Believe Quote by John Green
““there she is, and I am watching her through Plexiglas, and she looks like Margo Roth Spiegelman, this girl I have known since I was two–this girl who was an idea that I loved. And it is only now, when she closes her notebook and places it inside a backpack next to her and then stands up and walks toward us, that I realize that the idea is not only wrong by dangerous. What a treacherous thing it is to believe that a person is more than a person.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Looking for Alaska by John Green, 2005
The narrator realizes that idealizing someone can be dangerous, as the real person may differ from the imagined ideal.
In simple terms: Idealizing people can be risky.
Key Takeaway
Question the gap between image and reality.
Themes
identity
idealization
danger
reality
perception
Mood
reflective
melancholic
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- relationships
- personal growth
- self-reflection
Key Concepts
psychology
self-awareness
fiction
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you distinguish between a person and the idea of them?
- What risks arise from projecting fantasies onto others?
A Different Perspective
Idealization can blind us to true character.
