Symbols? Symbols
Transcript: John Green does a masterful job in depicting different symbols in his award winning book, The Fault in Our Stars. He uses plenty of different symbols to deliver his message to the readers. It's very amusing to see how Green comes up with various things to send out a meaningful message. The symbols that are illustrated in the book are: Augustus's cigarettes, the swing set in Hazel's yard, the book An Imperial Affliction, the stairs and the elevator, grenades, and of course, water Bibliography By: Aalap Parekh http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/the-fault-in-our-stars/themes.html http://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-fault-in-our-stars/symbols http://www.shmoop.com/fault-in-our-stars/symbolism-imagery.html http://johngreenbooks.com/questions-about-the-fault-in-our-stars-spoilers/ http://270c81.medialib.glogster.com/schwags14/media/90/903f0508947cce2e91e63a48df96a130d43f9f9b/tfios-old-swingset.png http://25.media.tumblr.com/8a36b03f821c7c8bbed99a4da25ce67e/tumblr_myrxdbMOtn1skiv52o1_500.jpg https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/c0/99/a7/c099a77317805066b8f5020b256c3d13.jpg https://awesomebooksforlife.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/amsterdam2_2516696b.jpg http://leakynews.s3.amazonaws.com/pub/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/an-imperial-affliction-close.jpg http://c3270052.r52.cf0.rackcdn.com/lido/elevator-stairs-poll-position.jpg "I didn't want to take the elevator because taking the elevator is a Last Days kind of activity" (8) The stairs represent the well and the elevator represents the sick When a person is sick, they are unable to take the stairs, so Hazel isn't ready to be considered sick Hazel will take the elevator when she is dying, meaning when she is in no shape to take the stairs. The Use of Symbolism in the Book The Swing Set Name of Character: Augustus Waters Water, in the book, represents both negative and positive symbols. The negative part is Augustus, whose last name is Waters, suffering through his disease and being in a lot pain “A desert blessing, an ocean curse.” (313) That quote talks about an ocean which is a body of water. Augustus writes that in his letter to Van Houten, describing what the nurse had told him that she was still taking water, which means taking water is a curse The positive representation is also Augustus Waters, who makes Hazel happy Him being alive is the reason Hazel being happy Amsterdam and Indianapolis, the cities the story takes place are both canal cities. Stairs and Elevator Water Symbols? Symbols “I'm a grenade and at some point I'm going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties, okay?” (99) Grenade symbolizes death and the suffering that comes before death A grenade takes a little bit of time before it explodes, just like a person suffers bit by bit before dying Hazel says that when she finally explodes (dies), the people will also be hurt (like when people get hurt when a grenade explodes "...And then there are books like An Imperial Affliction, which you can't tell people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like betrayal" (33) Hazel considers the book, An Imperial Affliction, her own bible because it is the only book about cancer she can relate to Hazel is obsessed with knowing the ending of the book and what happens to Anna's family after the death from Van Houten so she can imagine the same for her own family “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.” (20) The cigarettes represent what Augustus fears, which is cancer Cigarettes contain carcinogen, which causes cancer He is basically saying that if he does not light them, they cannot hurt him, meaning he can control the cancer from going inside his body Towards the ends of the novel, Augustus wants to buy cigarettes and he is unable to do so, symbolizing that he has lost control of his cancer ""Desperately Lonely Swing Set Needs Loving Home," he said. "Lonely, Vaguely Pedophilic Swing Set Seeks the Butts of Children," I said." (123) Hazel's swing set in her yard symbolizes her childhood in a way She is missing her childhood, where she was able to run around, have fun and not worry about illness. When Augustus came over and noticed Hazel's reaction, therefore urging her to sell it. Augustus's Cigarettes Grenades An Imperial Affliction