Here is a detailed example from Fall 2018:


The Fault in Our Stars takes the reader on an emotional journey through two cancer patients meeting and falling for each other, in what we learn to be one of their's last days. We meet Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters, the two of them meet in a cancer support group, but their story grows from there. Hazel was diagnoses with Stage 4 Thyroid cancer with metastasis forming in her lungs, which she has been able to live with thanks to an experimental cancer drug. Augustus is also living with cancer, specifically Osteosarcoma. Throughout the novel these two characters go on a journey of growth and change after meeting one another. I chose to focus on Hazel's heroine's quest throughout the book.

The Ordinary World step allows the reader to get to know the hero/heroine, Hazel, and be able to identify with her before her journey begins. The reader will experience the journey through Hazel's eyes, so the audience must be able to related to her. Hazel was diagnosed with cancer at the age of thirteen, she had already had a run in with death when she was fourteen, her lungs began to fill with water and she was rushed to the hospital.  But was saved by an experimental cancer drug, "Phalanxifor," which shrunk the tumors,  giving her another chance at life (25). Living with cancer is her new "normal" life, instead of attending high school she finished early and now takes college courses at MCC, their community college. Since she had been diagnosed with cancer, Hazel now spends most of her time avoiding people and reading. Her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, is a book she was able to really connect with the main character who also battles cancer. She says, "it was just that the author, Peter Van Houten, seemed to understand me in weird and impossible ways" (34). Hazel's mother wants her to socialize more, so she attends a cancer support group. In the very beginning of the book we learn about Hazel, her cancer story and her life now, living with cancer and not wanting to be defined by her illness.

The Call to Adventure sets the story in motion by disrupting the hero's/heroine's ordinary world, presenting a challenge or quest. Hazel was okay with her everyday life, she had gotten used to her normal routine and living with her illness. She attends the cancer support groups where she ends up meeting Augustus Waters. Augustus is quickly attracted to her from the first time he saw her in the support group. Hazel asks Augustus why he keeps looking at her and he responds with, "because you're beautiful. I enjoy looking at beautiful people, and I decided a while ago not to deny myself of the simple pleasures of existence" (16). Hazel is not used to having anyone notice her or even want to get to know her in the way Augustus would like to. He wants to get to know Hazel, and asks her to come over to his house and watch V for Vendetta with him because he told her that she looks like the main character from the movie. Hazel is shocked and almost does not know what to do with herself, this is all so new to her. She says to Augustus after the cigarette metaphor is brought up outside of the church, "the whole thing where a boy is not unattractive or unintelligent or seemingly in any way unacceptable stares at me and points out incorrect uses of literality and compares me to actresses and asks me to watch a movie at his house" (19). This is an entirely new experience for Hazel, this is her call to action. She is given the choice to either stick to her normal everyday life or take a leap and start to hangout with Augustus and get to know him.

The Refusal of the Call is where the hero/heroine refuses the journey due to fears and insecurities that have come up due to the cal to adventure. The heroine is not willing to make any changes to their norm. Hazel is very hesitant to try something new and be friends with Augustus and hangout with him. With much hesitation Hazel agrees to go over to Augustus's  house where the two of them watch a movie and begin to get to know each other. Near the end of their visit, they begin talking about each other's favorite books, of course Hazel's is, An Imperial Affliction and Augustus's is The Prince of Dawn. The two of them trade books, for the other to read. Augustus is very eager to see Hazel again, while Hazel is a little stand-offish. Hazel says to Augustus "How about I call you when I finish this?", which I believe is her not only giving herself time to read the book but to also question what she has gotten herself into (37). This is all so new to her, I do not think she ever would have expected to meet a cute boy that is interested in her in the cancer support group.

Meeting the Mentor, is when the hero/heroine meets with someone to gain confidence, insight, and advice to overcome their fears. In Hazel's case this is when she is hesitant to continue to hangout with Augustus.  This is a new and frightening experience for Hazel since she is not used to any of it after battling and now living with cancer. She looks to her mother for advice on whether or not she should continue to hangout with Augustus. Her mother has been wanting her to get out of her comfort zone and be more social, so the opportunity for her to do so with Augustus is something her mother thinks she should continue to do. Even though Hazel reminds herself and the people that are around her that her time left may be short she should cherish the time she has left and hangout with Augustus even though it is frightening to her. It does not hurt to get out of your comfort zone at times, and Augustus helps Hazel to do so even though she had been very hesitant.

Crossing the Threshold, this is where the hero/heroine has committed to the journey and is prepared for what comes next. Hazel finally admits that she has feelings for Augustus, this is where she has opened up a whole new world for herself. She is letting go of her insecurities and admits her feelings even though it may be scary. After admitting her true feelings she can now leave her lonely and depressing life and experience life with Augustus. She is now open to new and exciting things that she can experience with Augustus by her side. Hazel is not letting her cancer define her anymore, her and Augustus are open to do anything they may want to. 

Tests, Allies, Enemies are things the hero/heroine may encounter now that they have accepted their journey. For Hazel these are her own personal challenges that she must overcome now that she has embarked on her journey. She often refers to herself as a "grenade" where one day she will explode and hurt everyone nearby. Hazel has struggled her entire life with this fear of hurting the people she cares the most about. Not only does she fear hurting her parents but now she fears hurting Augustus when she dies. She has to learn how to deal with living with cancer and knowing she may die but to also live in the moment and experience all that she can with the time she has. After her being closed off for so long and not wanting to make new friends she overcomes her fears and is able to have a fresh start with Augustus, even though their time is limited.

Approach to the Inmost Cave, I related this part of the hero's/heroine's journey to Hazel and Augustus's trip to Amsterdam. Hazel had been so back and forth about this trip and her health was a major concern. The trip to Amsterdam almost did not happen because she had ended up back in the hospital, but things were looking up and they were able to go. A lot of big things happened over the course of this trip. Hazel put her fears aside and her and Augustus grew so much closer together because of it. He confessed that he is in love with her, and even though she was hesitant, we know that the feelings are mutual between the two of them. Together they meet Hazel's favorite author, Peter Van Houten, even though that experience was not what she had hoped for, Augustus made it all happen for her. Hazel has finally set aside her fears and insecurities and is living in the moment and able to experience so much more now that she had stepped out of her comfort zone.

