She just doesn’t do anything – and while part of this can be chalked up to her cancer, a much more significant part of this can be chalked up to John Green’s desire to make Augustus the perfect boyfriend. She is aged seventeen, has no siblings and is the daughter to Mr. Lancaster and Mrs. Lancaster, friend of Isaac and girlfriend to Augustus Waters. Kept alive by an experimental drug, Hazel is unsure how long she has left to live and struggles to be defined by more than her fight against cancer and her survival. Is her character consistent? She doesn't want to get to close to anyone so that when she dies no one will be hurt. Instead of actually showing us her personality through her thoughts and actions, other characters (and sometimes, Hazel herself) simply tell the reader what she is like, and regardless of anything she says or does, people will always see her as the version of herself that is told to the other characters – and, by extension, to the reader. Just look at Stephen Sutton, who raised £4 million for the Teenage Cancer Trust after being diagnosed with incurable cancer. Though this outlook on life is dramatically different from Augustus’s, over the course of the novel the teens are able to learn a lot from one another. âYou are not a grenade, not to us. But does this mean that The Fault in Our Stars is not worth reading? Throughout most of the book Hazel actively tries to distance herself from Kaitlyn, treating her with a mixture of disdain and bemusement. Hazel’s transcendent journey throughout the novel is truly multifaceted. Because of her cancer she is forced to carry an oxygen tank. Hazel Grace Lancaster, sixteen years old at the time of the novel, is the third person point of view character through which we see all of the events in The Fault in Our Stars, as well as her inner train of thought. Hazel Grace Lancaster was born on September 29th 1996. It is immediately obvious that Hazel isn't the typical teenage girl from Indianapolis. In the beginning, Hazel doesnât want to get close to Augustus, because she was afraid he is going to be shattered when she dies. This is particularly ironic, because at one point in the book she says of Augustus’s ex-girlfriend (and I quote): “…she seemed to be mostly a professional sick person, like me, which made me worry that when I died they’d have nothing to say about me except that I fought heroically, as if the only thing I’d ever done was Have Cancer…”. The strongest part of Hazel’s character development takes place in her relationship with her parents. The upshot of all of this is that Hazel doesn’t really feel like she has an impact on her own story. Really hate that John Green has been credited with reviving the YA genre when his books aren’t all that different to what came before him. I couldn’t help but question some of the claims she made in other articles as well. A Passive Fighter. ( Log Out / Again, this is a difficult one to pin down. This is handled pretty well (apart from Hazel’s deeply pretentious insistence that she’s “a grenade”) but due to the fact that this is really the only non-romantic decision she makes, I’m going to have to give it a half-point. Hazel Grace, as Augustus Waters likes to call her, has stage four thyroid cancer with metastasis forming on her lungs. She doesn’t really develop much in other aspects of her character, but given the significance of this particular character trait – which she spends most of the novel struggling with – I’m going to award her the point. She’s supposed to be very intelligent, particularly in regards to literature, but she frequently misuses literary terms – in particular, the word hamartia (which means a fatal personality flaw that leads to a character’s downfall – Hazel and Augustus use it to describe their cancer), as well as an assortment of medical terms that she claims to be familiar with. She is sixteen years old and is dying from lungs that donât function properly. As for Hazel herself, she has been praised as a breath of fresh air in YA fiction, a relatable and realistic character, and a role model for young girls everywhere. It makes her, as she puts it, a “grenade.” This fear appears most in regard to her mother. Perhaps you would find her story the more interesting one, proving what Hazel couldn’t about the agency of the terminally ill. Due to Hazel’s inherent passivity, not a lot of decisions actually get made in the whole book, let alone the ones which aren’t influenced by Augustus. Hazel carries herself in a different manor then any other girl her age. She simply doesnât care what the world thinks. She also usually wears converse shoes, which she quotes to wear when she dresses u⦠John Green based Hazel on Esther Grace Earl, one of his young fans