BOOK 2 "The Fault in our Stars" by John Green October 11, 2014
Our second book for our second reading log is “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green. Actually, I was the one who encouraged them to read this book because I’ve heard rumors that this book is really great and it became the talk of the town since it was adopted into a movie. At first, I found it boring because the book’s genre is not my type (I love Sci fictions! *HUNGER GAMES AND DIVERGENT :D ), but as I went along its pages, I learned to appreciate it.
The one assigned to be the DISCUSSION DIRECTOR was JINGLE EMEJAS. Her questions together with my answers were typewritten below:
1. A dying girl meets a hot boy. This is the love story of Hazel and Gus. We became so much interested in the love story of these two cancer patients. As a reader, we’re looking forward on how the title of the story affects or relates to the life of these teens. If you are given a chance change the title of the story, will you change it? Is there any connection between the title and the main characters of the story?
If I were to alter the title of the story, it would be “This Kind of Fate”. After collaborating our ideas, my roommates (at the dormitory) and I came up with this one. When you spare a glance at the title, you can infer two things: it’s either the characters of the story will have a happy ending, or the other way around. The fault in our stars is a funny yet heartbreaking story that makes every teen believe that there is hope even in your greatest downfall. For me, the title says that no matter how imperfect our life may be and no matter how hard the situations are, there is still hope. Just like the characters, Hazel Grace and Augustus, even if they feel hopeless sometimes because of their disease, they still find comfort in each other’s arms.
2. It was mentioned in the story that hazel is so stinkin’ obsessed to the book "An Imperial Affliction", she also influenced Gus in reading the novel. What does An Imperial Affliction have to do with Hazel's own life? How does the book change her?
For me, the main reason why Hazel was really into the story “An Imperial Affliction” because she can relate to the main character of that book, Ana, who is also struggling from cancer. Usually, she compares herself to Ana and she sometimes thinks that she is luckier than her because she had lived twice as Ana did like she used to live a normal life, go on shopping, or bonding with friends.
3. As we have witnessed the love story of the two teenagers, we can infer the difference of their relationship to other teens in this generation. What does Hazel learn from her relationship to Augustus? Is it a deeper feeling than most teenager's first love, or does it just feel that way because they have such limited time?
Sometimes, it takes time for you to realize how much you love a person. In the story, Hazel and Gus started as friends but little by little, as they go together, they started to realize the sudden pounding of their hearts. As you go along the pages of the book, you can really say that what they felt was not just a pseudo-love, but true love. When you fall in love with someone, you are willing to sacrifice everything for him/her. Just like what Gus did, he sacrificed his chance of living just to fulfill Hazel’s dying wish. I guess almost everyone assumed that Hazel will be the first one to pass away but then suddenly, it turned to be Augustus and it really shocked me.
4. Hazel and Gus met Peter Van Houten, the author of "An Imperial Affliction", as they've met him, it doesn't exactly go as what they have planned because at first Peter is a mean drunk and doesn't answer the questions of Hazel. Does Van Houten actually care about Hazel and Augustus? Why does he feel the need to go to Gus' funeral at the end?
Yes, Van Houten cares for Hazel and Gus. It’s just that Van Houten was so upset and can not move on from what happened to his only daughter, but later did he realize that he cared for them that is why, he went to Augustus’ burial.
5. The story ended in a tragic way because of Augustus' death. If you are to write the same concept of the story, will you follow the way John Green ended the story, or will you have your own twist of the story? As a teenager, how would it feel if the novel continues the romance of Hazel and Augustus?
If I were to follow the same concept of the story, I prefer to have an ending in which they will both die. I do not know what’s running in my head that I suddenly had that kind of thought. It’s a bit tragic but I know it will be fair for both of the characters (Am I so mean? Hehe). On the other hand, if both of them had lived, I will be very happy because my own definition of the title, “The Fault in Our Stars” that was stated in my answers in the first question, will be fulfilled.
REACTION: I commend the discussion director for constructing these mind-bugging questions. It really made me pause and reflect for a while to come up with those answers.
I, KATRINA ANN MARIE CARO, was assigned as the PASSAGE PICKER of our second book. Here is my work:
There will come a time, when all of us are dead. All of us. There will come a time when there are no human beings remaining to remember that anyone ever existed or that our species ever did anything. There will be no one left to remember Aristotle or Cleopatra, let alone you. Everything that we did and built and wrote and thought and discovered will be forgotten and all of this”
Hazel stated this during her first meeting with Augustus at the Literal Heart of Jesus’ Circle. Although this sounds negative, I still agree with it because what she said was true. Nothing is permanent in this world and there will come a time that everything will vanish away and there will be no one left to remember all these things that are present today.
You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don’t give it the power to do its killing.”Augustus
Augustus said this to hazel because Hazel thought that he was going to smoke, but to her surprise, he just put the cigarette in his mouth without lighting it. I like this statement because I believe that it has something deeper to convey. I guess it means that although danger is present, it’s up to you to handle it, whether you’ll let this destroy your life or not.
