Characters
This person suffers from a terminal form of thyroid cancer...
Hazel is obsessed with this book and shares it with Augustus. What is it's title?
What is An Imperial Affliction?
This character needed to do something for her/himself, and ended up at a gas station in the middle of the night with an infection.
Who is Gus?
Augustus "uses" this item when he feels like he is losing control...
What is his cigarette? During the plane's take off, Augustus felt nervous and wanted to "use" his cigarette, but the flight attendant stopped him. At the end (when he was really sick and losing himself), he wanted to drive himself to the story to buy a new pack, but he wasn't able to.
“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.”
Who is Augustus Waters?
What is Gus's biggest fear?
a) death b) oblivion c) not leaving a mark in the world d) not falling in love
What is oblivion? Augustus says that he fears oblivion during the weekly Support Group; Hazel reacts by discussing how oblivion is inevitable, so he might as well ignore it like everyone else does.
Hazel begins to feel a sharp pain (it worsens over time) and she worries that her cancer is back; she is brought to the hospital and the doctors treat her for this ailment... (what is wrong with her?)
What is fluid in her lungs?
Why has Hazel’s mother secretly been taking classes for the last year?
a) to get her real-estate license b) to become a nurse c) to get her masters in existential philosophy d) to become a social worker
What is to become a social worker? Hazel's mom had been taking classes in secret to become a social worker to council families in crisis or lead groups dealing with illness in their families. Hazel was extremely happy and figured that she would become a Patrick!
What is the climax or turning point of this novel?
When Hazel climbs all of the stairs at the Ann Frank House and she and Gus finally kiss; at this moment, her walls break down; she allows herself to love Gus and allows Gus to love her.
"Hazel is different. She walks lightly, old man. She walks lightly upon the earth. Hazel knows the truth: We’re as likely to hurt the universe as we are to help it, and we’re not likely to do either. People will say it’s sad that she leaves a lesser scar, that fewer remember her, that she was loved deeply but not widely. But it’s not sad, Van Houten. It’s triumphant. It’s heroic. Isn’t that the real heroism? Like the doctors say: First, do no harm."
Who is Augustus Waters?
This person loses his girlfriend (Monica), as he battles retinoblastoma, and breaks trophies as a way to manage his pain.
Who is Isaac?
Where did Hazel and Gus share their first kiss?
a) in Gus's car b) in the hospital c) in the park d) in Anne Frank's house
What is in Anne Frank's house? You would think that the people would be angry at the couple of hormonal teen's making out in the middle of a video presentation talking about when Anne Frank was abducted. Instead they got a round of applause.
This character's back story includes a daughter who dies of cancer at the age of eight years old.
Who is Peter Van Houten.
What is Hazel and Augustus' hamartia (fatal flaw)?
What is cancer.
"Living Our Best Life Today"
Who is members of Support Group?
When reflecting on basketball and the meaning behind it, Gus has one of these before losing his leg.
What is an existential crisis?
This character reflects on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and see that it is in fact a load of garbage as Gus is dying and able to have deep, self-actualizing thoughts.
Who is Hazel?
This person consistently supports Hazel and wants her to live her life as unaffected by cancer as possible; however, he struggles with the fact that she will die (often crying and losing control of his emotions).
What is Mr. Lancaster? (Hazel's dad)
This item signifies death and the suffering a person's death causes to those close to them.
What is grenade? Hazel uses the term to describe herself after she reads Caroline Mathers's online profile and sees the effect Caroline's death had on others. She likens herself to a grenade that will one day explode, injuring everyone nearby. But it's also worth noting that the grenade also turns up in the video game Augustus plays with Isaac. In the game, Augustus heroically throws himself on a grenade to save nearby school children in the game.
“According to the conventions of the genre, Augustus Waters kept his sense of humor till the end, did not for a moment waiver in his courage, and his spirit soared like an indomitable eagle until the world itself could not contain his joyous soul. But this was the truth, a pitiful boy who desperately wanted not to be pitiful, screaming and crying, poisoned by an infected G-tube that kept him alive, but not alive enough.”
Who is Hazel Grace?
What was the last thing Augustus did for Hazel before he died?
a) wrote her a poem b) wrote her a eulogy c) made her a bracelet d) wrote her a song
What is wrote her a eulogy? Before he died, he emailed VanHouten asking him to write her a eulogy. In it he described his affection of hazel and how spectacular she was. (His words were more in depth and poetic, but I'm not as good of a writer.)
Augustus, Hazel, and Isaac hold this in the literal heart of Jesus shortly before Augustus dies...
What is a "Pre-Funeral?" Augustus wants to hear what Isaac and Hazel are going to say about him during his real funeral.
Augustus states that Hazel is heroic... and that she leaves a "lesser scar" then others. What does he mean by this?
What is Hazel is selfless, kind, and brave? Throughout the story, Hazel strives to avoid hurting the people she loves and she constantly supports those who are suffering.
This item becomes a symbol that demonstrates the suffering Hazel experiences through out the novel.
What is water? Her cancer has caused her lungs to collect fluid and also forces her to carry an oxygen tank. At one point, the fluid in her lungs almost kills her, placing her in ICU and almost preventing her trip to Amsterdam with Augustus. Several times in the novel, she explains her experience of having cancer to drowning. When Augustus dies, Hazel again describes the feeling of losing him in terms of being smashed by waves, but unable to drown.
“I regret that I cannot indulge your childish whims, but I refuse to pity you in the manner to which you are well accustomed.”
Who is Peter VanHouten?