Hazel’s life is filled with issues (in her case, thyroid cancer) that people in this world constantly face every day, but all these issues seem to be answered by the appearance of one boy whom she falls in love with. In a way, the boy, Augustus, makes Hazel forget about all her issues and problems with a special connection that they share. They’re both cancer survivors who share common interests and are always there for each other and in a way, she’s Hazel is a kind of like the dying princess in the disney movies and Augustus is the prince there to save her and lift her spirits, and that’s where this book becomes somewhat unrealistic.
Hazel’s life at the beginning of “The Fault in Our Stars” is about as bad as a person’s life can get. To start, she has stage four thyroid cancer and at the same time, is always carrying oxygen with her because her lungs “suck” (John Green). It gets worse because Hazel has no desire to include other people in her life because she’s well aware that her life expectancy isn’t too long, and she doesn’t want people to get involved in her life or too attached, only to get hurt by her getting more sick and dying. She’d rather read or watch then TV then go out and make friends because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone and before meeting Augustus, the only time she really went out was either to school or to her support group, which her mom forced her to go to so that she “can make new friends” (Green).
When Augustus entered Hazel’s life, she all of a sudden became “kinda teenagery” (Green) and began going out more, mostly with Augustus. He was always there for her and they had a strong connection, especially through the book “An Imperial Affliction”. After Augustus used his one wish given to him to take Hazel to the Netherlands to meet her favorite author, the reality of Hazel’s life became a fairytale in a way. This random good looking boy who Hazel falls in love with comes into her life and takes her on the trip of her dreams to meet her idol is definitely makes the reality of Hazel’s life somewhat of disney movie fairytale.
Do you think this “disney movie fairytale” is too good to be true and will in the end hurt Hazel, or on the contrary will it be the thing that she truly needed at such a difficult time in her life?
Thats a good question. Honestly, I think that Hazel needed someone like Augustus in her life to keep her company and I also feel like he gives her some sense of hope through the relationship. I think she needed more people to show that they cared about her and she found that in Augustus.