The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Ella Walsh 806

                                                            The Side Effect of Dying

         "Whenever you read a cancer booklet or website or whatever, they always list depression among the side effects of cancer. But in fact, depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of dying." -Hazel Grace Lancaster, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

         The book The Fault in Our Stars revolves around Hazel, a 16 year old girl with Stage 4 thyroid cancer and metastasis in her lungs. John Green describes Hazel's emotional problems as a result of her facing the prospect of death, rather than her actual cancer. In many ways, The Fault in Our Stars is less a cancer book and more a book about dealing with death.

          I've found that often in movies or books that discuss cancer, the cancer patient acquires a sense of higher knowledge before the time of their death. They realize the importance of life and family, and spread their intelligence to other people, a heroic final gesture to the living world. Children battling cancer are also often shown as strong and brave. But really, death is very personal. It comes with feelings of worthlessness or being targeted by the universe.

          This is exactly how dying is depicted in The Fault in Our Stars. {SPOILER} When Augustus' condition hits a critical point towards the end of the book, he becomes selfish and angry. Although Augustus was selfless and kind hearted, he lost himself in the face of death. This connects to how Augustus describes his ex-girlfriend, Caroline, who also had cancer, and how she tended to be rude and ignorant. Gus wonders if Caroline was that way because of her cancer, or because of her existing personality. I think that dealing with the possibility of your own death can change a person- for better or for worse. 

          Because of the approach that John Green took in writing "The Fault in Our Stars", it is easier for readers to connect to. Because you can read about someone with cancer and pity them, but reading about feelings that someone has of being unimportant, fearing oblivion or facing death can relate to a much larger group.