The Ordeal, this is when the hero/heroine faces their worst fear. Near the end of Hazel and Augustus's trip to Amsterdam, Augustus tells Hazel that just before the trip he had a PET scan, and the results were not good. His cancer was back, and he had fought his parents to go to Amsterdam with Hazel even though he was missing treatments. Hazel keeps saying how none of this is fair and he replies with, " the world, is not a wish-granting factory" (214). Hazel deals with the grief of knowing that her boyfriend is going to die soon. She is completely heartbroken because of this, she had referring to herself as the "grenade" but sadly she is going to outlive her boyfriend. They arrange a pre-funeral so that Augustus is able to hear what his friends have written for him. I believe her greatest fear was being the "grenade" that hurts everyone around her and her second greatest fear is losing Augustus.

Reward, is where the hero/heroine has survived their greatest fear. I had a hard time answering this part of the journey because I did not see how there was much reward in Hazel loosing Augustus so soon. But, she overcame her greatest fear, she was not the "grenade." Sadly, Augustus became the "grenade" that hurt everyone around him. Hazel is struck with so much grief, and just wants to pick up her phone an call him, but she knows she cannot. She struggles with accepting that he is really gone.

The Road Back, I believe this is where Hazel had to deal with and accept all of her grief. She had to finally accept that Augustus, her one true love that brought her so much happiness was gone. This is where she picks herself up from all of the grief and moves forward with her life, but never forgets Augustus.

The Resurrection, can represent a "cleansing" that must occur for the hero/heroine. I related this to Peter Van Houten coming to Augustus's funeral. With him, he brings a letter that Augustus had written and sent to Van Houten before he died. Even though he is gone, this is something that Hazel gets to keep of Augustus and can cherish forever. She is able to keep the kind thoughts from Augustus close to her even though he is gone. The letter offers Hazel closure and helps her to move on.

The Return. Hazel never moves on from Augustus and their great love story, but she is able to come to terms with his death. She is a new person after falling in love with Augustus and even though she lost her love, it still lives on and she can hold on to the memories they shared. Her life will not be the same as it was before she met Augustus. He changed her, she can now live a fuller life because of it.

The Fault in Our Stars tells of a great love story between two cancer patients that meet at a support group. Hazel and Augustus bring out the best in each other and transform each other into better people. Hazel goes on a very emotional journey throughout this book. She experiences love and loss, but has a whole new outlook on life because of it.




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From Brelynn:


This essay will discuss the heroine quest that Hazel Grace endures throughout the novel The Fault In Our Stars, written by John Greene.  At the beginning of the novel Hazel’s ordinary world is staying home, being sick, and trying to ignore the rest of the world.  The Support Group is where she gets her first Call to Adventure from Augustus Waters.  The Support Group “featured a rotating cast of characters in various states of tumor-driven unwellness” as described by Hazel (4).  The first time Hazel meets Augustus she shows her first signs of life, “look, let me just say it: He was hot” (9).  So far Hazel had shown no interest or care for practically anything, but Augustus changed that.

Augustus was Hazel’s Mentor/Threshold Guardian because he taught her things about herself and tested the way she thought about the world.  A pivotal moment for Hazel was when she realized she had become a person that relates her life to only her disease.  Augustus asks Hazel her story and she begins, “I already told you my story.  I was diagnosed when—” (32).  Gus is completely appalled and Hazel is stumped because people only seem interested in her cancer story but not her own.  Augustus is also her Threshold Guardian because befriending him was Crossing the Threshold.  Hazel pushed everyone away because there was no getting better for her, and she knew the pain her death would cause.

There are many Tests along Hazel’s heroine quest and most often ones no person should have, but she gains Allies along the way.  Isaac becomes an important friend for Hazel and it really isn’t until later that we can truly recognize his worth to Hazel.  The understanding that they share in their illnesses creates a kind of friendship unlike many others.  They have a hilarious moment in the hospital where they list “Qualities of a Good Nurse” after Isaac loses his eye, that other teenagers would never be able to understand (75).  Hazel doesn’t have many Enemies besides her illness and herself.  After Augustus planned the trip for them to The Netherlands for Hazel to meet Peter Van Houten her first Test began.  Hazel had started retaining fluid in her lungs and was hospitalized again.  She would have to get the fluid drained every now and again, her mother said it perfectly “it’s a thing we can live with” (107).  One more thing she would have to endure with her limited time on this earth.

The Approach to the Inmost Cave was the trip to Amsterdam, where there would be more tests.  The meeting with Peter Van Houten, who I would consider to be the Herald/ Shapeshifter/ Trickster in our story, did not go well.  Hazel had idolized Peter Van Houten and his novel had changed her life but when she finally met him he was cruel.  He said, “like all sick children…you say you don’t want pity, but your very existence depends upon it” (192).  Although that meeting crushed Hazel it gave her the courage to love Augustus the way she had wanted to the whole time.  She found apart of herself, “for a weird moment I really liked my body; this cancer-ruined thing I’d spent years dragging around suddenly seemed worth the struggle” (203).  It all seemed to come together until Augustus told her about his PET scan, “I lit up like a Christmas tree, Hazel Grace.  The lining of my chest, my left hip, my liver, everywhere” (214).  It all came crashing down at that moment, everything that Hazel was afraid of making Augustus go through for her, she was about to go through for him.

Augustus’s steep decline in health and finally his death was Hazel’s Ordeal.  After their return from Amsterdam everything moved quickly.  Augustus lost all sense of himself and blindly hung onto his obsession to be remembered.  A final moment he truly needed was when Hazel was honest with him, “you say you’re not special because the world doesn’t know about you, but that’s an insult to me.  I know about you” (240).  That moment changed Augustus and he made it up to Hazel in the end.  Hazel explains her pain after Gus’ passing, “The pleasure of remembering had been taken from me, because there was no longer anyone to remember with” (262).  Hazel’s Reward was the love that Augustus gave her, it changed her and she accepted her life differently.