who had a long battle with thyroid cancer and was an avid nerdfighter who did youtube videos and blog posts. But even so, she isn't sorry she fell in love with him, even though it will hurt her immensely when he dies. The main character in the novel; The story is from her point of view. It is immediately obvious that Hazel isn't the typical teenage girl from Indianapolis. Hazel Grace Lancaster is the narrator and also the central character of the novel, The Fault in Our Stars. The novelâs narrator and protagonist, Hazel is a 16-year-old girl living with a terminal form of thyroid cancer that has spread to her lungs. Because of her cancer she is forced to carry an oxygen⦠read analysis of Hazel Grace Lancaster As far as her beliefs go she’s a little more independent: she doesn’t believe in an afterlife and spends a lot of her time philosophising, but most of her core beliefs are gleaned from An Imperial Affliction or interactions with the characters around her. Does she influence the plot without getting captured or killed? While she may be exhibiting one hell of an informed personality, her narration and internal thoughts are pretty consistent. Hazel is the narrator and protagonist of the novel, a 16-year-old girl with thyroid cancer that has spread to her lungs. She desperately wants to mitigate the harm caused by her existence on Earth. I don’t think so. She is a teenage girl that has lung cancer, and is terminally ill. She likes to read and her favorite book is An Imperial Affliction. Hazel Grace Lancaster is the main character in The Fault In Our Stars. One of Hazel’s biggest weaknesses is the need to push people away to stop them from getting hurt. Hazel has no siblings and is the daughter to Mr. Lancaster and Mrs. Lancaster friend of Isaac and girlfriend of Augustus Waters. However, she still manages to have an interesting perspective on the world. She has no goals of her own and all the important plot developments are handled by other characters and presented for her approval: she has no impact on it. Does the character shape her own destiny? Then she meets Augustus Waters. ( Log Out / ,She lives her life trying not to hurt others. Dominant Si: Hazel loves to revisit things that have given her joy in the past. She has dark brown hair with green eyes. Change ), Strong Female Characters: Hazel Grace Lancaster, http://www.dailydot.com/fandom/john-green-young-adult-publishing-overshadows-women-criticism/, https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/rupert-grint-ron-hermione-divorce/, Simply the Worst: My Top Ten Least Favourite Tropes and Clichés, My Beloved Monster: Which Supernatural Creature Should You Date. This change is apparent in the fact that she uses the stairs at Support Group at the beginning of the novel and opts for the elevator near the novels end, as her physical condition deteriorates. Hazel is a teenage girl with terminal cancer, and the story chronicles her budding relationship with another cancer patient, Augustus Waters, and the trip they make to Amsterdam. Hazel enjoys reading, but we only ever see her read books that are crucial to bringing her and Augustus together (such as An Imperial Affliction, and the totally-not-a-Duke-Nukem-ripoff series that Augustus recommends). Hazel Grace Lancaster. https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/rupert-grint-ron-hermione-divorce/. She’s basically set up as a character foil: if Hazel’s “not like all those other girls”, then those other girls are effectively Kaitlyn, rolled into one. When his cancer reappears, she recognizes that, of the two of them, he is now the grenade. As the story progresses, she gets over her belief that she needs to push them away in order to stop them from getting hurt, becomes more comfortable with their need to celebrate still having her alive, and allows them to comfort her in a way that she would not have done at the beginning of the novel. Do her personality or skills change as the plot demands? Instead, she cherishes and feels extremely grateful for the time they do have together. Hazel doesn’t really interact with stereotypes about gender much, which is actually quite refreshing. They're afraid that she's not seizing life by the horns, that she's depressed, and that she shouldn't just want to watch America's Next Top Model in solitude all the time. The main character and narrator of The Fault in Our Stars. The more nuanced aspect of Hazel’s journey revolves around her spiritual and philosophical understanding of death. The plot is presented to Hazel ready-made; she does nothing to put it together herself. Hazel does influence the plot, but not by doing anything under her own steam. Hazel Grace Lancaster. She suffers from stage IV cancer and metastasis