […] the visible remainder of Invisible Light" (1.4.3)), why is Margo disappointed to learn that it's a quote and not an original thought?
- Have you read The Bell Jar or Slaughterhouse-Five? Why does Margo carry these two books with her on her road trip?