Abby Hart

2/19/14

Literature Assignment: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is a sad, happy, quirky love story. The story is about two characters who fall in love. They both have some form of cancer. The main characters are Hazel, Augustus, and their friend Isaac.

Hazel Grace Lancaster is a sixteen year old girl who has been diagnosed with stage four thyroid cancer. She was diagnosed at 13. The diagnosis came three months after her first period. Hazel’s reaction to this was, “congratulations you’re a women, now die.” Her thyroid cancer has developed into lung cancer. She caught pneumonia and her lungs started to fill up with water. They thought it was the end but her doctor successfully drained her lungs. The lung cancer has made it really hard to breath especially after the pneumonia. After the pneumonia she was put on this trial drug, called Phalanxifor. Phalanxifor helps slow down the tumors from growing. So, Hazel carries around an oxygen tank to help her breath better. When she is at home she uses this device she calls Philip. She also uses a BiPAP to help her breath at night. Hazel’s mom starts to think she is depressed. Hazel is a home body, she stays at home watching crappy T.V. and reading her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction. “Depression is not a side effect of cancer, but a side effect of dying.” She gets put on depression meds and has to go to a cancer support group. Hazel also has a hard time standing and taking stairs because it is hard for her to breath. She also got her GED and goes to the local community college.

Augustus “Gus” Waters, played basketball until he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his leg. After losing his leg to osteosarcoma he was in the clear. Augustus now has a prosthetic leg and can’t play basketball. He also has a hard time driving. The way he drives is like flooring it when starting and slamming on the brakes when stopping. He also has a hard time sitting down and getting up because of the prosthetic. Augustus also dies at the end because his cancer comes back. In the book he says, “I lit up like a Christmas tree.” His cancer was that bad.

Isaac is a friend of Hazel and Augustus. Isaac meet Hazel at support group. He has cancer of the eye. He lost one eye when he was younger and learned that he will be losing the other, becoming completely blind. Isaac had a girlfriend before he became completely blind but she dumped him before he went for surgery to remove his other eye. He has a hard time dealing with the break up and smashes Augustus’s basketball trophies. After the surgery he has to go to a school that will help him learn skills for the blind and how to go through day-to-day life.

An example of inclusionary interactions is the support group these kids attend but it is also an example of exclusionary. The support group is for kids with cancer. The support group is held in an episcopal church shaped like a cross. The support group was stationed in the center of the cross, “in the literal heart of Jesus.” Isaac brought Augustus to the support group and that is how Hazel and Augustus meet. It is exclusionary because it is only for cancer kids. Another example of inclusionary interactions is the involvement in The Make a Wish Foundation aka the “genies.”

Examples of exclusionary interactions are when the kids with cancer are pulled out of school. In the book it talks about how you can tell how okay the person with cancer is by asking if they are in school. You are normally pulled out of school if you are going to “bite it.” Another example is that it is hard to play sports when you have cancer, like Gus when he can’t play basketball. Also, when Isaac loses his girlfriend because he goes blind. Excluded because you aren’t “normal” anymore. The biggest example is death, because you can’t really do anything if you are dead so some people stay away because they don’t want to deal with a person dying.

Hazel’s family functions by the mom staying home to watch Hazel and take her to classes at the college and support group. Her mom is “consumed” with Hazel and her care. Hazel’s dad works during the week day so Hazel and her dad don’t see each other much. Hazel’s dad is the crier in the family. One time in the book Gus calls Hazel and wants her to meet him “in the literal heart of Jesus.” Her parents are reluctant to let her go. She just wanted an old fashioned teenage “storm out” but can’t because her dad has her hand and she can’t get the cannula on her face to use her oxygen. Hazel’s parents are her best friends.

Augustus’s family has an amazing outlook on how to deal and live with a child with cancer. In Augustus’s house there is quotes all over and they call them “encouragements.” When Gus get sick his family puts their best foot forward and try and make it better around Gus. When he dies they still talk to Hazel. His parents are really nice and are positive.

Examples of obstacles and resilience to the cancer caused disability are; Isaac learns how to play video games through using voice as a controller. If you have to deal with something hard, it makes it easier for you to cope by using humor or laughter. The book has a lot of humor in it. One obstacle for Hazel was the stairs vs. elevator. To go to the support group there was the option to use an elevator or the stairs. If you used the elevator it means that you are close to dying or getting there so Hazel always takes the stairs to prove to herself that she’s not close to dying. Gus uses humor to cope and especially with his support of Isaac.

In the book Augustus, Hazel and Hazel’s mom went to the Netherlands for a trip to meet the author of An Imperial Affliction, Peter van Houten thanks to the “genies.” They had to get Hazel’s doctors to all agree to let her go. Hazel has to deal with carrying oxygen around with her. Gus had to have everything worked out so he could go too. They all had to find ways to deal with their challenges/disabilities in traveling. This helps the reader to understand the obstacles and problems people with disabilities have when traveling.

The Fault in Our Stars is an amazing story of the trials of Hazel, Augustus, and Isaac. It also shows how they deal with the hardships of having cancer and living with it. I would recommend it to anyone. It opened my eyes to how kids deal with the disabilities they face and in spite of everything they “live.”