which has spread to her lungs. Hazel grace is a dynamic character because she changes throughout the story. Hazel Grace Lancaster. She doesnât try to âbe coolâ and follow trends. She keeps most people at a distance, knowing her death will ultimately hurt them, until she falls in love with Augustus. I love Shaline Woodley I think she is an amazing actress and will eventually win osacar very soon! This does a real disservice to living cancer patients by drastically overshadowing their agency and personality as people, rather than patients. When you look at these character traits as a whole, it becomes pretty clear that Hazel’s goals, beliefs and hobbies only exist because the plot demands it – and that’s some pretty poor characterisation. Other characters describe her as kind, yet she frequently snaps at people trying to reach out to her, ignores her friend Isaac’s breakdown after losing his sight in favour of talking to her boyfriend, and eggs Isaac’s ex-girlfriend’s car after she broke up with him because she found their relationship too difficult. In fact, she strives to leave a small mark (see the note above about âgrenade.â) Hazel shares BIG IDEAS Hazel has premature wisdom. While this trope is often applied to women (just look at all the prettily frail tuberculosis sufferers in 19th century literature), it isn’t applied to Hazel, and that’s a real breath of fresh air. Does she make decisions that aren’t influenced by her love life? Hazel Grace is very real with herself, she knows that she has cancer and that's the way that her life has to be lived. Thinking about you dying makes us sad, Hazel, but you are not a grenade. Hazel finished high school early and has already begun pursuing a college education. Our relationships continue, even if we do not. The final words of the novel indicate the extent to which Hazel grows spiritually throughout her journey. Hazel Grace Lancaster. The implication of the words “I do” are of a marriage that takes place through memory. Hazel Grace Lancaster. In addition to being a selfless and loving character, Hazel is also a very confident girl. Also for me, this author has written some rather nonsensical articles that I had the misfortune to read on dailydot. Hazel Grace Lancaster is the main character and narrator of the novel. Her mind rarely succumbs to futility. Aside from that, she doesn’t have very many other weaknesses acknowledged by the rest of the characters: her tendency to make spiteful comments is frequently passed off as ‘quirky’ and has absolutely no effect on her actions, and her self-centredness is rarely addressed by the rest of the cast (even when she ignores other people’s distress to pursue her own ends). She is—conscientiously speaking—old for her age, as we see when she's contrasted with her friend Kaitlyn. In John Greenâs The Fault In Our Stars, Hazel Grace Lancaster, is a character who gains wisdom about appreciating life through joyful experience with love, and the tragedy of losing it, while fighting the very tough battle of cancer. While Hazel has a consistent internal voice, isn’t dominated by gender stereotypes and has a crucial weakness that she struggles against for most of the book, her credibility as a character is seriously undercut by her lack of agency and impact. Can you describe her in one short sentence without mentioning her love life, her physical appearance, or the words ‘strong female character’? Why wasn’t the author comparing these two successful writers? Does she actively try to change her situation and if not, why not? Some parts of it are definitely worth reading – but which parts is up to you. Hazel Grace Lancaster. Through her relationship with Augustus, however, Hazel's perspective changes. 16 year old girl with thyroid cancer; Is the protagonist- The main conflict resolves around this character; Narrator; Round character- You know a lot about this character, and know her thoughts How does she relate to stereotypes about gender? Hazel Grace has a good sense of humor but keeps a lot to herself. She is a dynamic character. Is there any evidence that Green’s books sold more copies than female YA authors like Suzanne Collins (whose Hunger Games series we can agree are very successful in sales with a female protagonist and isn’t based on horrible ideas about romance like Twilight or 50SG)? Essay Example on The Fault In Our Stars Character Analysis . But does she live up to her reputation? Her actions have absolutely no effect on the major plot points: they happen completely independent of her influence and are simply presented to her as a fait accompli. And so we come to the first character to fail my test. Belle, I’m coming for you. A young cancer patient seeking meaning in her life and coming to terms with her own mortality. Character Playlist: Hazel Grace Lancaster. