The Fault in Our Stars (spoilers)

            In the book The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, a young cancer survivor named Hazel Grace Lancaster describes her not so adventurous life while dealing with the consequences of her cancer. With an uncertainty of how long her life would turn out to be, Hazel spend most of her time reading “An Imperial Affliction” over and over again or going to a pointless support group. Although, as it turns out it may not be as pointless as she thought. One day, Hazel meets a new person in her group. His name is Augustus (Gus) Waters and instantly hazel life is changed forever. Augustus is the most interesting character in The Fault In Our Stars because of his and his outgoing personality that everyone loves. But also, beneath it all, there is a whole other side to Augustus that’s different from what he might seem to be.

           

In the beginning of The Fault In Our Stars, Hazel goes to support group and finds the beautiful Augustus Waters gazing at her for long periods of time. At first she thinks that he must be staring at her because she’s “ugly”, after all how could such a confident and “hot” guy be interested in a plain and boring girl like her? Then Gus smiles at her and is asked what he fears the most. He says that he fears oblivion. I think that this says a lot about the type of person that Gus appears to be. But he doesn’t know that oblivion won’t happen for him because the whole book is written about him and Hazel, so he will never be forgotten. His story will stay on the pages of this book forever and if that’s Augustus’s greatest fear, then he is a very confident and powerful person. Throughout the book Gus is always putting other people needs first. He most likely feels that he should be helping others in order to not be forgotten.

But halfway through the book, his cancer returns. And the idea of death makes Augustus think of oblivion and being forgotten after he dies. Augustus is no longer the great hero that would risk anything to save others, now he is just plain old Gus who is dying slowly from cancer. One thing that Gus does all the time is place an unlit cigarette in his mouth. He never lights it and always puts it back when he is done. When Hazel see him with one she confronts him but all he says is “It's a metaphor, see: You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do its killing.” I think that the cigarettes represent both parts of Gus. Gus uses the cigarette for the opposite thing that it’s supposed to do. It’s literally a stick of cancer, but by not smoking it, Augustus must feel in control and feel that he has the power to prevent his cancer from taking over his body. In a way the unlit cigarette is protecting him.

  In conclusion, so many people act strong on the outside until one-day tragedy strikes. And for Augustus exactly that happens. Most people can’t find ways to keep themselves together but it’s very powerful to feel like you have complete control of your life. Augustus has all the control until he starts to die and that’s usually when a person starts to freak out. Fearing oblivion isn’t a bad thing because eventually everyone will be forgotten. I feel that even the famous will not be remembers in thousands of years. But this book may survive through it all. Humans have been telling stories ever since the start of our race so you never know if The Fault In Our Stars will be told in centuries. Either way, Augustus will not be forgotten.