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The main characters in this story are Hazel Lancaster, Augustus Waters, Isaac, Hazel's parents, and Augustus' parent. The two most important characters are Hazel and Augustus. Hazel is the narrator of the story, she’s had thyroid cancer for three years (“my name is Hazel. I’m sixteen. Thyroid with mets in my lungs. Im okay.” pg.11). She is pulled from school due to her illness so she gets her GED and takes classes at community college. Her parents send her to a support group where she meets Augustus. Augustus also at the support group because he has osteosarcoma cancer which causes him to lose part of his leg. Issac is a friend of Hazel and Augustus who also goes to their support group. In the beginning of the book it says that he lost an eye because of cancer(..”he had some fantastically improbable eye cancer. One eye had been cut out when he was a kid..” pg.6) , and as the story goes on he loses his other eye which is the reason for his girlfriend dumping him. Both of Hazel’s parents are really sad about the fact she has cancer but i think this has more of an affect on the father because he’s seen crying in the story multiple times. Augustus’ parents Mr. & Mrs. Waters seem to be very thankful for the support that Hazel is giving their son during his illness.
There are many symbols/themes in this story but i think the most important theme in this story is being different. I think this is the most important theme because even though the sick kids in the story are just like any other teenager who likes music, movies, etc. they are reminded constantly how different they are from their peers who aren’t sick. Their sicknesses make people feel uncomfortable which creates a distance between sick people and healthy people for example when Hazel and her friend kaitlyn are shopping Kaitlyn said that she would die if she had to walk in a pair of heels in the store. After saying this she looked like she wanted to apologize because she felt wrong for saying this because Hazel was actually dying (“then she grabbed a pair of strappy hooker shoes and said, ‘Is it even possible to walk in these? I mean, i would just die’ and then stopped short, looking at me as if to say ‘i’m sorry’, as if it were a crime to mention death to the dying. Pg.44) |