The Road Back was Hazel’s search for Augustus’ final letter to Peter Van Houten.  It was the last thing he left behind and in her search for it she found other things.  The Allies that she had gained before came back.  The old Hazel might’ve stayed home and never came out, but the new Hazel went to see Isaac.  Those moments she got playing that silly game and remembering Augustus were precious, because she had someone to remember him with.  Hazel made peace with her illness and with her parents after learning her mother was going to school.  The Resurrection and the Return with the Elixir was the final letter from Augustus.  His last words about his love…their love gave Hazel her closure.  “You don’t get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have some say in who hurts you.  I like my choices.  I hope she likes hers” (313).


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Brandie looked at Hazel in the role of the hero. Let’s look at her detailed analysis below:

 

Stage 1- Ordinary World: Hazel Grace the first character introduced to us. Well, she isn’t actually introduced, but she is the first character we meet. When we meet Hazel, the very first thing she says is, “Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided that I was depressed. Presumably because I rarely left the house, spent a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently and quite a bit of my abundant free time thinking about death” (3). The audience (which is probably mostly teenage girls), can relate to this. Even though we do not yet know why Hazel is “depressed”, I think  a lot of teenaged girls would admit to also showing signs of depression or feeling depressed during that time in life. Being a teenage girl is hard, there are suffocating expectations set by society, and a lot of girls fall because of it.

            In the following paragraph, we learn that Hazel has cancer, and that is what has dampened her presence. This too, is relatable because even though its safe to say a majority of the audience has not experienced what it is like to have cancer, most have probably known or seen someone close to them go through it.

 

Stage 2: Call to Adventure: In the following introductory pages, Hazel is pressured into going to a support group that she hates, but goes to anyways to appease her parents. On an ordinary Wednesday support group meeting in “The heart of Jesus”, Hazel makes the acquaintance of Augustus Waters. Maybe support group isn’t so bad after all, as Hazel continuously notices that Augustus is starting at her throughout the entire meeting. Hazel mentions feeling “blushy”, and I think deep down inside she knows that there are sparks between her and Augustus just waiting to be ignited- but at the same time she is in disbelief that a hot boy might actually be looking at her.

 

Stage 3: Refusal of the Call: After the ending of support group, when Augustus catches up to talk to Hazel, and she asks him why he keeps staring at her. “Because you’re beautiful” (16). He responds. Instantly Hazel is feeling nervous. When Augustus later brings up a movie that Hazel Grace reminds him of, he says “You should see it…No. With me. At my house. Now” (17). Hazel quickly responses with “I hardly know you, Augustus Waters. You could be an ax murderer” (17). Hazel is initially hesitant about Augustus’ offer, however her uncertainty does not last long.

 

Stage 4:Meeting with the Mentor: I think that the mentor in Hazel Grace’s case is Augustus. Through him, she learns about what it’s like not only to finally be in love, but also see what it's like to be a cancer survivor. Through his own fear of oblivion, Augustus teaches Hazel what its like to live an extraordinary life, even if it’s only for a fraction of the time that most people get to live. Whether he realizes it or not, he also teaches Hazel about pain. Not just the physical pain you feel from having cancer. In Chapter 10, when Gus says “Pain demands to be felt”, I immediately thought not only physical pain, but also emotional pain that he and Hazel Grace would both have to face as both of their cancers progressed.

 

Stage 5: Crossing the Threshold: I think the threshold, so to speak, is first crossed when Hazel and Gus discover the strong love that they both have for writing and the book “Imperial Affliction”. In their efforts to get ahold of the author, Peter VanHouten, this is when I really felt the romance begin to elevate and Hazel and Gus really become one with one another.

 

Stage 6: Hero encounters tests and helpers: When Gus and Hazel are picnicking near the funky bones in chapter 5, Augustus reveals to Hazel that he has yet to use his “wish”, and that he would like to finally use it in order to take her to Amsterdam so that they can meet VanHouten in person. During that moment, Hazel is in such disbelief, and you can almost feel her falling even harder for Gus in that moment.

 

Stage 7: Innermost Cave:  I think Hazel’s point of entering her innermost cave is when she suddenly gets sick and cannot go to Amsterdam anymore. Hazel suffered from a lack of oxygen that was caused by her lungs filling up with fluid-- the doctors say that Hazel’s condition is too serious and that if she wishes to go on the trip, there needs to be an adult supervisor. Once they finally arrive to Amsterdam, VanHouten fails on his promise and refuses to see Hazel and Augustus, at which point I think Hazel died a little bit more inside, since meeting VanHouten was so important to her.

 

Stage 8: Supreme Ordeal: Hazel reaches the supreme ideal when Gus delivers the news that he is sick again. Being so deeply in love has caused Hazel to be temporarily blinded by the reality of their illness, and now that Augustus is very sick again, I think she realizes that this is not a fairy tale, and no matter how deep in love they fall, one of them is going to die eventually. This is especially solidfied when Gus gets sick outside of the gas station and calls Hazel for help.

 

Stage 9: The Reward: The reward for Hazel is when Augustus returns home from the hospital after getting sick outside of the gas station. For a while, things can get back to as normal as possible. Even though Hazel understands that with Gus’ condition progressing, things will never be perfectly the same, but for now, he is alive, and that is a victory.

 

Stage 10: The Road Back; During this stage, Hazel is brought back to reality when Gus requests that she and Issac write eulogies in his honor and recite them at what Gus calls “A Pre-Funeral”. During this moment, Hazel is forced to look into Gus’ eyes, and tell him how much he means to her, knowing that her time to share those feelings with him is indeed coming to a close, as much as she doesn’t want to admit it.

 

Stage 11: The Ressurection: The polarity of Hazel not knowing what to think of Augustus at the beginning of the book is finally solved. She is once again tested in the moments that Hazel has to read her eulogy for Gus at his real funeral;her once feelings of uncertainty are no more as she now knows that Gus was “her little infinity”. He was the greatest adventure of her life as she says “Augustus Waters was the star crossed lover of my life... You gave me a forever within numbered days, and I’m grateful” (259-260).

