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Full Title The Fault In Our Stars
Author John Green
Type of Work Novel
Genre Young Adult
Language English
Time and Place Written 2002-2012; America and Amsterdam
Date of First Publication 2012
Publisher Dutton Books
Narrator Hazel Grace Lancaster
Point of View Hazel narrates the story in the first person, giving the reader access to her thoughts but also limiting the reader’s perspective to what she sees.
Tone The tone is generally direct, as Hazel tells her story in a straightforward manner, but is also often introspective and philosophical as Hazel considers existential questions.
Tense Past tense, with the exception of the last sentence.
Setting (Time) The year is never explicitly mentioned, but based on context clues such as physical setting and technology the story takes place presumably anytime between 2008 and 2012.
Setting (Place) Indianapolis and Amsterdam
Protagonist Hazel Grace Lancaster
Major Conflict Hazel struggles to figure out how to live her life and find meaning in it as first she and then more urgently boy she loves face terminal cancer.
Rising Action Hazel meets Augustus Waters and quickly falls in love with him as they bond and travel to Amsterdam, but soon they discover that Augustus’s cancer has returned.
Climax Hazel rushes to the gas station where Augustus, his health badly deteriorated, finds himself stuck and helpless.
Falling Action Augustus passes away, and Hazel realizes that as much as the pain of losing Augustus hurts, she still thinks the pain was worth it.
Themes The Necessity of Suffering; Fear of Oblivion; The Insensitivity of the Universe; The Realities of Terminal Cancer; The Importance of Fiction
Motifs Drowning; Metaphors; Existentialism
Symbols Water; Augustus’s cigarettes; Grenade; An Imperial Affliction
Foreshadowing Augustus begins writing to Van Houten; Augustus frequently sacrifices himself in the video games he plays; Augustus argues with his parents before leaving on the trip to Amsterdam.
