Robert Crayola - The Fault in Our Stars: A Readers Guide to the John Green Novel

The Fault in Our Stars:

A Reader's Guide to the John Green Novel

by Robert Crayola

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014 Robert Crayola

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/robertcrayola

****

CONTENTS

Since its publication in 2012, The Faultin Our Stars has become John Green's bestselling work. It hasgained both popular and critical acclaim, and with the release ofthe film adaptation in 2014 the book has risen to new levels ofrenown.

This guide is designed to help you navigatethis remarkable novel. I will put the story in context, clarifydifficult terms and passages, and give you easy access to thestory. All important plot details will be revealed in this guide,so if you don't want spoilers, read the book first and then usethis guide for deeper understanding.

Before we look at the novel itself, let'stake a quick look at the life of its author, John Green.

AUTHOR: John Michael Green was bornon August 24, 1977 in Indianapolis, Indiana, the main setting ofThe Fault in Our Stars. He and his family moved to Floridashortly after his birth, and he attended school there and inAlabama. He had a strong interest in religious studies and plannedto become an Episcopal priest. While working in a hospital withchildren, however, he decided to become an author. He focused onyoung adult (YA) novels, but first he published book reviews inmagazines and elsewhere.

His first novel, Looking for Alaska,was published in 2005, and it earned him popular and criticalacclaim, and the movie rights were optioned (although no film hasbeen made). Since that first novel, Green has authored orco-authored five additional books. The Fault in Our Starshas proven most popular, with over a million copies sold in itsfirst year.

In addition to his writings, Green is alsoknown for the popular Vlogbrothers YouTube channel that he and hisbrother Hank regularly update. Begun in 2007, the channel has overa million subscribers. The brothers also founded VidCon, thepopular online video convention that meets each year in southernCalifornia.

Green lives in the city of his birth,Indianapolis, with his wife, two children, and their dog.

STRUCTURE:The Fault in OurStars is divided into 25 chapters, which can be roughly dividedinto three sections (Hazel and Augustus falling in love, going toAmsterdam, and Augustus's death).

SETTING: The story takes place inIndianapolis, Indiana, and in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The erais approximately the time of the book's publication (2012).

NARRATOR & P.O.V.: The book isnarrated by Hazel Lancaster, a 16-year-old girl. She offers anintelligent and cynical perspective in the story.

TENSE: The book is written in thepast tense.

TONE: Tone is how a book "feels."Because much of the subject matter revolves around death andcancer, the book often has a sad tone. However, Hazel has a sharpwit, and this keeps the tone from becoming melodramatic ormonotonous.

PLOT: The plot is the book's story.Here is a quick snapshot of the plot. We'll take a much deeper lookin the chapter summaries.

Hazel Lancaster, a teenage girl in Indiana,has cancer. While attending a cancer support group meeting, shemeets Augustus Waters and they soon fall in love. She introduceshim to her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, and he isable to arrange a trip to Amsterdam to meet the book's author,Peter Van Houten. When they meet him, however, Van Houten is a hugedisappointment to the teens. They return to the U.S. jaded by theexperience, but more in love than ever. Unfortunately, Augustus'scancer has returned and he grows increasingly ill. Hazel enjoyssome final days with Augustus, but he soon dies. Hazel tries tocarry on. Peter Van Houten makes a surprise appearance atAugustus's funeral. Hazel pursues Augustus's final letter andfinally tracks it down. She resolves some issues with her family,and Hazel is able to make peace with herself.

That is an extremely shortened version ofthe story, but it gives you a general idea of where it is going.We'll look at a more detailed version of the plot soon.

PROTAGONIST: The protagonist is themain character or characters that we most sympathize with. Hazeland her boyfriend Augustus are the protagonists in the story.

ANTAGONIST: The antagonist opposesthe protagonists. The main antagonist in the story isn't a person;it's the cancer that is destroying the lives of these youngpeople.

CONFLICT: Conflict is the strugglefaced by the characters. Hazel and Augustus struggle with theirillnesses, but they also struggle for deeper meaning as they searchfor the author Peter Van Houten. Further conflict comes from theemotional upsets among their friends and families as cancer takesits toll on their lives.

CLIMAX: The climax is the moment ofgreatest tension in the story. Initially, it seems that the meetingwith Van Houten is the climax. Once Augustus's condition isrevealed, however, we realize that the true battle has only begun.The best choice for the climax is when Augustus and Hazel struggleat the gas station and it seems that he might die right there.

RESOLUTION: The resolution is how thestory concludes after the climax has passed. Hazel grieves whenAugustus's death finally comes. She pursues his final letter(mailed to Peter Van Houten) and gains some peace when she readsthe kind things that Augustus wrote about her.

THEMES: Themes are what the authorchooses to illustrate through the narrative. Some of the themes inthe novel include:

Sacrifice Hazel, her mother,Augustus, and many other characters make sacrifices to helpothers.

The Pain and Suffering of Life Because many of the characters have cancer, they face physical painand suffering. In addition to this, it might be argued that theemotional anguish characters experience is even worse.

Idealization and Expectation Isaacexpects Monica to be with him forever. Hazel expects to die beforeAugustus. Both Hazel and Augustus expect their meeting with VanHouten to be enjoyable and meaningful. Characters are constantlyexpecting things to be one way, and they suffer when things godifferently. In this, they learn to accept whatever comes tothem.

Fear of Dying Fear not only ofdying, but what comes after we die, is a recurring theme in thenovel.

TITLE: The title for The Fault inOur Stars comes from the William Shakespeare play JuliusCaesar, in which Cassius says, "The fault, dear Brutus, is notin our stars, / But in ourselves that we are underlings." Cassiusrejects the popular concept of astrology, saying that we all havemore power to affect our lives than anything outside of us. Thiscan be connected to the idea that we are responsible for our ownhappiness, as some of the characters start to learn in thenovel.

More literally, the cancer itself can beviewed as a "fault" in ourselves.

HAZEL GRACE LANCASTER Hazel is asixteen-year-old girl and the narrator of the book. She has cancerthat has affected her thyroid gland, and more recently, her lungs.She must have a machine with her to breathe. She is intelligent,sarcastic, and largely isolated by her illness. She does attendcommunity college and occasionally goes to a cancer support group,where she meets Augustus Waters, whom she rapidly falls in lovewith. Her favorite book is An Imperial Affliction.

AUGUSTUS WATERS Augustus is a boyHazel meets at her cancer support group. He is handsome, kind,funny, and generally more optimistic than Hazel. His own battlewith cancer forced him to have one of his legs amputated. Heinitially sees Hazel as a ghostly reminder of his deadex-girlfriend, but he soon learns to love Hazel on her own merits.His cancer will come back and kill him by the end of the book.