Analysis Of Jhumpa Lahiri's 'The Fault In Our Stars'

Difficult choices come and go from our life. Like trying to understand who you are as a person and where you come from. In the book The Namesake, a boy named Gogol grows up in a cultural Bengali family while living in a different country with different customs. Gogol is special because he is trying to balance the two cultures. Gogol tries to understand and learn his family's culture but tends to pick and choose things from each culture to fit his lifestyle. His response to his cultural collision is very unique. From this cultural collision Gogol question himself and his life decisions.

Gogol grapples with his name throughout the majority of the novel, yet this tension was in the makings even before his birth. Ashoke and Ashima being immigrants set Gogol up to live in two different cultures, American and Bengali. Many children of immigrants may feel like Gogol, having one foot in each world. Gogol framed his struggle with cultural identity through something tangible, his name. In Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel, The Namesake, Gogol’s struggle with cultural identity is exposed most greatly by the name others call him and his reaction to it.

The Fault in our stars, John Green, Fiction The novel the fault in our stars was written by author John Green and published in 2012. Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar inspired the title of the book. The story is narrated by Hazel Grace, a 16-year-old girl who is diagnosed with cancer. One-day Hazel is obligated by her parents to attend a support group where she can meet new friends who are going through the same situation she is going through. That is where Hazel meets and falls in love with 17-year-oldAugustus Waters. As they become the best of friends Hazel shares her favorite book “An Imperial Affliction” with August. The book ended mid- sentence which led August to find the author. The author invited Hazel to Amsterdam to discuss the ending of the book. This is when their venture begins to truly find the meaning in life.

Despite the adversity they face, the characters in The Fault in Our Stars identity lies within their inner selves, and is not defined by societal expectations. Hazel expresses her frustration with the lesser standard that is expected of cancer patients, saying “According to Maslow, I was…unable to feel secure in my health and therefore unable to reach for love and respect and art…which is utter horseshit: The urge to make art or contemplate philosophy does not go away when you are sick” (Green 213). According to society, cancer patients, and those who are not “secure in their health” are restricted from experiencing life at its fullest. The outside world sees Hazel in singular terms, as “a cancer kid”, unable to reach for greatness;

When someone has established his or her identity based on experiences and is proud of that identity, he or she is said to be comfortable. In the novel The Namesake, the main character, Gogol Ganguli, is divided between Bengali and American culture, while also having difficulty accepting his name. This causes him to struggle with establishing and being comfortable with his identity. In The Namesake, Gogol, who struggles to identify with his name and his culture, becomes more comfortable with himself after going through difficult life experiences

No matter how old you are, you might know what It feels like to lose a loved one. Hazel Grace has never been anything but terminal, until she meets Augustus Waters, and that’s when her story is about to be completely rewritten. The novel is an emotional roller coaster dealing with first loves, terminal illnesses, secrets, passion and trust. In the novel, The Fault In Our Stars, Hazel Grace must go through what any person with a terminal disease must go through and beyond that: overcoming a terminal disease, love, and fear.

For this project, I decided to read “The Fault in Our Stars,” a novel written by John Green. This book is about 16 year old Hazel Grace, who is diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She attends weekly Cancer Support Group, where she meets Augustus Waters, a “very intelligent and hot” boy who is currently in remission. They both take a liking for each other, their relationship growing and developing throughout the book as they fight cancer together. Along the way, Hazel learns many important lessons about life.

Hazel grace was remarkably negative during her cancer battle. A quote from the book is, on page 99, Hazel says “I’m like. Like. I’m like a grenade, Mom. I’m a grenade and at some point I’m going to blow up. I just want to stay away from people… because there’s nothing I can do about hurting you” She was saying that she is going to die and she wants to stay away from people so they don’t end up being hurt.

People with cancer often begin to define themselves based on their experience with their illness, this self-definition through one’s cancer is one that the characters fear in John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. The novel shows how the characters strive to discover their identities, but despite that are still identified by their illness. The novel also makes the argument that young people with cancer are not any more virtuous or different than other kids rather, they are just normal kids living with an illness. Augustus wants to be remembered and also be more than just a boy who battled cancer, but despite his efforts is still identified by his illness.

An individual’s identity is reflected in many aspects of their character. On of the aspects which affect a person’s identity is culture; culture plays a major role in the formation of an individual's character. It imposes customs which ultimately manifest through a person’s identity. The clear link between culture and identity suggests that conflict with one’s culture may affect a person’s sense of self. Jhumpa Lahiri explores this type of conflict in the novel The Namesake, in which Gogol Ganguli is stuck between two cultures the Bengali traditions of his parents and the American culture he grows up with. The novel explores Gogol’s conflict with both cultures and how it ultimately impacts the development of his identity.

The Fault in Our Stars impacted a change in my life of how the book gave so much emotion and courage. This book helped me to know what it is like to be different from others and sharing a special thing you might have something in common with one another. Augustus and Hazel both share a type of disability that they both have a connection that makes them special in a way from others. Unlike other people meeting each other, they actually both met at a class that worships god and their life experience of how they live. Hazel has no secret of how she might have some type of disease in which she uses an oxygen tank that where a tube goes through her nostrils in addition she has short hair. Augustus in the other hand, has a fake leg which he really doesn't show his true identity. Even though Hazel might look a little different from others, it doesn't stop Augustus from having affection for her and which this taught me how in real life to never judge a book by its cover. In this book it explains that you

Most girls at the age of seventeen are free to do what they want. Except Hazel was not, she had to go to support group, and make sure her BiPAP is connected when she sleeps. She always had to worry about if she would be able to breathe. In the book the The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, Hazel does not have it easy.

In the Namesake written by Jhumpa Lahiri, America is often referred to as the land of opportunity despite how foreign immigrants are still being treated as second class citizens such as an outcast. Throughout the novel The Namesake the parents of Gogol, Ashoke Ganguli and Ashima Ganguli brought their family to America to find their opportunity despite their strong beliefs in their Bengali culture. Going against their Bengali belief, Ashok and Ashima settled in america with their baby boy Gogol and their baby girl Sonia. Throughout the novel The Namesake Gogol has been struggling to find himself and make peace. Gradually throughout the story Gogol begins to wonder why his parents made the decision to come to america, Despite their strong Bengali beliefs to stay in india. Gogol’s crisis to finding himself slowly deteriorates when he finds himself come to peace with who he is. The author, Jhumpa Lahiri shows Gogol improving and developing as a mature character intellectually, socially, and emotionally despite all the hardships that Gogol had faced.

Firstly, within the novel, it is clear that Hazel is a caring person and is fully aware of what her body’s condition does to her

In the world, over 12.7 million people discover they have cancer. The Fault In Our Stars, by John Green is a compelling novel that presents the story of a sixteen year-old girl named Hazel who suffers from thyroid cancer that spread to her lungs. Throughout the book, Hazel is battling her disease, causing her pain and suffering. In The Fault In our Stars, Green illustrates suffering is apart of life, therefore being human is to have the ability to overcome pain and become stronger.