 

Stage 12: Return with the Elixir: After the funeral, Hazel has to go on with her life, even though now Gus only exists within her heart. The element of treasure that remains with her from this point forward is the eulogy that she finds that Gus wrote for her. At the end of the letter when Gus says “You don't get to choose the ones you hurtin this world, but you do have some say in who hurrts you. I like my choices. I hope she likes hers” (310).,and Hazel finishes the novel with “I do”, it is clear that Gus has changed Hazel forever.

 

 

I think that the archetypes of Hazel’s journey are both physical and emotional. There are patterns of her gaining and losing strength in both ways throughout the book. At the beginning, she is emotionally weak, unsure of her place in the world, and seemingly depressed. As the story progresses, and Hazel’s cancer continues to raid her body, making her physically weaker, (and even landing her in the ICU), she gains emotional strength through her relationship with Augustus Waters. He gives her “an infinity” as she calls it, and makes her feel her sense of purpose, even though she knows that her life’s purpose is willed to be short lived, as both she, and Augustus (the one who gave her her sense of love, and self), are both terminally ill with adolescent cancer.

Hazel’s sudden ICU trip was not only a blow to her physical strength, but also to her emotional strength when her Amsterdam trip was jeopardized. Her emotional strength is also tested when VanHouten breaks his promise, when Gus tells her that his cancer is back and stronger than ever, and ultimately when “her star crossed lover” (Gus), falls victim to his cancer.

 

 

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Jessica looked at Augustus Waters as the hero ( a few of you also chose him). Let’s take a look at her response:

“After reading The Fault in Our Stars, it is quite apparent to me who the true hero is. Augustus Waters shows his heroism in many ways, but his desire to make others happy is what I believe to be his best characteristic.

The first step of a hero’s journey is the ordinary world; we are introduced to Augustus in the beginning of the book while Hazel Grace attends support group. It’s not Augustus personality that first attracts Hazel Grace (who has thyroid cancer) to him, but it’s his looks, Hazel says, “He was hot. A nonhot boy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a hot boy . . . well” (9). Gus was at support group, not for himself (as his cancer had been gone for a year and a half), but for his friend, Isaac. Isaac is a mutual friend of Augustus and Hazel Grace. Later in the story Isaac has surgery that results in him being blind. Despite being blind, Isaac still has an amazing personality to be the light the Hazel Grace and Augustus need, this making him a great ally of them both. It was made known to me that this first support group would not be the first time Gus would be around in this book. The call to adventure is when Gus and Hazel Grace start communicating with each other at support group, and they then start to hang out with each other outside of the group. We are brought to a scene of Gus and Hazel Grace riding together in Gus’ car. Small talk and slight flirtation begins from this point. We, the readers, now see that the two of them are now a “something”. With the comical personalities that the both of the characters have, as a reader, I was excited to see what adventures these two were going to get into.

I don’t think, in this case, that the hero (at this point in the story), Gus, ever fears the unknown. Gus is the type of person to go all in, especially for Hazel Grace. He never feared his love for her, or any adventure with her. He never feared of her being a “grenade” or her dying. He loved her for her.

The mentor in this book is a person and a book. An Imperial Affliction is Hazel’s favorite book, which Gus soon read. From this book, and the author, Gus is able to find out information and the true passions about Hazel. “It wasn’t even that the book was so good or anything; it was just that the author, Peter Van Houten, seemed to understand me in weird and impossible ways” (33-24), says Hazel. Gus reading this book is better than him talking to Hazel’s closest allies. Like hazel said, Peter Van Houten understood Hazel, which, I believe is the ultimate goal of Gus.

We can group together stages five, six, seven, and eight of a hero’s journey. This is when Gus, Hazel, and Hazels mom board the plane for Amsterdam. Gus essentially gave his “wish” to Hazel, sense she used hers at Disney World. Hazel wanted to meet the author of her favorite book, Peter Van Houten, who lived in Amsterdam. This is what Hazel wanted, so Gus gave it to her. At this point, Gus knows the awful results of his PET scan, but Hazel does not. Gus has left the “ordinary world”, and he is definitely tested with this new medical dilemma. After he delivers to news to Hazel, he proceeds to tell her, “I’ll fight it. I’ll fight it for you. Don’t you worry about me, Hazel Grace. I’m okay. I’ll find a way to hang around and annoy you for a long time” (215). Gus’ approach was to not tell Hazel before they went on the trip, he didn’t want to take away from her happiness. Gus faces his possibility of losing his battle to cancer, “It is a civil war, Hazel Grace, with a predetermined winner” (216). We see Gus losing hope, but hazel is right there to pick him up, “I don’t think you’re dying of cancer … I think you’ve just got a touch of cancer” (217). This proving his treasure. His treasure his hazel. The love they have for each other is the most valuable thing to hold onto.

Once the three of them returned home from their trip, things went downhill for Gus. Hazel is woken at 2am to her phone, it was Gus. He needed her to meet him at the gas station, where his G tube was all messed up. She arrived, and she called 911. There was nothing she could do. Gus is losing consciousness with Hazel right by his side. As I thought this could be the end for Gus, we are then brought to the next chapter, where Gus is out of the hospital and at home.

In chapter twenty-one, Augustus died. I believe this is him returning home, the last stage of heroism. All during this book we see Gus striving to make Hazel happy. The love he has for her is enormous. Gus wanted to distract Hazel from her cancer, and to show her that it is all okay. He introduced her to the cigarettes, so she could be in control of her cancer. When Gus made Hazel happy, it made him happy. His courage is what makes him a true hero.”

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Meri, accidentally but intriguingly, looked at a different set of steps that were lower down on the link I sent. Let’s look at these interesting stages:

Stage One – Separation from the Feminine:

For me, stage one of Hazel’s journey would be when she is diagnosed with cancer and begins needing treatment. Society expects that what is feminine will also be pretty, sweet and gentle. However, illness is none of these things, cancer especially. Hazel loses her hair, a feature that is considered extremely female, and eventually requires a tank and nodes with her at all times in order to breathe. I think this separation is more than just exterior, though. A change went through inside Hazel when she was diagnosed, the girl who lived under the surface became a warrior in order to fight. This in itself was a removal from the assumed feminine behavior as strength and fighting are often associated with masculinity. Whether inside or outside, though, Hazel herself recognizes that illness is not considered beautiful. “I kept glancing over at his leg, or the place where his leg had been, trying to imagine what the fake leg looked like. I didn’t want to care about it, but I did a little. He probably cared about my oxygen. Illness repulses” (36).

