The Fault in our Stars; Character Symbols

Since I am about a few chapters away from the end of The Fault in our Stars, I think an acceptable prompt for one of my blogs is to talk about the two main characters in this book and what symbols would correspond along with them.

The two main characters in my book, Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus (Gus) Waters, have a exceptional relationship with each other throughout the book. Now prior to meeting  one another, both of them were robust, individualistic,impassioned people who have either dealt with or are dealing with cancer. Hazel especially cherished independence because she felt like she was always being held behind when her lungs wouldn't perform accurately. A quote that I like that shows the reason why she is very independent is, "I'm a grenade and at some point I'm going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties, okay?"(Page 63). The reason this quote shows why Hazel is usually quiet and independent is because she thinks she is like a grenade; any relationship she has with anyone will be destroyed when she 'blows up'. I conclude an extravagant object to symbolize Hazel would be a pineapple, or a kiwi. Now I know this is a little cheesy but take this into consideration. The reason for me delegating Hazel the symbol of these two fruits is because they both do not look attractive on the outside; a pineapple is very spiky and has hard edges and a kiwi--well no one would choose a kiwi if they didn't know how it tastes because it is covered in fur on the outside. But on the inside, both are delicious fruits that are sweet and people have discovered them to be quite tasteful too. This is like Hazel. On the outside, Hazel feels insecure. Since she has to wear tubes that go into her nose, around her ear, and attach to a cart of oxygen that she is always wheeling around, she feels like the word ,"CANCER," is written right on her forehead that makes people keep their distance from her because they think that she could be 'weird' or 'contagious', even though you can't 'catch' cancer like you can a cold. But on the inside, Hazel Grace Lancaster is a very caring, kind, and elaborate person. She can't keep anything simple; she always has to ponder on things and unnecessarily complicate things, and frankly that is what I love about her character in this book. She likes knowing people for who they are on the inside and not for what they look like on the outside. Which brings me to Augustus Waters.

Above; Hazel on the right and Gus on the left. They sense that they are left out from the world because of their disabilities.

Augustus Waters is not as independent as Hazel, the only reason for me saying so is he is so easily loved that he always is surrounded by his friends and his family, so he enjoys having the company. This I think this has taught him to be a caring and compassionate person, so the perfect symbol for Augustus is a house. A house that has the perfect landscaping and a perfect family living in it and the whole house is painted a bright, cheery color. But you never really know what is going on on the inside. The parent's might be having an argument or the kids are now being bullied by someone at school. The point is, Augustus seems like he is always putting on a happy face for everyone, because without Augustus, people wouldn't have something to cheer them up everyday. But when the doctors find more cancer in his body, it affects Augustus majorly. He can't walk or get up, and most of the time he has to stay in bed or on the couch all day having his parents do everything for him because he is too weak to get up. This is a really depressing time in his life for Augustus, but whenever Hazel comes over to visit, he pretends to be fine, or rather happy.

Overall, both Hazel and Augustus are both two way different people on the inside than on the inside, but I love them both as character's in The Fault in our Stars and I will keep you updated on what happens to them both when I finish the book.