The Fault in Our Stars Essay

Life is too short to dwell on the small problems and the past, is a statement often used to
indicate the importance of life, and that one should live it to the fullest before it ends, and yet one
cannot fathom the importance of death lingering behind it. The novel The Fault in Our Stars by
John Green, primarily focuses on Hazel Grace Lancaster, a sixteen year old cancer patient, and
the struggles and obstacles she must face. Attending a cancer support group, she encounters
seventeen year old Augustus Waters, as he tries to leave his mark on the world to be
remembered. Through their experiences in Amsterdam and with each other, the teenagers find
love in the dark and desperate time even though they know from the very beginning that it will
not last forever. From the beginning, they are forced on a daily basis to face the issue of dying.
Everything they do, witness, and experience is done in the pitch black gloom of their awaiting
loss of life. The elemental motif of precious life and inevitable death is more than merely living
and dying, it is the surface of an infinite sea of experiences encompassing Hazel and Augustus
complicated relationship, and ultimately, the imminent death of Augustus Waters.

The concept of life and death first unravels in the context of Hazel and Augustus peculiar
relationship. Their ambiguity concerning death branches off into a multitude of concepts.
Previously and even a little while after encountering Augustus, Hazel is extremely hesitant to
form any bonds or become close with anyone. For instance, she states that Im a grenade and at
some point Im going to blow up and I would to minimize the casualties, okay? (Green, pg. 99).
Hazel believes that people would be better off if she kept her distance from people, because she
fears that her loss of life will unnecessarily impose a heavy weight of pain and suffering on their

shoulders which they will have to carry. Hazel is at one point, obsessed with finding the ending
to the novel by Peter Van Houten, An Imperial Affliction, connects with it, as she says If I
could just stay alive for a week, Id know the unwritten secrets of Annas mom and the Dutch
Tulip Guy. (Green). This book, in a sense, accurately represents death, according to Hazel, and
she desperately wants to know what the consequences are for Annas family after she dies of
cancer, as Hazel believes that it will give her an idea of the kind of impact her death will have on
her own family. This, in turn creates a complicated relationship revolving around life and death
between Hazel and Augustus, as either one may perish before the other as a result of their cancer.
Hazel wanted to know that he would be okay if I died. I wanted to not be a grenade, to not be a
malevolent force in the lives of people I loved. (Green). Hazel and Augustus both fear their
awaiting mortality; Augustus afraid of leaving the world without leaving a mark or impression,
and Hazel explaining through a colloquy, explains that:

Everything we did and built and

wrote and thought and discovered will be forgotten [] and this will have been for nought []
And if the inevitability of human oblivion worries you, I encourage you to ignore it. God knows
thats what everyone else does. (Green, pg.64). Hazel and Augustus relationship is cushioned
and integrated with various interpretations and values of life and death, how death affects the
people closest to you, and the uncertainty of the afterlife. Through their relationship, Hazel is
able to rip herself from the grips of isolation and live her life to the fullest for the first time in
forever.

Although it is first implied that Hazel will perish, in a twist of fate, Augustus cancer
resurfaces and ultimately, he is the one who faces an untimely death. Prior to Augustus hearing
the news of his cancer reappearing, he fears that I wont be able to give anything in exchange

for my life. If you dont live a life in service of a greater good, youve gotta at least die a death in
service of a greater good, you know? And I fear that I wont get a life or death that means
anything. (Green, pg.168). Augustus wants his life and death to mean something, because he
fears that he will fade into oblivion with not a soul to remember him. He sacrifices his wish from
The Genie Foundation, so that Hazel can go to Amsterdam to seek out the conclusion of An
Imperial Affliction, and remarks that I got my wish, I suppose. I left my scar. (Green), by
helping Hazel. Through Augustus death, Hazel learns what it will be like for her family when
she dies, and comprehends that death compels you to value life more, as she states in Augustus
eulogy, without pain, we couldnt know joy. (Green). Hazel chose to spend the rest of her short
life with Augustus, and as he writes in his letter to her towards the end of the novel, You dont
get to choose if you get hurt in this world [] but you do have some say in who hurts you.
(Green). Augustus death is not merely just another cancer kid tragedy, it holds the answers
which Hazel has been searching forthat her own family would be able to move on after she
passes away, and that she should live life to the fullest.

In brief, Hazel and Augustus relationship, placed on a tipping scale of life and death, is
comprised of layers of experiences and evens in their lives, Augustus wants to leave the world
knowing that he has left some sort of impression behind, which he does through giving his wish
from The Genie Foundation to Hazel. Hazel closes off herself from the outside world for the
sake of saving the people she meets from the suffering in the aftermath of her death, yet finally
accepts that her family will still be functional without her and comes to terms with the fact that
death forces one to place a higher value on life. She is able to go through the experience of losing
someone you love, and eventually working through and overcoming it. Hazel finally understands

that dying is a condition which allows us to live life to the max. For the short while which
Augustus is alive, his and Hazels infinite sea of experiences heightens their understanding of
precious life and impending mortality. In the end, the concept of life is but a cake, each layer
representing our relationships with people, and the awareness of its shortness is felt crystal clear
as a result of the pain experienced when a family member or loved one diesfurther justifying
that life is meant to be lived to the fullest, as the most you make out of a short life lasts for a long
time, but death is forever.