The Fault in Our Stars Essay Analysis

The Book, “The Fault in Our Stars”, by John Green uses water as a hidden symbol for good and evil. John Green uses water in a great deal of spots in the book to symbolize different feelings. It is what fills Hazel’s lungs, and is what limits her actions and almost kills her, making it evil. Water is also Augustus' last name. Augustus represents the good because he filled her life with happiness. In Hazel’s life, water is a blessing and a curse.

Water symbolizes good and evil in this story and is used in different spots in the book. In the book, she uses being hit by waves to explain how she felt like she was drowning when her lungs were filled with water, and later uses that same metaphor to describe how she felt after losing Augustus. John Green also uses water in the setting of the book, Hazel and Augustus visit Amsterdam, which is a canal city that is filled with water. In the quote, “the tiny boats, not much longer than me, half drowned in the canal”. This quote is important because it shows Hazel comparing herself to a boat which is drowning in water, which connects her to the setting of the book.

The water that fills Hazel's lungs is also important. It shows the part of the water that is evil and limits her actions. In the letter, Augustus wrote to Peter Van Houten the nurse says, "She is still taking on water,” and Augustus calls it, “A desert blessing, an ocean curse.” This is important because in the story Augustus it says it himself, water is both good and evil in this story. The desert represents Hazel’s mind, and her need to find a reason to live, and the water (Augustus) is a blessing. The ocean is her physical state and her health, and this relates to her lungs where water is a curse.

Next, there is Augustus, an import form of water in this story. In this story, Hazel meets Augustus Waters, in her cancer support group, and they instantly notice each other and change each other’s lives for the better. Augustus' last name is Waters, it doesn’t seem important at first, but in all the water references John Green makes in the story it is important. Near the end of the story while Hazel is reading the letter Augustus wrote to Peter Van Houten he says, “I like my choices. I hope She likes hers,” and Hazel says, “I do Augustus, I do.” Augustus is talking about her choice to love him, and how he didn’t regret it and hoped she didn’t even after he passed away. This is important because Hazel says that she does like her choice, because Augustus was a blessing to her, like water in a desert.

In this book water is a blessing and a curse in Hazel's life. It is obvious John Green references water a large amount of times, whether it is in the setting, or talking about Hazel’s life and the cancer water, or Augustus’ last name. Reading about water and the different metaphors it was used in, helps connect the feelings between the characters and their feelings to their surroundings. This is important because it helps give a physical connection between the two characters that isn’t just a coincidence. In this book, water gives the book more meaning, it connects everything together.