The Fault in Our Stars

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” (Act 1. Scene 2. Julius Caesar.) This pensive line was the inspiration behind the title of John Green’s work of fiction, The Fault in Our Stars. The novel follows young Hazel Grace Lancaster, a stage 4 thyroid cancer patient, who makes the acquaintance of Augustus Waters one fateful day at Support Group. Throughout the novel, Hazel Grace takes not only a physical journey but an emotional one. The ups and downs of Hazel’s journey are penned by John Green with a substantial amount of metaphors as well as the supporting characters playing a significant part. Set in present day Indianapolis, and later Amsterdam, The Fault in Our Stars is a complex piece with the theme of the struggles in life and how we can choose what to make of them. Hazel Lancaster endures a physical journey far greater than most. At the age of merely 13, Hazel Grace was diagnosed with stage 4 thyroid cancer in her lungs. Owing her life to a miracle test drug, Phalanxifor, Hazel still struggles to perform every day activities such as climbing the stairs and even walking. Hazel does not want to “become her cancer”, as most cancer patients do, therefore she does not let her “lungs that suck at being lungs” hold her back. She even manages to travel to Amsterdam, of course, with the company of Augustus and her mother. Hazel takes an even greater emotional journey. Not only does she fall in love with Augustus, but she matures and learns that life goes on despite the calamities. When Augustus is lost, Hazel handles it with composure. She acquires that death is inevitable but what happens while you’re alive is what truly matters. Words only bury and oblivion is inescapable.
Augustus Waters played a crucial role in this novel. Augustus matured as a character alongside Hazel Grace. If it weren’t for Augustus’ role, Hazel would still be stuck in the mindset that and she’s a grenade who needs to minimize the