The Fault In Our Stars Existentialism Analysis

Humans lives are always being impacted by others. Everyone leaves a mark on the world. The Fault in Our Stars, written by John Green, takes place in Indianapolis and in Amsterdam during the early years of the twenty-first century. The book is about Hazel, a seventeen year old, who has a life full of cancer. She meets Augustus Waters in Support Group and her life completely changes. Augustus and Hazel fall deeply in love with each other throughout the story and adventure to Amsterdam. People endure many hardships throughout the book.(one sentence here that hints at scars or pain). (Augustus says,) “The marks humans leave are so often scars. How do people receive “scars” throughout the book? People receives “scars” throughout The Fault in Our Stars, because Augustus impacts Hazel, Caroline affects Hazel, and Hazel’s mom changes Hazel.

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.

Not to be confused with the Huxley novel that my blog post will share many of the same elements/qualities (I hope) with -- 2016 is in the rear view; what we have now is often a cynical, mostly nihilistic, outlook of the world to come in 2017. I will admit that I am not an optimist when it comes to the future, but I will concede that my opinions about the world are wholly relativistic. In my opinion, optimistic types tend to focus on the horizon instead of looking down at the ocean beneath. Pessimists relentlessly focus on the depths of problems, and often, fixate on the negative aspects of all likely outcomes. Is it an extension of an overly realistic point of view, a gross pragmatism that permeates through cynics to their very core. Or is it that optimists tend to accept things the way they are, and decide to live with what they can control, and do so with overly effusive joy and unrepentant candor?

Existentialism is thought to be a philosophical theory that places emphasis on the experiences of the individual as they take advantage of their ability to utilize free will. However, when analyzing existentialism, it means so much more. Albert Camus, author of The Stranger and An Absurd Reasoning, explores deeper into the day to day life of an existentialist, and the questions they may find themselves asking. Physicist and author of The Fabric of the Cosmos, Brian Greene, provides a critique of Albert Camus, agreeing with Camus’ overarching ideas, but offering some revisions. Nihilist Frederick Nietzsche delivers his opinion on the status of man and the futility of life in On Truth and Lying in a Non-Moral Sense. While the limits of philosophy

A weatherman, Phil Collins, not content with his life, reluctantly heads to Punxsutawney in Pennsylvania to report on the Groundhog Day festival with Rita, his producer and Larry, a cameraman. Once he gets there, he gives his report and as they are trying to leave, they get caught up in a blizzard, where he is given the choice to either die in the blizzard or to stay in Punxsutawney. Reluctantly, he chooses to stay in Punxsutawney until the blizzard is over. Much to his dismay when he gets up the next day, the events are eerily similar to the first day. Day after day he realizes that this isn't deja vu, he is reliving this day over and over again. In the beginning he uses this to his advantage through many escapades like driving recklessly, stealing money and seducing women. His most important endeavor is trying to make Rita fall in love with him; yet day after day he fails to seduce her because of his egotistic ways. Seeing as though he will never get out of Groundhog’s Day, he decides to kill himself multiple times yet he still wakes up in the same spot, unharmed, with the radio playing the same song on the same day. Over time, he changes his behavior and becomes more positive; he is kinder to people, does his job well and tries to save the life of an old man. Through this new outlook on life of being positive, selfless and compassionate towards others, he finally breaks this curse of reliving the same day over and over again and wakes up on February 3rd with Rita by his side.

Existentialism is a philosophy of freedom-freedom of self, decision, and of imposed morality. It is the belief that man has no essence, only history. Existentialist ideologies are often portrayed in films such as V for Vendetta directed by James McTeigue. In the film, a masked vigilante, V, stands up against the tyranny of a fascist totalitarian regime. The movie explores the idea of freedom and the power of the individual.

In The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, there are many symbols that help portray important ideas and concepts of the book. However, two of the more prominent ones are a grenade and cigarettes. Hazel sees herself as a grenade while Augustus puts unlit cigarettes in his mouth. Both of these things symbolize their mental battles from the cancer. The grenade is symbolizing Hazel as a whole but the cigarettes are symbolizing just Augustus’s cancer. This reveals how differently they’re affected by their conditions. Hazel is determined to push everyone away for fear of hurting them after she dies. Augustus is optimistic that he’ll survive because of his good chances but still struggles mentally with his cancer. Overall, Hazel uses a grenade as a

Existentialism is a relatively new philosophical concept, which flourished soon after the end of World War II. It is focused around a belief that existence precedes essence, meaning that there is no meaning of life, other than the one each individual assigns during his own lifetime. In the play No Exit, Jean Paul Sartre explores this philosophy through a triad of individuals whose lives and post-death experiences reflect a range of existentialist ideas and their contradictions. The three characters, Garcin Inez, and Estelle, are all stuck in a second empire style room, in the depths of hell, where they have the opportunity to together reflect on all they have ever done. However, it is the behavior they assume in hell that reflects existential philosophy, not their experiences on earth. Sartre’s play No Exit, oozes with existentialist ideas from choice of setting, to personal torture and a representation of each key concepts of this philosophical movement.