 

 

Stage Two – Identification with the Masculine and gathering of allies:

Stage two would be when she accepts that she has cancer and begins her fight. The warrior that has manifested inside her refuses to accept defeat just yet. Her parents are her allies along with everyone at Children’s and her doctors, especially her Cancer Doctor Maria.

 

 

Stage Three – Road of Trials, meeting ogres and dragons:

Unfortunately, though, they are informed that her cancer is incurable. This, however, does not mean untreatable. But Hazel’s outlook is not good,

“I had a surgery called radical neck dissection, which is about as pleasant as it sounds. Then radiation. Then they tried some chemo for my lung tumors. The tumors shrank, then grew. By then, I was fourteen. My lungs started to fill up with water. I was looking pretty dead – my hands and feet ballooned; my skin cracked; my lips were perpetually blue. I finally ended up in the ICU with pneumonia, and my mom knelt by the side of my bed and said, “Are you ready, sweetie?” And I told her I was ready” (24-25).

 

 

Stage Four – Finding the boon of success:

Everyone figured she was finished, but her Cancer Doctor Maria managed to get some of the fluid out of her lungs and shortly thereafter the antibiotics they’d given her for the pneumonia kicked in. She soon got into an experimental trial for Phalanxifor, a molecule designed to attach itself to cancer cells and slow their growth. “It didn’t work in about seventy percent of people. But it worked in me. The tumors shrank. And they stayed shrunk” (25).

 

 

Stage Five - Awakening to the feeling of spiritual aridity: death:

It’s a little difficult to apply the next couple of stages because the Heroine’s Journey was not written in detail as was the Hero’s. However, it seems that spiritual aridity is a disconnect with one’s faith or personal beliefs. There is a lack on enjoyment or pleasure in this individual’s life and a loss of hope. While it may seem that this would occur for Hazel when she herself is diagnosed with cancer, I think it actually occurs when Augustus tells her that his cancer is back. He tells her that right before she went into the ICU he started to feel this ache in his hip. Hazel, knowing cancer all too well, is consumed by panic. “I lit up like a Christmas tree, Hazel Grace. The lining of my chest, my left hip, my liver, everywhere.” Everywhere. That word hung in the air awhile. We both knew what it meant (214). Hazel is such a caring and empathetic person, that’s one of the things Gus loves about her, and she feels as much terror, if not more, for his life. Or the end of it.

 

 

Stage Six – Initiation and Descent to the Goddess:

Hazel does not experience her own initiation and descent, instead she suffers Augustus’s with him. He undergoes treatment but his initiation takes place at a Speedway at Eighty-sixth and Dutch. “Augustus sat in the driver’s seat, covered in his own vomit, his hands pressed to his belly where the G-tube went in. The skin of his abdomen was warm and bright red” (244). After Hazel calls 911 he goes back to the hospital and it is there that he descends, his cancer taking more and more of him. When he eventually comes home for the hospital there days of pajamas and beard scruff, of mumblings and requests and him endlessly thanking everyone for all they were doing on his behalf. One afternoon, he points vaguely towards a laundry basket and asks Hazel Grace what that is. She says the laundry basket but her corrects her, “No, next to it. It’s my last shred of dignity. It’s very small” (248).

 

 

Stage seven – Urgent yearning to connect with the Feminine:

After Augustus Waters passes away, it’s more pain then Hazel can stand. It gets worse every single second and the only person she wants to talk to about Augustus Waters is Augustus Waters. I think this is her urgent yearning to connect with the feminine. To relive the young love she had for such a short time, desperate to be that girl again with a metaphoric-obsessed boyfriend. In the end, she calls his voicemail so she can hear his voice again. I don’t know if she ever does it again.

 

 

Stage Eight – Healing the mother/daughter split:

This can be taken in more ways than one. There was indeed a split between mother and daughter as Gus’s deteriorating condition used up more and more of her time. But in the end they are able to come back together. “But she kept asking, as if there were something she could do, until finally I just kind of crawled across the couch into her lap and my dad came over and held my legs really tight and I wrapped my arms all the way around my mom’s middle and they held on to me for hours while the tide rolled in” (267).

 

 

Stage Nine – Healing the wounded masculine:

Hazel’s masculinity was the warrior she had in her, the one fighting her battle. I think she neglected it in light of Gus’s need. She loved him and she was there for him constantly and consistently in a way that only she could be. After he had passed though she could do nothing accept attempt to process her grief and return to her own battle that is still being waged.

 

 

Stage Ten – Integration of Masculine and Feminine:

Last but not least, Hazel’s Masculine and Feminine find a medium and a way to co-exist with each other. She returns to her battle but she is no longer someone who has never loved, but someone who has loved and lost. A warrior, a girl, a woman, a victim, an innocent. “I missed the future. Obviously I knew even before his recurrence that I’d never grow old with Augustus Waters. But thinking about Lidewji, I felt robbed” (305).

 

 

Archetypes:

Heroes: Hazel and Augustus.

Villains: Cancer, Death, Our bodies.

Mentors: Parents, Van Houten.

Herald: Van Houten’s invitation and Gus’s acting upon it.

Threshold Guardians: Van Houten’s alcoholism and Gus’s recurrence. Also, Hazel’s own cancer.

Shape shifters: In this story I would say chance was the shapeshifter. One moment you’re healthy, the next you’re not. You never know, it is forever changing.

Tricksters: Cancer.

Allies: Gus, both their parents, Doctor Maria, Isaac, etc.

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From Arian:

I chose Augustus as the hero. The book was written from Hazel's perspective but Gus's character finds his own battle in the story.

