The Fault in Our Stars - Character Anaylsis PDF

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Part 1: Character Analysis

The novel The Fault in Our Stars by John Green focuses on two teenagers who form a relationship based on the fact that they both have cancer. One of these characters, Augustus Waters, is who I’ll be focusing on throughout this character analysis. Augustus, known to many as Gus, is a seventeen-year-old male from Indianapolis who survived a battle with cancer prior to the beginning of the novel. However, he wound up having the lower half of his left leg amputated as a result of the disease. While he dealt with all of this, Gus still came off as a positive person who felt as if he is indestructible. However, as the story progresses, this attitude shifts as his outlook on the world changes as he falls in love and has to deal with his deadly disease once more. Augustus’ indestructibility is shown throughout this novel on multiple occasions. One occasion is when Augustus is driving Hazel and himself home from a group therapy session despite not feeling pressure in his prosthetic leg. This shows how Augustus has no fear of getting in an accident and potentially harming himself instead he treats this as if it’s a joke. This is shown in the novel when he says “Well, I can’t feel pressure in old Prosty, and I can’t get the hang of driving left-footed. My doctors say most amputees can drive with no problem, but… yeah. Not me. Anyway, I go in for my fourth driving test, and it goes about like this is going” (page 23). Another occasion where this is shown is through Augustus’ use of cigarettes. He talks about it when he says “And I’ve never lit one. 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.” (page 20) Although he doesn’t ever smoke a cigarette he uses them as a way for people to perceive an image of himself as an indestructible person.

Augustus’ mindset starts to change when he begins to fall in love with Hazel. One way this happens is when he emotionally opens up to her. During this time, you start to see a different side of Augustus, a side that is more vulnerable. He expresses his emotions and feelings to her when he says “Oh, I wouldn’t mind, Hazel Grace. It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you” (page 176). This quote shows how Augustus is willing to let go of his overconfident demeanor in order to have a legitimate connection with someone he cares about. Another example of Augustus’ changed mindset is when he uses his dying wish to fulfill a life long dream of Hazel’s to meet her favourite author in Amsterdam after she uses her wish. His act of selflessness was taken seriously by not only Hazel but her parents as well because it gave her a huge amount of joy. Even though she tries to decline his invitation he says “Sure I do… I found my wish” (page 92). As Augustus’ cancer relapses he attempts to maintain his normal life and keeps it away from Hazel and friends. He eventually confides in Hazel about his relapse at the end of their Amsterdam trip. This is shown during the novel here, where the author writes, “‘The world is not a wish-granting factory,’ and then he broke down, just for one moment”. It is the first time that Hazel has ever seen the emotion of sadness come from him, further separating him from his original behaviour. As time goes on Augustus begins to fall further into a depression. This appears when Hazel later takes him to an art park. While watching a group of kids play on a model skeleton, Augustus expresses his thoughts when he says “Last time, I imagined myself as the kid. This time, the skeleton.” In Conclusion, the development of Augustus in The Fault in Our Stars was defined through his indestructible demeanour, vulnerability/selfless with Hazel, and the downfall of his

relapse with cancer. It is through this that John Green shows the readers all the different sides that make up the character that is Augustus Waters....