The Fault in Our Stars

— life is the life itself

“You deserve a life.”

That what Hazel’s mom says to her at the very beginning, which is the most powerful statement for readers because almost normal people will not think that “ life” needs to be deserved, it is just a natural pattern. Our lives start when we born, no matter you like it or not. In the novel, Hazel closes herself because she thinks that her life is almost finished, she has to carry the machine every day, everywhere which means she must rely on these things to breathe, to live. She cannot do the things she wants. “Depression is the side effect of dying”, it’s true. Nobody can accept this cruel truth at the very beginning, because of the fear of death, because of the hopelessness to live. Hazel chooses to continue her life pessimistically is reasonable, because cancer itself is an inhumane reality for a teenager.

There is a famous quote from Helen Keller: “Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die tomorrow.” which is used to inspire people to cherish lives and be optimistic. However, that can only be the most ideal condition. The reason for the people can think like this is because they know that their lives will still exist when tomorrow comes. Even if the accident comes, they will not know the fact before it happened, which is better because they can still treat their lives normally. But now, Hazel and all the cancerous people know the fact of their deadline, which means they are not ignorance of death anymore. “If we should die tomorrow” is not an attitude to help them to live better, but a reason for giving up their lives. Now, Hazel is one of the miserable teenagers who has been exploiting by the fate on the right of ignorance, which is a useful tool to enjoy happiness.

Undeniably, this book can be summarized as a process of knowing the meaning of life. In the story, Hazel finds the meaning of her life again with the encounter with August, who is another cancerous teenager but has a totally different world value as Hazel. They fall in love for sure, which is a cliché process as other love stories. However, when the love crushes into fear and death, everything becomes impossible and unbelievable. Actually, the people who close to death can be satisfied easily, but others like to show the pity toward these cancerous people which means normal people always treat them differently. That can be an invisible segregation, but these cancerous people have to get used to the so-called kindness from others, from the society. Whenever a group of people belongs to a specific group, they are not normal anymore. Then, August appears. He is a guy who has the same problem as Hazel, although he lives in another lifestyle. It is easier for Hazel to open herself to August because they are the same, at least August will not treat her differently as others, but others will. Then, Hazel is satisfied by August, not because of his outlook or some other physical things, but the soul of purity and love. They all eager to live, eager to something exciting as well as an unconditional love.

At first, the process of they fall in love is just a reasonable emergence, at least it is not novel for audiences. But the trip to Amsterdam raises the meaning of their lives. The determination and courage to pursue a dream should not be ordinary for any kinds of people. There is a memorable scene in the book: Hazel and her parents discuss her illness with many doctors, although this is Hazel’s own decision, they are still unwilling to support this choice at first. For most people who get cancer, the most important thing is not how to live, but try not to die. However, the difference between Hazel, August, and other patients is they dare to challenge their lives. They live for themselves, not how many days they can survive under a dangerous disease. Their attitude toward life, no matter how long the life is, is a step of showing their existence. Indeed, compared with the universe, several lives are tiny as dust. They cannot change anything, they are useless for anyone. But nobody can exploit their rights of living, at least they can arrange their lives into the way they like. Everyone will die at last, so the life expectancy is the least important criteria to evaluate the meaning of life. But how? How can people live with sense? Every single decision and action the main characters make have touched the readers’ thoughts. Just like Hazel’s mother said, “you deserve a life”, that is not only an inspiration, it is the idea that runs through the whole story. The reason we deserve a life is because that can support us to achieve our dreams, we can do any decision we want if that can change the thickness of life. We are humans, not other animals. The action of putting our lives into a certain frame is the stupidest decision. Even if we died, we do not regret that we were born as a human. Maybe the turning point in this novel is the trip to Amsterdam–when Hazel and August decide to meet the author. At the time they make this decision, the result of the meeting is not that important because the decision itself for them is the most majestic moment through their entire lives. Back to the reality, even if the same event happens on a normal people, the possibility of choosing to fly to Amsterdam without any concerns is tiny. Many so-called concerns and excuses are the evidence of people that they are not daring to own their lives. So Hazel and August are great because they have a strong willing of living their best lives today, they wager their lives to the fate, and they win.

If August does not accompany with Hazel, Hazel will not have that much courage to fight against the disease and her life; If August does not write to the writer, Hazel will not have the chance to communicate with the author; if August does not stay with Hazel, Hazel will not enjoy her last days. Love is so powerful and dependable, it is a soft power, but this soft power can give a person enough cheer to live one more day. The process of curing a cancer is painful, it is a torture, not everyone want to go for it just for several more days to live. If I am Hazel, I would like to choose not receiving the treatment and leave myself to the destiny. But Hazel and August are brave enough, the dare to face the disease directly, for themselves, for each other, for the person they love. They dare to do anything, then we normal audiences have no excuses for giving up. Nothing gold can stay, then we do not have to fear anything. Do what I want, try what I like, be who I am.

There is an indistinct epiphany in this book: when Hazel starts dating with August, her life changes. The author uses pale languages to describe Hazel’s life which makes readers a little bit boring. Hazel’s daily life at the very beginning is just like a single routine, she introduces herself to others with an apathetic tone, she goes to a community college, she eats breakfast every day…… These pieces of description cannot gain the attention of audiences at all. However, after Hazel meets August, the plot goes into the climax and the author should use some vivid languages in order to let readers feel differently, at least there is something new. Interestingly, the author still chooses the same writing style to push the excitement forward. For example, in chapter sixteen, after Hazel and August finish their trip, Hazel goes to August’s home for a meal. At this time, Hazel has already realized something important in her life and she fell in love with August. But the author illustrates this scene like this: “After some TV, I went to sleep. I woke up. Around noon, I went over there again.”(Green, 238) This piece of writing pulls the readers back to the reality, which shows that the real life is not a continuous adventure. That is impossible for people to live in an uncommon life every day, even in the novel. Although Hazel’s experience in Amsterdam is unbelievable, she still has to live in her realistic routine after that. But why she chooses to experience a three-day trip with a result of nothing changes? Actually, the result itself is no longer important. The most precious part is the experience itself, when they decide to go for this trip no matter what kind of result it is, their lives become deserved. The author chooses this simple description to create a daily scene, which is useful to reinforce the significance of the trip, especially for them. When the reader read about this part, they will exclaim in great compliment and realize that even the life itself is miserable, people can still choose the way to live, at least they try, they fight for it. No matter what kind of condition, go for the dream with enough determination is always the best choice.

Life depends on the reality, but the reality depends on what kind of life you want. Life is short, nobody has time to waste. Just go for it, enjoy it, and play with it. I believe, even Hazel and August died, in the last moment of life, they will not regret, because they tried, they loved.

Everyone deserves a life.

Author: Marie Gao