Due to the multifaceted nature of literature, analysis thereof is prone to generalization. One of the most grievous generalizations oft encountered involves failing to distinguish between a character and the novel it inhabits. Take John Gardener’s Grendel and Albert Camus’s The Stranger, for instance. It’s far too easy, when analyzing for dominant ideologies, to slap them both with the label of existentialism and be done with it. However, closer scrutiny indicates that whilst both Meursault and Grendel are existential heroes, Grendel, unlike Meursault, exists in a solipsistic universe that runs contrary to his ideology and thusly never experiences the catharsis that

In The Fault in Our Stars,John Green, the author, uses many literary devices to enchant his novel. The book contains a plethora of allusions, some of which only exist within the FiOS universe. Other allusions, such as the many references to pop culture and famous poetry, are based in reality. Another literary tool that the author makes use of is symbolism, which appears often in the novel, but it is used tastefully. A very important element seen throughout the novel is diction, but you will find that it changes drastically depending on who is speaking.

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” (Act 1. Scene 2. Julius Caesar.) This pensive line was the inspiration behind the title of John Green’s work of fiction, The Fault in Our Stars. The novel follows young Hazel Grace Lancaster, a stage 4 thyroid cancer patient, who makes the acquaintance of Augustus Waters one fateful day at Support Group. Throughout the novel, Hazel Grace takes not only a physical journey but an emotional one. The ups and downs of Hazel’s journey are penned by John Green with a substantial amount of metaphors as well as the supporting characters playing a significant part. Set in present day Indianapolis, and later Amsterdam, The Fault in Our Stars is a complex

The fault in our stars is written by John Green, a popular American writer and vlogger. The novel is narrated by Hazel Grace Lancaster, a sixteen year old cancer patient. Her parents force her to attend a Support group so she can make “friends”. Hazel gets more than a friend from the support group. She befriends a 17 year old called Augustus Waters, the guy she ends up falling in love with.

The story, Fault in our Stars, follows Hazel and her journey with cancer. While on the surface, this story seems to just be about a girl undergoing cancer and achieving her dream of experiencing true love for the first time, there is a significantly more profound meaning. In the story, love plays a large role, as it is the bond between the two main characters and opened them to opportunities and journeys that they would have never, otherwise, had the chance to take. In the beginning, both Hazel and Augustus have never experienced true love, but both had history of cancer and were used to being on the verge of death. However, when Hazel embraces Augustus, she allows herself to be weaker as a result rather than Augustus making her stronger. Love is an undeniably strong force, but love can be a dividing force that can bring more pain than happiness. These have been observed in Hazel’s trip to the Netherlands, Augustus’ death, and Isaac’s romantic relationship with Monica.

The Fault In Our Stars, written by John Green, is about a young teenager, Hazel Grace Lancaster, who has cancer. Hazel Grace is battling Thyroid Cancer and has been for most of her young life. She is unable to breath normally and has to use an oxygen tank and a BiPAP machine to survive. When attending a support group ,that her parents make her go to, she meets Augustus Waters, who had Osteosarcoma but had won his battle with this cancer. Hazel and Augustus both find an interest in the same book, An Imperial Affliction, and decide they want to visit the author, Peter Van Houten,. They want meet him and have all their questions answered. While on the trip to meet the author, the teens become very discouraged when Peter Van Houten does not answer any of their questions and actually yelled at them. When Hazel and Augustus finally returned home from their unsuccessful trip, they found out that Augustus had been diagnosed with cancer. After the rediagnosis, Augustus passed and Hazel became devastated; her life was never the same after Augustus died.

John Green’s award winning 2012 young adult novel, The Fault in Our Stars, follows the lives of two teenagers suffering from terminal cancer. The protagonist, Hazel Grace, suffers from thyroid cancer, consequently having to carry an oxygen tank around wherever she goes. Augustus has a type of bone cancer known as osteosarcoma, resulting in an amputated leg. The novel follows the cancer journeys of the two teens whilst showing how they develop their relationship and their views on death and love. One of the main themes addressed is the idea of how fear, especially of death can affect one’s ability to love. Similarly, Green illustrates how love can often develop one’s views and understandings of death. Green uses the protagonist, Hazel, to set forth the idea that her inordinate fear of death prevents her from being able to truly love. However, once open to love, she is able to develop a more profound understanding of death. Prior to love, Hazel’s knowledge of love and death was limited as she viewed death as a time where she would hurt all those around her. During love, she was able to develop more philosophical views on death which continued to change as she was faced with the death of a loved one, furthering her views on love.