In the darkest days, the Lord puts the best people in your life- Augustus’ dad
I strongly agree with this statement and I have nothing else to say but this, “God always give us the best, so if we experience being in the dark, we should not worry and should not blame others or something. Instead, we should keep our faith stronger and wait for God’s answer.
Without pain, how could we know joy?
This one is very common but still, I really like this because it leaves something in me like, how would I know that this is life if I haven’t experienced suffering?
Sometimes people don’t understand the promises they’re making when they make them- hazel
I strongly agree with this. Before, I always tell promises to other people but I always break it and then I realized that if we are going to make promises, we should put it to our hearts and if we are not sure of doing something for someone, we should not assure something to them because even that single word can cause great chaos.
You are so busy being you that you have no idea how utterly unprecedented you are. (Augustus Waters to Hazel)
If I were Hazel, I will be flattered because of this statement because for me, it shows that Augustus really sees something deep within hazel’s eyes. I guess its message is somewhat similar to One Direction’s song, “You don’t know you’re Beautiful. That’s what makes you beautiful.”
No Matter how hard you kick, no matter how high you get, you can’t go all the way around. (Swing Set)
For me, this quotation tells us that even if we strive harder, we can’t still get what we wanted because of discontentment. That’s the essence of a human being, we do all that we can to obtain something, and when we had that something, we exert additional effort to reach beyond that something.
The weird thing about houses is that they almost always look like nothing is happening inside of them, even though they contain most of our lives. (by /hazel, when she and her mother were infront of Augustus’ house)
“I’m in love with you, and I’m not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I’m in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we’re all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we’ll ever have, and I am in love with you.”
Honestly, I felt butterflies in my stomach when I read this one and I was like, “Oh, it’s so good to be inlove.” I can’t move on with this even after reading the book. I can’t help myself but to shriek and then my roommates were like, “What’s the matter with you?” It seems like I was the one who has been told by Augustus and I felt very “kilig”. In that statement, I sensed that Augustus really felt something for Hazel and he is serious. Maybe, he stated that because his condition is getting worse (without Hazel’s knowledge). Despite that truth, I still agree with what He did. At least he had proved how much he loves Hazel before he passed away.
‘Pain is like fabric: The stronger it is, the more it’s worth.’ (Peter Van Houten to Hazel)
This was uttered by Peter VanHouten when he was inside Hazel’s car (I mean, Hazel’s mom’s car) in chapter 23 and it caught my attention. This comparison made my brain wander everywhere and I was thinking, is it true? I guess the one who can answer this is also the one who suffered enough pain (physically or emotionally). Maybe its worth in terms of “you always remember a thing because that gave you a traumatic experience”, but I think worth is not the right term for it, it’s more like “remember”.
REACTION: I really exerted my effort in picking these passages from the book and I guess I had fulfilled my role as the passage picker since I explained the passages and I also included the characters who stated them and in what scene did they appear. I did not have any further explanation to some of the passages because the statements speak its meaning. I mean, you suddenly grasp its meaning by just reading the passage.
The next role will be connector and the one who was assigned for this is NOELYN DURAN. She connected “The Fault in our Stars” to the Korean series “A Liter of Tears”. Here’s her work:
The moment I read “The Fault in our Stars”, I remembered the movie “A Liter of Tears” back when I’m still a high school student. The similarities of the two stories were; they are both cancer disease evolving story and they are both a bit tragic. We often imagine cancer victims as weak, hopeless, pitiful and etc. but the fact is they are not that different as common individual ought to live his life. Though they might have lived shorter than the healthy one, however, how they prefer to be treated is the same with the normal people. They wanted to live life as if they belong to the community and not a special people who would walk into a public place with eyes starring to them, they would love to be treated as if they could also do whatever they wanted and they wished they could love longer as healthy people do. Nevertheless, they wanted to be remembered not because they have fought a good fight against their disease but because they have lived a simple and normal life like any other did.
The tragic fact about life is that we, human are classified accordingly; From rich to poor, smart to not, influential to common ones and sick to healthy. Treated and mistreated according to the society’s position. Hazel and Augustus life is the same. They were treated properly to the extent of torturing them. Cancer put their lives in hell but still they were able to make the most out of the short time they had. Thus, it only shows that love will never be separated regardless of what, who, where, why and how.
REACTION: Connecting is one of the toughest roles in this literature circle since you are not only relating a particular book to another, but you also have to give strong justification about how were they related to each other. I want to give our connector a good remarks.
KARLA KAYE PALMES was assigned to be the character captain of our group. Here’s her output.
Hazel Grace is diagnosed with a thyroid cancer, and you can really say that she’s a very brave girl. She is afraid to deal with people, or to have friends because she knows that she won’t last. And one of the best thing about Hazel Grace is she’s not self pitying but instead she’s trying her best just to survive. She’s trying her best to survive because she’s afraid to hurt her mother. But when she met Augustus, she opened her heart and she’s not afraid to open her heart for Augustus.