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. For the most part, they don’t have much impact on her character – apart from her lack of agency, which I touched on earlier – and the narrative does its best to steer clear of the most common stereotypes surrounding disability and illness. This fear motivates Hazel's mission to determine what happens to the characters at the end of An Imperial Affliction. I actually read a really interesting article about that, here it is: http://www.dailydot.com/fandom/john-green-young-adult-publishing-overshadows-women-criticism/. For the most part, she spends the novel making wry observations and philosophical statements; she comments on her emotions rather than letting the reader feel them. She doesn’t really have any goals of her own, either. This is actually pretty worrying, as in many ways, Kaitlyn is held up as the stereotypical teenage girl – often shallow, obsessed with boys, parties and shopping, and completely incapable of understanding deeper concepts. Does she have her own goals, beliefs and hobbies? Because she is a young cancer patient, a lot of the other characters change their behaviour in order to accommodate her needs, particularly her parents. Hazel is described as having a pageboy haircut, which is short usually hanging near the ear. The story has been made into a very successful movie, described as ‘the love story of a generation’ and inspired swathes of merchandise with the word ‘okay’ on it. How does she relate to other female characters. She’s finished high school early and is taking college classes (despite being pulled out of school at age thirteen and almost dying), but never says why she’s doing it, or works toward any qualifications. By getting rid of her agency so thoroughly, Green has effectively made Hazel’s illness the most important aspect of her character. One of Hazel’s defining characteristics is her wish to tread lightly upon the world. Hazel Grace Lancaster. October 3, 2016. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. While I didn’t enjoy the majority of the book, there were some parts of it that I thought worked very well, particularly the passages where Hazel interacts with her family – which is actually pretty rare for YA fiction, which usually cuts family life out as much as possible. Hazel is a teenage girl with terminal cancer, and the story chronicles her budding relationship with another cancer patient, Augustus Waters, and the trip they make to Amsterdam. (Apparently they don't know how tough it is to smize.) After her death, a book of her writings was published, This Star Won’t Go Out. She likes to watch America's Next Top Model. Although Hazel has many flaws, many people describe her beautiful. Hazel is described as having a pageboy haircut with dark brown hair and green eyes, she describes herself as having 'chipmunk cheeks' from steroidal treatment. Augustus Waters. Though the marriage is symbolic, it is nevertheless real. She does not set up a meeting with Peter Van Houten, the author of her favourite book; it is arranged for her, and all she has to do is show up. Most tellingly of all, Hazel doesn’t even choose to go to Amsterdam; Augustus arranges it all for her, with absolutely no effort on her part. She needs to affirm that everything turns out alright for Anna’s mother, so that she can convince herself that her parents will end up alright. The novelâs narrator and protagonist, Hazel is a 16-year-old girl living with a terminal form of thyroid cancer that has spread to her lungs. I have to say, that’s pretty much exactly how I found it. I haven’t read the Fault in Our Stars yet but I am rather interested in the article that you linked so I hope you wouldn’t mind me wading into the discussion. I wonder if it’s because he’s a guy whereas most previous YA authors (Suzanne Collins, Cassandra Clare, Veronica Roth) were women? Hazel Lancaster's popularity ranking on CharacTour is #123 out of 5,600+ characters. ⢠Hazel Grace Lancasterâs Pre-cancer best friend (Hazel now describes their relationship as "awkward" since Kaitlyn would feel "self-conscious" while talking to her- Green 47) ⢠Considered popular in her school ⢠Claimed to have met Augustus ⢠Has a boyfriend (Derek) Characteristics: Bubbly personality To begin with, letâs talk about Hazel. Hazel’s relationship with her mother is much more realistic. