Literary Analysis Of Fault In Our Stars

Sanchita Dhir

Kanika Dang

22nd October, 2015

Plot and Character in John Green’s “Fault in Our Stars”

John Green is the New York Times bestselling author of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, and The Fault in Our Stars. He is also the co-author, with David Levithan, of Will Grayson, Will Grayson. He was 2006 recipient of the Michael L. Printz Award, a 2009 Edgar Award winner, and has twice been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Green’s books have been published in more than a dozen languages.

One doesn’t like to throw around phrases like “instant classic” lightly, but The Fault in Our Stars taking its place alongside “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret in the young-adult

Green writes books for young adults, but his voice is so compulsively readable that it defies categorization. The Fault in Our Stars proves that the hype surrounding Green is not overblown. Green stated that the first inspiration for The Fault in Our Stars came from when he worked as a student chaplain at a kids' hospital. He found the children to be as human as healthy people, and wanted to capture the feeling that "the stories that I was reading sort of oversimplified and sometimes even dehumanized them. The title The Fault in Our Stars seems to argue that sometimes it's not our fault; sometimes the bad stuff just can't be avoided. Hazel and Augustus sure didn't do anything to cause their cancer and it's a fact that they cannot avoid or change. But the beauty of the message is that they can still live and make their decisions despite the fault in their stars, even when they know the inevitable fate that awaits them. At the beginning of the novel, Hazel obsesses over the impact her death will have on those around her. She fears getting close to anyone because she knows that her death, which isn't far off, will hurt anyone close to her. It

The plot point is clear: in the end, the love of Hazel Grace's life, Augustus Waters, dies. He's 17.

Through his death, Hazel is able to learn some things about herself, her take on mortality, and her role in the world.

All this time, Hazel's been adamant about keeping her distance from people because she doesn't want to hurt them. But with Augustus, she realizes the closeness was worth it—she wouldn't change it for the world. And that's how other people, like her parents and her friends, feel about her.

In the end, Hazel reads Augustus's obituary for her. He writes that you can't choose whether or not you'll be hurt, but you can choose what hurts you, and that he's happy with his choices:

What else? She is so beautiful. You don't get tired of looking at her. You never worry if she is smarter than you: You know she is. She is funny without ever being mean. I love her. I am so lucky to love her, Van Houten. You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices. I hope she likes hers.