The Stars
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / but in ourselves, that we are underlings."
-- William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar (Act 1, scene 2)
The title for The Fault in Our Stars comes from the quote above. Back in the time of Julius Caesar, astrology was very common. Many people believed that their lives were written in the stars. Therefore, in the quote above, Caesar is telling Brutus that it is not fate that caused bad things happen to them, but their own actions and choices and the consequences that came with them.
However, John Green disagrees with this to some degree through the title. Hazel and Augustus did nothing to deserve cancer and, in Gus's case, dying young. There is no way to escape the fate that awaits them, no matter how hard they try. Yet, he claims through his novel that despite the fact that the stars were playing against them, they could still make the most of their life and live it to the fullest while they can.
However, John Green disagrees with this to some degree through the title. Hazel and Augustus did nothing to deserve cancer and, in Gus's case, dying young. There is no way to escape the fate that awaits them, no matter how hard they try. Yet, he claims through his novel that despite the fact that the stars were playing against them, they could still make the most of their life and live it to the fullest while they can.
The Symbols
There were several major symbols found in The Fault in Our Stars:
CIGARETTES: This symbol basically explained itself in the novel, "'They don't kill you if you don't light them,' he said as Mom arrived at the curb. '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 its killing' (20). Augustus almost always has a cigarette in his mouth throughout the novel, but he never lights them. He likes the idea of having control over something that has the potential of killing him, especially since he does not have the power to control his cancer. The fact that cigarettes also are a known cause for causing lung cancer, it gives him a way to finally stand up to cancer in a way.
ELEVATOR: The elevator in the church has an elevator that can be used to go to the basement of the church, where the support group meets. However, Hazel doesn't take the elevator, even though taking the stairs is hard on her lungs, "because taking the elevator is a Last Day kind of activity at Support Group" (8). The support group meets at the "Heart of Jesus"- the exact center of the cross-shaped church where Jesus' heart would have been when he died on the cross- as if that is where Jesus is. The elevator to the heart of Jesus is like the stairway to heaven, so those who are close to death take the elevator, "He'd always had leukemia. He was okay. (Or so he said. He'd taken the elevator.)" (11). Even in real life, the sicker take the elevator and the healthier took the stairs. In the end of the novel, Hazel started taking the elevator.
ENCOURAGEMENTS: Around the Waters' home, Mr. and Mrs. Waters decorated the house with "Encouragements", or little sayings of comfort. Throughout the novel, both Hazel and Augustus make fun of them, because they did not find any comfort in them since they knew they couldn't escape the inevitable: death. Later, they realize that the Encouragements were actually for comforting Augustus's parents, and after Gus dies, Hazel quotes several of them at the funeral, knowing that everyone copes differently.
AMSTERDAM: Amsterdam is known as "the drowning city". In a way, Hazel is also "drowning", due to the water that is in her lungs.
AUGUSTUS: Augustus was the name of the first Roman emperor. Augustus was nicknamed Gus, which is a more childish name.
SWING SET: The swing set in Hazel's backyard is a symbol for childhood, and how Hazel is trying to get back her childhood years. Augustus helps her get rid of it and she sees that she can only move forward.
ISAAC: In the Bible, Isaac goes blind. In The Fault in Our Stars, Isaac also goes blind.
THE ENDING: John Green stated, "Comedies end in marriage and tragedies end in death- so I wanted to do both." The last line of the book symbolizes marriage.
CIGARETTES: This symbol basically explained itself in the novel, "'They don't kill you if you don't light them,' he said as Mom arrived at the curb. '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 its killing' (20). Augustus almost always has a cigarette in his mouth throughout the novel, but he never lights them. He likes the idea of having control over something that has the potential of killing him, especially since he does not have the power to control his cancer. The fact that cigarettes also are a known cause for causing lung cancer, it gives him a way to finally stand up to cancer in a way.
ELEVATOR: The elevator in the church has an elevator that can be used to go to the basement of the church, where the support group meets. However, Hazel doesn't take the elevator, even though taking the stairs is hard on her lungs, "because taking the elevator is a Last Day kind of activity at Support Group" (8). The support group meets at the "Heart of Jesus"- the exact center of the cross-shaped church where Jesus' heart would have been when he died on the cross- as if that is where Jesus is. The elevator to the heart of Jesus is like the stairway to heaven, so those who are close to death take the elevator, "He'd always had leukemia. He was okay. (Or so he said. He'd taken the elevator.)" (11). Even in real life, the sicker take the elevator and the healthier took the stairs. In the end of the novel, Hazel started taking the elevator.
ENCOURAGEMENTS: Around the Waters' home, Mr. and Mrs. Waters decorated the house with "Encouragements", or little sayings of comfort. Throughout the novel, both Hazel and Augustus make fun of them, because they did not find any comfort in them since they knew they couldn't escape the inevitable: death. Later, they realize that the Encouragements were actually for comforting Augustus's parents, and after Gus dies, Hazel quotes several of them at the funeral, knowing that everyone copes differently.
AMSTERDAM: Amsterdam is known as "the drowning city". In a way, Hazel is also "drowning", due to the water that is in her lungs.
AUGUSTUS: Augustus was the name of the first Roman emperor. Augustus was nicknamed Gus, which is a more childish name.
SWING SET: The swing set in Hazel's backyard is a symbol for childhood, and how Hazel is trying to get back her childhood years. Augustus helps her get rid of it and she sees that she can only move forward.
ISAAC: In the Bible, Isaac goes blind. In The Fault in Our Stars, Isaac also goes blind.
THE ENDING: John Green stated, "Comedies end in marriage and tragedies end in death- so I wanted to do both." The last line of the book symbolizes marriage.
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