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Friday, June 11, 2010
June: PAPER TOWNS, Best Friends
John asks, "Describe Q's best friends. If you had to choose one of these characters as your best friend, who would you pick? Why?"
Follow-up: What do you look for in your best friends?
Honestly, I don't know which of the characters I'd choose as my best friend.
Probably because I can't/don't want to imagine what life would be like with best friends other than the two I have now. Plus, I'm not sure I'd click with any of the characters (for the sake of this comment, I'll refer to them as if they're real and not fictional).
I mean, as awesome as they are, friendship is weird... at least the "best friend" kind. Well, for me anyway.
I get the characters in a lot of ways and they're similar to me in some ways. But the two best friends I have now, we're so different and agree on the most random of things, we're not three people that you're likely to imagine being best friends... I'm the quiet girl who loves to read and make people laugh, my two best friends consist of a super smart computer geek gay guy and a tough confident girl who plays bass - we don't match, but we click.
I could see myself being friends with people like the characters in the book, but I can't imagine the kind of closeness I have with my best friends with anyone else. I've had a lot of friends in my 21 years, but these are the only two that have managed to totally tear down all my defences and really know me.
Funny thing is, we went to the same schools since we were 5, but it took until we were 17 (me & the girl) to get to the best friend stage and I didn't become proper friends with the guy until we were finished high school and we started talking on MSN... probably because I'm shy/quiet IRL, but the way I talk online is how I would be if I was more extroverted.
I'm probably not explaining this well... and I pretty much didn't answer the question. Sorry. =P
As for what I look for in my best friends? Really, just people I can be myself with (which is a big deal for me, only two people in my life really know me and it's my best friends - and yes, my family is included in the people that don't know me catagory), people I can talk effortlessly with whether we're having a random conversation about spoons or something serious like the meaning of life.
My answers are really too long, I think I make up for being so quiet IRL by being "loud" and ramble-y online.
lanna: I feel the same way about my best friends; they and i were not brought together because we are identical but because we are different in complementary ways.
As for me, I'd be most likely to be friends with Radar in real life, because I tend to like people who are able to see others complexly and empathetically, which is something the other characters in the novel struggle to do. (And something, to be fair, that I also struggle to do.)
I would want Radar to be my best friend because I like smart people. That is what I look for in a best friend. My best friends don't necessarily have to be book smart, but they have to be intelligent enough to keep up with my fast-paced conversations. I feel mean saying that I only like smart people, but I can't be myself when I have to explain everything that I say. I have nothing against dumb people, they always make me laugh, but I just can't be friends with them. And I don't mean mentally handicapped people, either. I just like witty people and wit and brains are often a package deal.
I also want my best friends to be light-hearted and easily have fun, but to also take things seriously. I love having long talks with my best friends, but I love to have fun as well.
I also look for kindness and understanding. We all have our differences, and I like to be able to talk about them with being afraid that I'll be judged.
I would be friends with all of John Green's characters because they are awesome. He writes the best characters, and I feel like I am friends with them, in a non-schizophrenic way :D
12 comments:
Honestly, I don't know which of the characters I'd choose as my best friend.
Probably because I can't/don't want to imagine what life would be like with best friends other than the two I have now. Plus, I'm not sure I'd click with any of the characters (for the sake of this comment, I'll refer to them as if they're real and not fictional).
I mean, as awesome as they are, friendship is weird... at least the "best friend" kind. Well, for me anyway.
I get the characters in a lot of ways and they're similar to me in some ways. But the two best friends I have now, we're so different and agree on the most random of things, we're not three people that you're likely to imagine being best friends... I'm the quiet girl who loves to read and make people laugh, my two best friends consist of a super smart computer geek gay guy and a tough confident girl who plays bass - we don't match, but we click.
I could see myself being friends with people like the characters in the book, but I can't imagine the kind of closeness I have with my best friends with anyone else. I've had a lot of friends in my 21 years, but these are the only two that have managed to totally tear down all my defences and really know me.
Funny thing is, we went to the same schools since we were 5, but it took until we were 17 (me & the girl) to get to the best friend stage and I didn't become proper friends with the guy until we were finished high school and we started talking on MSN... probably because I'm shy/quiet IRL, but the way I talk online is how I would be if I was more extroverted.
I'm probably not explaining this well... and I pretty much didn't answer the question. Sorry. =P
As for what I look for in my best friends? Really, just people I can be myself with (which is a big deal for me, only two people in my life really know me and it's my best friends - and yes, my family is included in the people that don't know me catagory), people I can talk effortlessly with whether we're having a random conversation about spoons or something serious like the meaning of life.
My answers are really too long, I think I make up for being so quiet IRL by being "loud" and ramble-y online.
Ben's hilarious, but I think Radar's the better friend. Honestly, I think I'd pick Q himself.
I think the characters each have potential but I think Q would be a good friend.
lanna: I feel the same way about my best friends; they and i were not brought together because we are identical but because we are different in complementary ways.
As for me, I'd be most likely to be friends with Radar in real life, because I tend to like people who are able to see others complexly and empathetically, which is something the other characters in the novel struggle to do. (And something, to be fair, that I also struggle to do.)
I have to go with Radar, too. He had an amazing ability to connect quickly with Q's needs, but he also drew the line.
I need besties who support my pursuits but can also tell me, enough is enough.
I would want Radar to be my best friend because I like smart people. That is what I look for in a best friend. My best friends don't necessarily have to be book smart, but they have to be intelligent enough to keep up with my fast-paced conversations. I feel mean saying that I only like smart people, but I can't be myself when I have to explain everything that I say. I have nothing against dumb people, they always make me laugh, but I just can't be friends with them. And I don't mean mentally handicapped people, either. I just like witty people and wit and brains are often a package deal.
I also want my best friends to be light-hearted and easily have fun, but to also take things seriously. I love having long talks with my best friends, but I love to have fun as well.
I also look for kindness and understanding. We all have our differences, and I like to be able to talk about them with being afraid that I'll be judged.
I would be friends with all of John Green's characters because they are awesome. He writes the best characters, and I feel like I am friends with them, in a non-schizophrenic way :D
Honesty. Loyalty. Levity. Truth.
I think I'd pick Q.
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