 

1) The Ordinary World; Augustus (also known as Gus) is introduced at the support group for those who are currently battling cancer or those in remission. He is presented as a supporter of a friend battling a rare eye cancer and someone in remission. We are shown his sensitivity and fears in the group. He tells those present, "I fear oblivion" (12). This is where we are shown his interest in Hazel as well. Hazel writes, "A boy is staring at me" (8). He introduces himself to her a short time later and then invites her over to watch a movie. We are taken to Augustus's home where we are able to meet his parents, see how they have been coping with their son's life changing diagnoses and some of what Augustus has lost due to his battle with cancer. Multiple inspirational sayings are plastered around his home, "A wooden plaque in the entryway was engraved in cursive with the words Home is Where the Heart Is, and the entire house turned out to be festooned with such observations" (26). I feel that Gus is torn between the life he and his family have come to know and finding a place back in the world now cancer free. He also struggles with wanting to make his mark on the world, wanting to have a story that defines him. He tells Hazel, "No, not your cancer story. Your story. Interests, hobbies, passions, weird fetishes, etcetera (. . .) Don't tell me you're one of those people who becomes their disease" (32). Having a story all your own is seemingly important to him.

 

2) The Call to Adventure; Hazel is Augustus's call to adventure. We aren't aware of why until later in the story, her introduction to him forces him to reinvent/relive parts of a relationship he had previously with a girl named Caroline. He talks about the first time he saw Hazel at the support group, "But just to be clear, when I thought I saw Caroline Mather's ghost in Support Group, I was not entirely happy" (176). He explains to her the pain he experienced in that relationship, Caroline was dying of brain cancer and became verbally abusive towards him in the end. Having a relationship with Hazel means he must face the fears of another girlfriend dying or treating him in a cruel manner.

 

3) Refusal of the Call; I don't feel that Augustus shy's away from Hazel at any point in the story. However she attempts to force him into the friend zone because she doesn't want to hurt him. He waits patiently (sort of) until he can overcome her stubborn withdrawal. He tells Hazel, "You realize that trying to keep your distance from me will not lessen my affections for you, (. . .) All efforts to save me from you will fail" (122).

 

4) Meeting with the Mentor; As strange as it is, Peter Van Houten becomes Gus's mentor. His book An Imperial Affliction helps give Augustus insight into Hazel's view on the world and her cancer. It gives them common ground to converse upon. At one point Hazel writes, "I called Augustus back, and we stayed up late talking about An Imperial Affliction ..." (71). The book becomes a reference point multiple times in the story. It also inspires their trip to Amsterdam, it creates many pivotal points in their short love affair. Augustus tells Hazel, "I also have an interest in meeting Peter Van Houten, and it wouldn't make sense to meet him without the girl who introduced me to his book" (89).

5) Crossing the Threshold; I feel this occurs when Augustus waits outside of the ICU for days in order to see Hazel. This is where he shows that he isn't going anywhere, he follows through by rushing to her side as quickly as she will allow. He then uses his "wish", the free trip from the Make a Wish foundation, to take her to Amsterdam and accompany her to the doorstep of her favorite author. All of this proving that she is more important to him than he is even to himself. This is true because while Hazel is in the ICU Gus discovers his cancer has returned and consumed him. He puts off his chemo treatment, and telling Hazel he is sick, to attend to her.

 

6) Tests, Allies and Enemies; When Gus discovers his cancer has returned (the enemy), he waits to tell Hazel. He waits so she may have her dreams come true and not worry about him. When he finally does tell her he swears to fight it for her, he states, "I'll fight it. I'll fight it for you. Don't you worry about me, Hazel Grace. I'm okay. I'll find a way to hang around and annoy you for a long time" (215). His ally becomes Hazel; he goes from being her knight in shining armor to needing her on the battlefield.

 

7) Approach; Augustus makes it his mission to provide Hazel with an ending to Van Houten's story as a way to make his mark on a life. Hazel and Gus's friend Isaac use sarcasm in the way they express their love and support to make Augustus feel as normal as possible. One example of this occurs when Hazel comes to Gus's house and the whole family is there. They take him outside in a wheelchair and his sister offers some loving and encouraging words about what a lovely and intelligent young man he is. Hazel says, "He's not that smart" (251). Gus and Hazel commence to back and forth about his ridiculous good looks and how that supersedes any intelligence. It is all in jest but it allows Gus a chance at the normalcies of a sarcastic teenager. It takes away some of the separation, weakness and isolation battling cancer can provide. They are battling cancer stealing what defines Augustus as a human, not a cancer patient.

 

8) The Ordeal; At Gus's most embarrassing and horrific moments of weakness with the cancer Hazel is there and it brings them closer. It adds a new dimension to their relationship. Gus is no longer the strong caretaker and is given back what he himself had given Caroline and Hazel before, undying love, support and humor. In one desperate scene he calls Hazel, "Oh, Thank god it's you. Hi. Hi, I love you. (. . .) Hazel Grace, I'm at the gas station. Something's wrong. You gotta help me" (242). This is not Gus's normal role with Hazel, but he trusts her and knows she will not judge him so he calls her, not anyone else.

 

9) The Reward; Gus never has to worry about losing Hazel now that he is dying because he will go before she does. However, with this realization he now faces his own oblivion and still fears he will never make the mark on the world he so wishes to make. In a particularly disturbing scene where Hazel finds Gus vomiting on himself in his car he tells Hazel, “Where is my chance to be somebody's Peter Van Houten? (. . .) I hate myself, I hate this" (245).

 

10) The Road Back; Gus passes away. Preceding his death he calls upon Hazel and Isaac to preform his funeral and read him their eulogies. This is the chase scene, the climax before the end. It becomes evident that Gus is going to die very shortly, I love this chapter in the book because in one final swoop Hazel and Isaac get a chance to sarcastically love Gus one last time. (Chap 20).

 

11) The Resurrection; The end of the journey brings us to Gus fulfilling his last dying wish. He wrote Van Houten prior to his death enlisting his assistance in finishing Hazel's beloved story. Augustus has left his mark, albeit a scar. He writes, "But then I wanted more time so we could fall in love. I got my wish, I suppose. I left my scar" (313).

