“The Fault in Our Stars” is one of the books that cannot but leave a mark on the soul of the reader. And this is not only because it is about teenagers with cancer. Although the theme of illness and death forms the basis for the development of the storyline, but, paradoxically, the novel is full of life. Young people who have taken only the first steps in life, who are just beginning to feel like a person capable of creating, loving and being loved, cannot live the way those sentenced to death live. On the contrary, they live much fuller and brighter than we – healthy people. And it is this circumstance that makes John Green’s novel so attractive and memorable. “Doomed to die” children do not cry and do not moan, but, like all teenagers, they love, hate, rebel, bring each other down, are jealous, they are looking for opportunities for self-expression and self-affirmation, or just chatting about nothing. Against the background of impending death, the feeling of life that fills their young hearts and demands an exit with explosive jolts seems to be more acutely felt.
The main character of the novel, Hazel, a 17-year-old young girl, has been suffering from one of the most severe forms of cancer for several years. Miraculously, she manages to survive, but she is forever deprived of the ability to breathe on her own. She does not attend school, lives in the world of her fantasies, suffers from severe depression. But then an event occurs that completely turns her life around – she was lucky enough to meet Augustus. Against the backdrop of the “sword of Damocles” of death hanging over them – for cancer, alas, rarely recedes completely and irrevocably – the first tender feelings begin to wake up in the hearts of young people …
And yet it would be wrong to say that the novel The Fault in Our Stars is a novel about a terrible disease, children and teenage love. To some extent, it is a coded message to the whole world of “healthy and adults.” The heroes do not just experience and love, they think in a completely unchildlike way, critically comprehend a strange and alien world, try to understand what is happening around. Perhaps that is why sometimes you want to break the text into quotes:
“The world is not a wish-granting factory”
“People discuss the courage of cancer patients, and I do not deny its presence. I’ve been stabbed, stabbed and poisoned for years and I’m still dragging my feet. However, I’m not lying if I say that at that moment I would have been very, very happy to die.”
“… in this world, we cannot decide whether they will bring us pain or not, but only we have the choice of who will do it”,
“Tell me my copy is missing the last 20 pages. Hazel Grace, tell me this isn’t the end of the book.”
“Maybe ‘good’ will be our ‘forever’?”
Not only teenagers, but also most adults can learn from these children “adulthood” and life maturity.
It is probably pointless to add something else to this. The novel makes you think, the novel will certainly make many cry – everyone will draw their own conclusion and determine the outlet of their feelings after reading it. But one thing is absolutely clear – this novel can leave only a stone indifferent.
Brief story
Before us is an American, Haisep Lancaster, who recently turned 16 years old. It would seem that the whole life is still ahead, but the girl has a thyroid gland. Due to metastases that have already penetrated the lungs, she is forced to breathe only through a special balloon.
The girl practically does not leave the house. Her mother, confident in her daughter’s depressed state, encourages her to attend support groups for cancer patients.
Hazep doesn’t think it’s a good idea, but he agrees so as not to hurt his parents any more. There, she quickly meets Isaac, who was diagnosed with eyeball cancer, as well as Augustus Waters (Gus). He had already lost a leg due to bone cancer. For the girl, Isaac still remains a simple friend, albeit a very good one, but for Gus, she gradually begins to feel romantic feelings.
Lancaster has a favorite book by the Dutch writer Pieter van Houten called The Royal Affliction. She gives it to Gus to read, but they both lament that it is not clear how the story will end.
With the help of charitable organizations, the guys get to the Netherlands and meet Van Houten. However, he is rude to Hazep and says that he does not intend to write a continuation of the story.
However, Gus’s declaration of love becomes a ray of happiness for the girl. She reciprocates. However, unexpected news kills her morally, and now she does not know how to live on.
The meaning of the book
The main meaning of Green’s novel is the transience of life and the proximity of death, which makes each person look at the reality around him with different eyes.
We really live in a world that is changing too fast and do not pay attention to ourselves. This leads us to believe that we will live forever. This is not so, but we continue to put off real life or dreams on the back burner.
The main characters of this novel give us an example of how to live the rest of life. Yes, fate did not give them so much time, but young people are trying to live the remaining months as productively and efficiently as possible.
The author also perfectly shows that in the face of imminent death, a person’s values change dramatically. None of the trinity thinks about money or material wealth, because you cannot take them with you to the next world.
For Hazep, for example, the most important thing is the well-being and happiness of her family. She understands that she herself is unlikely to outlive her parents, but she wants them to also live the most calm and measured life.
For Isaac, the idea of fixation is to find true love and feel its taste while walking in the face of an imminent winddown.
Gus, as a result of much thought, came to the conclusion that the most important thing is not the presence of a person in this world, but what kind of memory he will leave to the rest and the world itself with his presence.
As you can see, each person has his own thoughts, views and feelings, but they are united by a terrible disease, against which doctors have not yet found an effective cure.
Ending explanation
Explanation of the ending of the film “The Fault in Our Stars”. Near the end, Hazel takes Gus to the park and asks what he’s thinking. The young man replies that he is still afraid of oblivion. To this, the girl tells him that his fears are groundless – after all, at least he has her, who will always remember him.
Eight days later, Gus dies, and the author of The Royal Affliction suddenly arrives at his funeral. It turns out that the guy had previously written to him and asked him to compose a eulogy for Hazel. But the opposite happened – he died first. The speech at Gus’s funeral was delivered by a girl. Rejecting the unnecessary “cheat sheet”, she spoke from herself.
Probably, the meaning of the ending of the film “The Fault in Our Stars” (as well as the whole picture) is quite simple. It sounds like this: appreciate those who are nearby, because it will not always be like this …
