The Fault in Our Stars Analysis

‘The Fault in Our Stars’ addresses a number of controversial thematic issues that encourage its audiences to think differently. Key among such is the romance between the novel’s main characters. Hazel Grace Lancaster is a sixteen-year-old cancer patient who is about to lose her life as her cancer spreads to her lungs. Augustus Waters, on the other hand, is a seventeen-year-old boy who suffered from osteosarcoma thereby losing a leg. The novel compels its audiences to think differently when the two fall in love and begin living normally despite their vulnerable conditions. Hazel strives to live a normal life despite her vulnerable condition. She risks her life to have adventures and to meet an author to her favorite book. Augustus portrays maturity and overlooks her vulnerable condition often striving to make her achieve her desires. He, for example, organizes for a trip to Amsterdam, so they meet the author (Green 187). A teenager suffering from lung cancer living normally with the rest of society is a unique way of looking at the murderous disease.

The author employs a number of strategies for handling controversial issues in the book. Key among such is the narration technique he uses. Hazel Grace Lancaster, a sixteen-year-old girl, suffers from lung cancer narrates the story from a first-person narration. The narrator, therefore, describes her experiences and analyses the issues from her point of view. The young narrator lacks professional experience on a number of issues. However, she strives to live a normal life. She describes such experiences naturally thereby earning the novel some authenticity. Additionally, the two main characters read and exchange novels most of which address issues related to cancer among other health complications. Some of the authors of the novels are irrational drunks who end their novels abruptly. John Green uses such strategies to address controversial issues in the novel while mitigating the potential controversies since he does not take the blame for the issues he addresses in the novel. Instead of starring controversies, the author tells the story from a teenager’s point of view.

The Fault in Our Stars was a major success with most critics pointing out the author’s effective use of humor, language and strong characters among other desirable features. Despite such positive criticism coupled with numerous nominations for various awards, the novel did not win any a feature attributable to the author’s inability to endear to the target audience. As explained earlier, the author addresses important and equally controversial thematic issues in the novel. However, he fails to endear to a particular audience group since he uses teenagers thereby addressing such vital thematic issues as cancer, love, and romance from a teenager’s point of view. This way, the book fails to endear to both the teenage and the adult audience groups. Issues of illness and depression among many others are always inappropriate for teenage audiences most of whom do not understand the impact of such serious illnesses as cancer. Additionally, the portrayal of romance and sexuality from teenagers’ point of view does not entice the adult audience group who would identify with the issues of illness, sexuality, and depression, which the author portrays in the plot of the novel.

Works cited: Green, John. The Fault in Our Stars. New York: Dutton Books, 2012. Print.