 

12) Return with the Elixir; In his letter to Van Houten he passes on some of what he has learned about death and life to those that read it. This is him transforming the world. I believe in the trickle down effect, he has effected the assistant Vliegenthart and her boyfriend, Hazel and Van Houten. And whomever they share their lives with from this point forward and so on. A part from the letter I found impacting, "The marks humans leave are too often scars. You build a hideous minimall or start a coup or try to become a rock star and you think, "They'll remember me now," but (a) they don't remember you, and (b) all you leave behind are more scars" (311).

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From Andrea:

 

Hazel is on a hero’s journey in the book "The Fault In Our Stars" by John Green. According to Joseph Campbell, there are twelve steps on the journey and Hazel passes through each of the twelve. To begin the journey, a hero must start in an ordinary world where there will be the ordinary stresses of life. For Hazel, ordinary life includes schoolwork, shopping, parental issues, and boys. When she meets up with her friend Kaitlyn for shopping at the mall, Kaitylin states, “I do wish you were at school these days. Some of the boys have become downright edible" (42). Of course, Hazel’s original call to adventure might be her diagnosis of cancer but John Green focuses on her relationship with Augustus as her journey and it begins with “a long period of silence as I [Hazel] watch a smile spread all the way across Augustus’s face - not the little crooked smile of the boy trying to be sexy while he stared at me, but his real smile, too big for his face. “‘Goddamn,’ Augustus said quietly. ‘Aren’t you something else’” (13).

 

Typical to form, our hero refuses the call because she fears the unknown. Of course, in this day and age she sends her refusal in the form of a text message to Augustus. “Hi so, okay, I don’t know if you’ll understand this but I can’t kiss you or anything. … When I try to look at you like that, all I see is what I’m going to put you through. … Anyway, sorry” (101). Hazel talks with her mentors, in this case her parents, about Augustus and her fear of hurting the people she loves. They make it very clear that “the joy you bring us is so much greater than the sadness we feel about your illness” (103). These words will ring true for Hazel by the end of the novel.

 

Leaving the threshold is an incremental process for Hazel as her relationship with Augustus grows. The bond grows while supporting Isaac during his loss of vision and his girlfriend Monica, playing video games, and sharing books. The relationship is acknowledged by both when Augustus states, "Maybe okay will be our always" (73) - a reference to Isaac and Monica’s constant use of always to describe their love (18).

 

The middle of a hero’s journey, stage six, is full of tests, allies, and enemies. Hazel and Augustus face the tests of Hazel’s hospitalization and trying to find a way to the Netherlands. Of course, the enemies are her illness and the doctors who do not want her to travel but she has allies in her parents, Augustus, and Dr. Maria. "Trips on, she said finally. Dr. Maria called us last night and made a convincing case that you need to live your - MOM, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! I shouted." (127).

 

At this point, every hero has to prepare for a major challenge in their special world. Hazel approaches her challenge during the trip to Amsterdam where she and Augustus commit to each other with sight seeing, a romantic dinner, and by having sex. During their love making, Hazel was able to "get on top of him and take his shirt off and taste the sweat on the skin below his collarbone as I whispered into his skin, I love you, Augustus Waters, his body relaxing beneath mine as he heard me say it" (206).

 

Augustus and Hazel face the ordeal of Hazel’s hero journey together as Augustus reveals that he is full of cancer. "I don’t suppose you can forget about it and treat me like I’m not dying. I don’t think your dying, I said. I think you’ve just got a touch of cancer" (217).

 

The hero’s reward for Hazels is when she faces Augustus death through her eulogy. "Augustus Waters was the great star-crossed love of my life" (259) she goes on to finish with "But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I’m grateful" (260).

 

The road back was a difficult one for Hazel. She traveled as long as her strength held out and then she "just kind of crawled across the couch into her lap and my dad came over and held my legs really tight and I wrapped my arms all the way around my moms middle and they held on to me for hours while the tide rolled in" (267).

 

Hazel’s hero resurrection was as she attended Augustus visitation and then funeral even though she didn’t want to go. "But I did these things. I did all of them and worse, because Mom and Dad felt we should" (274).

 

Although in many stories, the hero returns to the ordinary world with the elixir, Hazel elixir is the realization that she "owed a debt to the universe that only my attention could repay, and also that I owed a debt to everybody who didn’t get to be a person anymore and everyone who hadn’t gotten to be a person yet" (295). This final stage of the hero’s journey entails Hazels mission for life and vision for her future.

 

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From Abbey:

 

The character I chose to analyze is Hazel. The first step of her quest is 'The Ordinary World.' In the beginning of the book She is introduced as depressed and she thought about death a lot. "Late in the winter of the seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of abundant time to thinking about death" (3). Leaving her mother and father quite stressed and very emotional. "But I woke up a bit when my parents came in, crying and kissing my face repeatedly" (106). This was when she was first in the ICU when she had poor oxygenation.

 

The second step of her quest is 'The Call To Adventure.' This entails change. She had a huge change when her life turned upside down when she met Augustus. She fell in love with him almost immediately. As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once" (125). Her life changed so much after meeting Gus. He opened so many doors for her. He took her to Amsterdam and they had the time of their lives. He feelings and memories he left behind after his death were only ones she could grow from. The love of her life died and there was nothing she could do about it except deal with it.

 

The third step of Hazel's quest is 'Refusal Of The Call.' Hazel calls herself a grenade. She is afraid of the unknown and didn't want anyone feeling as if Augustus felt when his past girlfriend had died of a brain tumor. She had difficulty accepting she had to live life and accept what is for her. "I'm like. Like. I'm like a grenade, Mom. I'm a grenadine at some point I’m going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties, okay" (99)? As she says at the dinner table after looking at Caroline Mather's profile and seeing all the heartfelt 'I miss yous.' "Like Caroline Mothers had been a bomb and when she blew up everyone around her was left with embedded shrapnel" (98).

 

The fourth step of her journey is 'Meeting With The Mentor.' Peter Van Houten. He may drink a lot, but he is very wise. His work in "An Imperial Affliction" just amazed Augustus and Hazel. All the could ever wonder is how some of the characters ended up. Once they finally met Peter, he was sour and grumpy. He made comments that seemed they would take offense to it as they both had lived through cancer. "The important thing is not whatever nonsense the voices are saying, but what the voices and feelings" (188). Augustus was surely enough shocked how he was acting. But ended on a good note.

