The Fault In Our Stars Research Paper

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“[This] is very important to remember when reading or writing or talking or whatever: You are never, ever choosing whether to use symbols. You are choosing which symbols to use” (fishingboatproceeds 5). John Green, the author of The Fault in Our Stars, believes that symbols in literature are necessary and can always be found, whether the author intended for them to be there or not. In this award-winning novel, a young girl named Hazel, who has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, is forced to attend a support group. While at the meeting, she meets another cancer victim, Augustus Waters, who attended only to support his friend Isaac. As Hazel and Augustus grow closer and fall for each other, Hazel shares her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, …show more content…

(The Ending of An Imperial Affliction 1) This story, written by the fictional author Peter Van Houten, is about a girl, Anna, who is much like Hazel. Anna is also battling with cancer, and An Imperial Affliction is about her life and her struggle to stay alive. While, at the same time, trying to make sure that the lives of those around her are not ruined in her wake. Hazel deeply relates to Anna as her thoughts and opinions on cancer nearly mirror Hazel’s own. Eventually, Hazel subconsciously allows the lines between her world and Anna’s fictional word to blur. She begins to connect the fate of her friends and family to those of the novel characters, and becomes obsessed with finding out what happens to them after the book ends (Sparknotes Editors 1). To quote Hazel herself, “I understood the story ended because Anna died or got too sick to write and this midsentence thing was supposed to reflect how life really ends and whatever, but there were characters other than Anna in the story, and it seemed unfair that I would never find out what happened to them” (Green, PAGE NUMBER). The book also symbolizes the healing value of fiction, as it helps Hazel cope with her disease. (Only if you read TFiOS 2) This symbol helps to show the importance of books and their effect on our lives. “It’s a metaphor, see: You put the killing thing right between your teeth but you don’t give it the power to do it’s killing” -Augustus Waters (Green, 20). In The …show more content…

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