Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Paper Towns, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Perception vs. Reality
Authenticity and Artificiality
Human Connection
Leaving Home and Growing Up
Friendship
Summary
Analysis
As they prepare for their next gas station stop, Radar and Quentin wake Lacey and Ben. Quentin buys pants and a new t-shirt for Radar, which has the slogan “World’s Best Grandma” printed on it. Lacey takes over driving. They have lost five minutes more than they planned on this stop, are already behind schedule because of earlier traffic, and Radar anticipates that they will lose more time in the upcoming hour as they drive through a construction zone.
Though the atmosphere on the trip has been lighthearted and easygoing up to this point, small setbacks are beginning to accumulate, along with the exhaustion and stress that comes with making such an ambitious journey. The sober tone of the second gas station stop, which contrasts with the exuberance of the first, highlights these changes. And yet their determination to complete this quest is also still evident.
Themes
