Point-of-View and Setting

John Green chose Quentin as a narrator for a very specific reason: He "wanted the reader to be conscious that she or he is only seeing Margo through Quentin's eyes, and that Quentin—at least for much of the novel—knows absolutely nothing about the girl he says he loves" Since this book is a mystery, and Margo Roth Spiegelman is the mystery herself, this puts the reader in a position to learn about Margo and to try to "solve" the mystery right alongside Quentin. What does Quentin end up learning about Margo Roth Spiegelman? Quentin learns that Margo wants to start her life over, brand new, in a completely different place. And does Quentin still love Margo after he finds these things out? Quentin does still love Margo after finding this information out about her, and nothing will stop him. How would the story have been different if it were told from Margo's point of view? There is no telling what this book would be like if told from Margo's point of view. The setting of this book is taken place in Jefferson Park, Florida. Jefferson Park is "a massive subdivision, because that's what Florida does with land" (Green 2). There doesn't seem to be anything remarkable about it at all. When Quentin and Margo Roth Spiegelman find a dead man, Margo wonders "Maybe it was drugs" (Green18), because when a Florida man ends up dead, it's usually drugs. This town is basically like any suburb. What matters is how the characters feel about it. Quentin doesn't mind suburban life, but Margo hates it. She considers it a paper town and decides to leave. Margo leaves Jefferson Park to Agloe, New York. Agloe is "a fictitious village created by the Esso company in the early 1930s and inserted into tourist maps as a copyright trap, or paper town". And since Margo seems to be unhappy wherever she goes, she goes somewhere that doesn't exist. When Quentin tracks her down, she still can't believe that he'd want to go back to Jefferson Park. He agrees that the people are kind of weak there, but the place is fine.