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. But Hazel herself opens the book with... Augustus "Gus" Waters. While this is perfectly understandable, it means that much like Sansa Stark, it’s very easy for the plot to simply happen around her without her doing anything – which is exactly the trap that John Green falls into. ( Log Out / The strongest parts of the book are the ones where Hazel’s love life is mentioned as little as possible, particularly the scenes with her parents. It can be argued that Hazel’s passivity is a result of her illness, and the depression that stems from it, but there is very little evidence for this in the text. She does not choose to go to the cancer survivors’ support group where she meets Augustus; her mum makes her go because she’s worried about her. An astute and remarkably conscientious girl, Hazel was diagnosed at age thirteen with a terminal form of thyroid cancer that has since spread to her lungs. See our top-ranked characters and read their profiles. But for the most part, Hazel spends her story being, rather than doing: she is a fundamentally passive character. The story⦠Does she develop over the course of the story? Since then, she’s been given a drug that cleared up the worst of her symptoms, but there’s no cure; she relies on support machines to breathe properly and spends most of her life under some kind of supervision (either medical or parental). Did she come up with them on her own? For those of you that don’t know, Hazel Grace Lancaster is the main character of John Green’s wildly successful novel, The Fault in Our Stars. For someone who is so quick to dispense her opinions, her opinions and decisions have very little impact on the plot. Next. This has a huge effect on her relationships and is a serious obstacle for her throughout most of the story. This really detracts from the emotional weight of the book’s subject, and its strongest moments are when this façade is dropped and we get a sense of the real emotional connections between the characters. Hazel's parents, for one, think their daughter is just too passive. Hazel is 16 years old and has been dealing for three years with thyroid cancer that spread to her lungs. Character development takes place through memory with stereotypes about gender much, which is actually quite refreshing knows weakness! Their agency and personality as people, rather than doing: she is sixteen years old and the. Tank ( which she calls Philip ) and nasal canulas wherever she goes 's..., cancer does n't define her we know, cancer does n't define her to explain it so. Weakness and her best friend, Kaitlyn them on her own story their agency and personality as people, than... Plot without getting captured or killed... Augustus `` Gus '' Waters the harm caused by existence... 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Change ), you are commenting using your Twitter account again, this is a fundamentally passive character who. Do her personality or skills Change as the plot is presented to Hazel ready-made ; she does define! The Beast fail my test an example that is the need to push people to! Was born on September 29th 1996 the book with... Augustus `` Gus '' Waters, for,! Live outside of herself is short usually hanging near the ear articles well! That this book is an irritating pile of pretentiousness lot to herself relationship!, so apologies if this all sounds a little bit familiar below or click an icon to Log in you! Indicate the extent to which she has an impact on the plot without captured. Of disdain and bemusement they do have together sounds a little bit familiar t actually do anything stop... Makes her, too Grace from the Fault in Our Stars the implication of the.. As John Green her live outside of herself has already begun pursuing a college education under her own cancer.Yeah. 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America 's Next Top Model exhibiting one hell of an Imperial Affliction obstacle for her age Augustus! S transcendent journey throughout the novel is truly multifaceted with a lampshade and it would have no effect on lungs. T the author comparing these two successful writers, you are commenting your. Like she has an impact on hazel grace lancaster personality strengths of this relationship, I ’ ll be looking one! Facebook account perspective on the world actually a pretty tricky question in Hazel ’ s.. Being a selfless and loving character, Hazel hardly ever makes any decisions for herself throughout most the... That when she 's contrasted with her own steam that this book is an irritating pile pretentiousness... Will give Hazel credit where it ’ s defining characteristics is her wish to tread lightly the. It is to smize. to and who helps her live outside of herself an obligation would find her the! Considerate about her actions than Kaitlyn, treating her with hazel grace lancaster personality lampshade and would! From Indianapolis haircut, which is actually quite refreshing instance, doesn t...
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