 

The fifth step of Hazel's Journey is 'Crossing The Threshold.' She leaves the ordinary world once she meets Gus. The amount of metaphors he uses in his lifestyle makes her fall in love with him. Especially the very first one that was introduced in the book. His cigarette metaphor. "They don't kill you unless you light them, and I've never lit one. 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 sixth step of Hazel's quest is 'Tests, Allies, and Enemies.' Hazel makes amends with her thoughts once she accepts the fact life is life and anything can happen. She denies is like she did with the grenade metaphor and pushes everyone away with it as if she were an actual ticking time bomb which then leads to her finding out doing so isn't the best idea.

 

The seventh step of her journey is 'Approach.' Her major challenge in the world that she had to overcome was cancer. She had to overcome the thought of being a 'grenade' and exploding at any time at any given moment. She had challenges at the end of the book when Augustus had died and even during the whole book while her parents were stressed and on their toes one hundred percent of the time.

 

The eighth step to Hazel's quest is 'The Ordeal.' Her greatest fear is leaving her mother 'not a mother' anymore or in other words, getting too close to someone and hurting them because she has died. Ever since she heard her mother say that, it has stuck with her. She doesn't want that for either of her parents. She pushes and pushes to find out what the end of 'An Imperial Affliction' just so that she will know her mother will be okay once the day comes when she is actually gone.

The ninth step of her quest is 'The Reward.' She is faced with death just with herself. She faces death among other people all the time. She has been in and out of hospitals with other cancerous kids and she knows what its like to face death of ones who she may not know as well. But once she is faced with death with Augustus she has no idea how to take it.

 

In the tenth step of Hazel's journey, 'The Road Back,' she finds a way to accept the way her mother will feel after her death in the near future. She will know she will be okay and life will go on and she will be loved. She just doesn't want her mother to feel as if she is not a mother anymore because she will always be a mother.

 

The eleventh step of her quest is 'The Resurrection.' She has resolved all fears. She has accepted all fears by the end of the book. She may not want these fears to happen, but she accepts that they will one day.

 

The last step of her journey is 'Return With The Elixir.' The note Augustus had sent to Peter was read at the very ending. After Hazel had read the note I had a feeling she felt at peace with herself and she felt as if she could live life and not be attached to Augustus' death and grieve the rest of her life. She moves on and accepts herself and the lifestyle that has been newly created for her at that point.

 

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From Crystallyn:

 

I do enjoy the story written with in the hero journey style, I think that is why I enjoyed The Fault in Our Stars some much more than the first two books we read, because it does fit the outline perfectly. The Hero's journey starts with them feeling out of place and uneasy in their world. Hazel fits this perfectly. She was withdrawn from the world, though she felt she had a very good reason to be as she is dying and trying to be happy or participate in the world perhaps at times can seem pointless. If we're all striving for a goal, happiness or a good job or a beautiful family then we move through the steps to achieve those goals but she has lost her way because it's hard to picture any future or goal when you know death is so close. Her mom is worried about her for these reasons and pushes her to go to a cancer support group. As Hazel says, "depression is a side effect of dying" (3). She had no desire to engage in the world around her though and support group certainly didn't cheer her up. Hazel saw support group as depressing and found commroderie with another boy in the group who seemed to relate "Each time someone discussed anticancer diets or snorting ground-up shark fin or whatever, he'd glance over at me and sigh ever so slightly. I'd shake my head microscopically and exhale in response" (6). They had both lost hope and resented having to go somewhere and be surrounded by hope and well wishes.

 

Then she gets the call to adventure. Something that shakes up the heroines world and forces the beginnings of change. When she meets Augustus Waters is when she first starts to shed her little shell she built up around herself. One reason of course being she is a teenage girl and he is a cute boy, but Augustus strikes her fancy for more reasons than that. He has a similar attitude and approach to life, he related to her struggles but he also approached the whole thing with tongue in cheek humor like she did. When he asks her about herself and she responds by telling him her cancer story he challenges her to change "Don't tell me your one of those people who becomes their disease. Like, cancer is in the ... taking-people-over business. But surely you haven't let it succeed prematurely. It occurred to me that perhaps I had" (32). He opens her eyes to what she's been doing and starts her on the road to changing that.

 

Next in the Hero's journey is refusal of the call and she follows this path when she decides to try and cut Augustus out of her life, or at least not get too involved when she develops her grenade theory "I'm a grenade and at some point I'm going to blow up and I would like to minimalize the casualties" (99). Her fear of hurting others when she inevitably dies becomes her reason to pull away from her call to adventure.

 

At this point in the journey she is meeting with the mentor. I think he is the mentor in a way because though he agrees to her conditions of not becoming to close he doesn't give up. He's had cancer before and come out the other side, he's had a girlfriend before that died of cancer but he is not afraid. He is the hero that is perhaps not afraid but proud to suffer some pain and he is not afraid of the pain she could cause him, he loves her anyway and eventually she relents and falls for him.

 

She earns her reward in facing her fears and embracing their relationship and they celebrate that love and happiness together in Amsterdam. They are celebrating that love still when it is threatened by Augustus' admission that his cancer has returned. The resurrection occurs when she is tested with the loss of Augustus. It is a heartbreaking moment in her life and once again reminds her how much it will hurt those closest to her when she dies. She once again meets up with the author of her favorite book at Augustus' funeral and realizes that the reason he is an alcoholic refusing to embrace life is because he lost his daughter to cancer and never dealt with his loss successfully. I think at this point all her fears return and she is again considering how much her death will hurt those she loves.

 

She does return with the elixir in the end though. Augustus again leads her there with his letter that says "You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world ... but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices. I hope she likes hers" (313). She is happy with her choice to love him, and while his death does hurt it was worth the pain. Those around her that love her make that same choice and it is theirs to make not hers. They will love her with or without her permission and they too will be sad when she goes but the elixir is in knowing that they will be ok when she is gone and they won't regret that choice either.

 


Last modified: Saturday, 19 October 2019, 8:34 AM