Book Report: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

I. Epiphany According to Forrest Gump, life is like a box of chocolates. You will never
know what youre gonna get. He says this because he knows life is unpredictable. In
the same way that Forrest realized this simple fact of life, Hazel did as well. She
realizes this after meeting Peter van Houten and after Augustus Waters has a
recurrence of cancer. When Augustus and Hazel visit Peter van Houten in seemingly
exotic Amsterdam to ask about An Imperial Afflictions after story, they are aghast
after realizing Peter is a constantly drunk alcoholic. After Hazel and Augustus learn
about his incorrigible habit, both come to the realization that the world is not a wish
granting factory(197-198). Both of them expected Peter to be sane, at the very
least. However, instead he insulted and was despicable to the two of them when
saying they were dependent on the charity of others. Peter attempts to enlighten
Hazel and Augustus with his knowledge instead of answering their questions. They
realize that life is unpredictable and usually does not go as planned through Peters
actions. Furthermore, when Augustus tells Hazel his cancer has returned, Hazel
reflects I always thought he could love me because hed once been sick. Only now
did it occur to me that maybe he still was(213). Hazel believed that Augustus was in
perfect health, judging from his condition. Little does she realize, Augustus is ill.
While he faltered on his decision to tell Hazel, he eventually decided to break the
news to her. Hazel comes to the realization that his death is unpredictable and
imminent. Forrest Gump went through sudden tragedy when his wife passed away.
He learned life was unpredictable when he lost his great love, in the same way that
Hazel did. Through losses, a person comes to the realization that life is
unpredictable.

II. ConflictIn ancient society, people with lower social status are often unable to reach
their dreams because of their status. Their social status oppresses their hopes and
dreams, and they often face discrimination. In the same way that people are
restricted by their social status, Hazel from The Fault in our Stars is held back by her
internal problem, cancer. Hazel is restricted by her cancer because it causes her to
be different from her peers. For example, when Hazel reflects on her meeting with
Kaitlyn, she reveals But after three years removed from proper full-time schoolic
exposure to my peers, I felt a certain unbridgeable distance between us(45). Hazels
cancer will be the cause of her immolation. Even though Hazel acts in an amiable
way, she knows she is different because of her cancer.Hazel realizes there is a
distance between her and her schoolmates. Her cancer has caused her to be
different from her other classmates. Furthermore, when Augustus talks about his
insecurities, Hazel thinks Phalanxifor had introduced a measure of ambiguity to my
cancer story, but I was different from Augustus. My final chapter was written upon
diagnosis(166). While Augustus has a great chance of survival, Hazels prospects
of survival are almost zero. Her cancer creates a non-tangible bridge between her
and Augustus, since though both of them have cancer. However, since her cancer is
terminal, she realizes there is a gap between them. While Augustus talks about
surviving cancer, Hazel just incessantly attempts to prolong her life. Even though
both Augustus and Hazel have cancer, there is a gap between them because of their
different types of cancer. People with lower status are often considered different.

They are not allowed in some places that higher class people are. Just like these
lower class people, Hazel is considered different and is not allowed to be like
everyone else. People who are different from the norm of society are treated
differently.

III. Point of ViewThe story The Fault in our Stars is told in first person because we read the
story in Hazels point of view. For example, when Hazel first meets Augustus, she
remembers I looked over at Augustus Waters, who looked back at me(12). The
quote shows the book is in first person point of view because it includes the word I,
referring to Hazel.
IV. SummaryIn the book The Fault in our Stars, Hazel, the protagonist, is a cancer patient.
After going to a support group, she meets Augustus Waters, a seemingly perfect
person who has his own struggles and hamartias. As time passes, they seem to
converse with each other more, and Hazel convinces Augustus to read An Imperial
Affliction, her favorite book. This books main character is also a cancer patient,
whom both Augustus and Hazel can relate to. Both Augustus and Hazel appreciate
the honesty of the main character, Anna, and the author of the book. Through the
book, they understand that life is short and can end suddenly in an unexpected way
like when Anna passes away in the middle of a sentence.They decide to write a letter
to the author, Peter Van Houten, ask about the fate of the remaining characters in
the story. He eventually responds and invites the two of them to Amsterdam to
reveal the future of the characters. Using Augustuss cancer Wish, they fly to
Amsterdam and discover the one writing the letter to them was actually Peters
assistant, Lidewij. After arriving at his house, Van Houten tells Hazel in the worst way
possible that she relies on the pity of others to survive, which Hazel recognizes to be
true. This angers Lidewij because she believes Peter has gone overboard with his
cruel criticism. Lidewij quits on the spot and decides to bring Hazel and Augustus to
the Anne Frank Museum. As Hazel looks at the list of the deceased people who died
in genocide, she observes that under Anne, there are four Aron Franks, with no
museum, and no one to remember them. She remembers that she is the side
effect just as the others who died. Upon returning to the hotel, Augustus reveals
that he has had a relapse of cancer. When Augustus returning to Indianapolis, his
health starts to deteriorate quickly, and he is admitted into the ER. After being
discharged, Augustus gets into trouble again, when his G-Tube is infected, and is
readmitted into the hospital. After a few days, Hazel and Augustus meet in the
church, where Augustus has his last good day, a day he feels great, where the pain
is more tolerable. 8 days later, Augustus dies. After Augustus dies, Hazel finds out
that he was working on writing a sequel to An Imperial Affliction, to show the rest of
the characters lives after the main character dies. This represents life goes on for
others after death. She looks everywhere, and eventually finds the letter at Peter Van
Houtens house. After she reads the letter, Hazel concludes that her choice of loving
Augustus was the best choice she has made. (452 words)
V. Theme-

Most high schoolers today struggle to keep up their grades and extra
curriculars every day and have a hard time keeping up. In the same way that people
struggle to overcome obstacles in life, Hazel does as well. She realizes that life is
hard when she suddenly loses Augustus and when she realizes the truth about her
cancer. After Augustus's immolation, Hazel remembers And here it was, the great
and terrible ten, slamming me again and again as I lay still and alone Im my bed
staring at the ceiling, the waves tossing me against the rocks then pulling me back
out to sea so they could launch me again into the jagged face of the cliff, leaving me
floating faceup on the water, undrowned(263). Hazel describes her incessant pain
of losing Augustus. Despite being disconsolate, Hazel still keeps trying to live, and
to thrive. A person who goes through has the ability to live through pain is still
struggling to stay alive and well. In addition, when Hazel talks to her friend Kaitlyn,
she reveals It always hurt not to breathe like a normal person, incessantly reminding
your lungs to be lungs, forcing yourself to accept as unsolvable the clawing scraping
inside-out ache of underoxygenation (45). Hazel constantly feels the physical pain in
her lungs, and struggles to grasp the concept that she is not normal. When a person
is different, they are often outcasted and begin to feel chagrin.Hazel tries to
overcome the obstacle by trying to meet up with Kaitlyn and talk about school.
Although Hazel appears congenial, she struggles to be like a normal teenager and
blend in. Most people today stay afloat by trying their hardest no matter the
circumstances, much like Hazel. A persons best effort can change the person.