What are Margo and Quentin like?

(A) The two main characters

TASKS

Read the prologue up to p. 6 „Then I took a nap.“
Describe (in writing), how Margo and Quentin behave in the playground.
Read on until the end of the prologue.
We talked about how Margo and Quentin are presented in the prologue when they are still kids. Of course, some character traits [Charaktereigenschaften] that we have as kids stay with us when we grow up, others don’t.
Try to develop a clearer picture of what Margo and Quentin are like as teenagers.
1. For Q., look at p. 23 (bottom half) f., for Margo and Q., look at p. 32 (bottom quarter) f.
2. Find at least two more passages for each of them.
3. Characterize the two and cite things they do or say to support your opinion.

(B) Narrative technique

TASKS

Read p. 6 (“Okay, yeah! … closed the door almost-all-the-way.”)
Can you spot [finden] what kind of narrative technique the author uses somewhere in this passage? (If you don’t find it, click on the hint below).
Now that you’ve found the technique, why does John Green do this? What actually happens to the narration?
Who’s the narrator anyway and what’s the narrative perspective of the book?

Show the answer to question 2

In the two paragraphs: “Both my parents … I’d be crazier than a shithouse rat.” the narrator switches from narrating in the past tense to the present tense.