Ana Sofia Santander

ENG3U

Mr. Kirshner

The Pain and Suffering Theme in the Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars is a modern classic which main topic are two

teenagers who fall in love and learn to live with a terminal illness. Its serious

subject matter, the novel is also a poignant look at the human experience. One of

the main themes in The Fault in Us is the pain and suffering that people endure.

These themes are related to death, incurable diseases, and being shunned by

society. Although these themes are serious, they also provide valuable insight into

the human experience and can help readers understand their own lives better.

One of the biggest sources of pain in The Fault in Our Stars is the death of a

loved one. Hazel's best friend, Augustus, dies after a battle with lung cancer. His

death devastates everyone around him and leaves Hazel feeling numb and empty.

She feels so empty that she actually starts to forget things- like that her cancer. It's

only when she hears a boy at school saying 'Stupid old Hazel' that she realizes

what is happening to her. People are constantly reminding her that she is dying

and that she is ugly and stupid for doing it. She eventually snaps and moves out of

her house after brutally beating one of the cruel people who reminds her of her

cancer. Her suffering is so great that it ultimately causes her to hurt those around

her and lose touch with reality.

 Another source of human suffering is suffering from an incurable disease,

like cancer, which is detailed in The Fault in Our Stars. Hazel has stage four

disseminated endocrine carcinoma, or Dercocca for short, an incurable form of

cancer. Even though there is no cure for this disease, Hazel keeps fighting

because she wants to be with Augustus when he finally dies. In addition, to losing

her best friend, she also loses her reputation at school when everyone finds out

about her incurable illness. Other characters have their lives upended when they

get an incurable disease like cancer or AIDS and have to deal with the public

outcry and personal stress caused by it. This theme shows how society can be

brutally insensitive when it comes to people with incurable diseases, even though

these people have already been dealt a terrible hand already.

Another source of human pain and suffering is the experience of being

shunned from society for having a disease, like Hazel feels when she is shunned

by her ex-boyfriend for having esophageal cancer. When Augustus dies, Hazel

gets shunned by all of her friends since they know she's sick now too and has no

chance at surviving long term relationships with them. When they kill themselves,

they leave behind notes saying how they are just trying to escape their pain.

However, as tragic as these situations are, they do show how some people will

always shun those with incurable diseases since they don't want to be associated

with them anymore than necessary.

Although one of the biggest sources of human suffering is the loss of a loved

one, people can find strength by supporting and helping others in their time of

need. While dealing with the death of a loved one can be devastating, some people
find comfort from helping others who are grieving or experiencing similar loss. This

is seen through the characters of Issac and Katherine when they support each

other through their respective tragedies in The Fault in Our Stars. Issac helps his

friend cope with the loss of his fiancée when he hears about her suicide attempt

from a radio station blaring outside his car window as he drives home from work

one day. Katherine also finds strength from supporting Issac after he tells her about

his separation from his wife when he learns his wife had been cheating on him

while they were separated earlier in their marriage too.

Although cancer and other diseases are incurable, they are treatable and

sometimes can be cured, as seen in The Fault in Our Stars when Hazel gets

treatment for her esophageal cancer and it goes into remission during a surgery

later on in the book. This shows that even if you have incurable disease like cancer

or another illness like HIV/AIDS or multiple sclerosis (MS), there is still hope since

treatments have improved over time.

Despite the serious nature of The Fault in Our Stars' themes highlighted

above, this novel can also help readers understand their own lives better by

showing how different situations can cause similar levels of pain and suffering for

different people experiencing similar situations at different times in their lives. It is

important for readers to remember that every situation is unique and should be

treated accordingly based on each person's character traits, past experiences,

relationships with other characters and current situation as well as available

resources available to help them deal with their grief or other issues caused by

their loss or other situations that may be similar but not identical to theirs.