Augustus is a very handsome guy, but guess what? He is diagnosed with osteosarcoma, and he also lost his right foot. By the first look, Hazel Grace already fell for him. But this guy is very jolly and he knows how to give joy to other people, especially to Hazel and his best friend Isaac. But one day he didn’t know that his cancer is back, and lit just like a Christmas light. But Augustus loves doing metaphoric act, just like acting to put some cigarette in his mouth when he can feel his fears and uncertainty. And for him, as a human being he wants to help other people or doing some extraordinary acts.
Hazel’s Mother (Mrs. Lancaster)
I really salute this woman. As a mother she is really brave enough or strong enough to be Hazel’s mom. She is doing her best just to give Hazel a very fulfilling life and she doesn’t know how to give up.
Isaac is a loyal friend to Gus and Hazel and he’s always there to Augustus until the very end. At first, he can’t accept the fact that he is a blind person and his girlfriend Monica left him that made him angry. But with the help of Gus and Hazel and being brave, little by little he accepted that he has no eyesight.
Peter is Hazel’s favorite writer. He’s an alcoholic guy and rude. But even though he says mean things to to Hazel and Gus, deep inside he cares for them. Peter has a reason being cruel, because his own daughter also died from cancer and that’s the reason why he’s being like that. But in the end he answered the big question being asked by Hazel Grace.
REACTION: The characterization is good but I guess the character captain should have added more definition of the characters.
The next role will be character captain and the one who was assigned for this was KAREN JANE EMBEDIA. She made a poem about the book. Printed below was her output:
Late in the winter of her seventeenth year
Hazel Grace deceased and depressed
Waiting to end her distress
Thinking that there is no special in herself
Missing a part in herself
A war that’s not over yet
But still hoping to overcome it
Coz there is someone waiting, the name is death.
To the heart of Jesus, she went
In the circle of trust, she sat
Trying to figure out each other
Wondering why we’re here.
That is simple because we’re sick
Thinking that it is needless
To have friends and faith
Coz death is always the end.
But in the circle she met
Gus, she destined to love
A cigarette landed in your mouth
You put the killing thing in your mouth.
An imperial affliction, she read
Obsessed and curious, they became
To know the book how it ends.
Using the wish, they wished
The Grumpy old man, they met
With disappointment, they left.
Gus lost illness came again,
Hazel lost grief possessed her again,
Coming back to an old pain again,
Still, continuing their romance again.
But their love still lives
REACTION: I appreciated the effort of our literary artist in making this poem and I think she had justified her role, but I don’t know why I’m still craving for some intense emotion from this work (hehe).
To help us enrich our lexicon, our VOCABULARY ENHANCER, EDGAR FERNANDEZ, picked some unfamiliar words from the book then gives definition to it. Here is his work:
REACTION: The vocabulary enhancer had justified his role by giving definitions to some of the unfamiliar words that were found in the book, but he just typed it so to make his work more pleasing to the eyes, I put those words into a table.
The Last part would be the Summary and the one who was assigned for this is ERIKA MAE PAGLINAWAN. Here is her work:
The Fault in Our Stars is a novel by author John Green. The story follows the main character, Hazel Grace Lancaster, as she battles cancer. Not only is Hazel trying to live the normal life of a 16-year-old girl, but she is also struggling with what it will be like for her parents after she dies. While Hazel attends a church support group for cancer survivors, she meets a boy that is one year older than her, Augustus Waters. While Augustus had a type of cancer that causes him to lose his leg and wear a prosthetic, it also has a survival rate that is much higher than Hazel's death sentence.
From the first day that Hazel meets Augustus, the two are practically inseparable. The basis of their relationship ends up being Hazel's favorite book, An Imperial Affliction. She requires Augustus to read it and in turn, he requires her to read the book that is the basis of his favorite video game. Hazel relates to the character in her favorite book, Anna, because Anna has a rare blood cancer. Augustus and Hazel bond over the book because both of them of a burning desire to find out how the story ends because the author stops the book before providing conclusion on what happens to each of the characters.
Augustus joins Hazel's pursuit of the book's author, Peter Van Houten, to provide the answers that they need. Augustus even uses a wish foundation to fly him and Hazel to Amsterdam, where the author lives, to talk with him in person. While Hazel is the one that is doomed to die, Augustus ends up telling Hazel that at his recent scan, the doctors discovered that his entire body is filled with cancer. Hazel spends the last months of Augustus's life caring for him and loving him.
GENERALIZATION: I appreciate everyone’s effort in making this reading log. Each had done their part and contributed their knowledge. The only problem is that Everyone should have submitted it before the deadline.
andulkaphoto
kianamaiart
prguitarman
titsay
dailybridgerton
dededos
gummygunk
