In The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, cancer has each character distinctly, but it is not the standard book on cancer, because according to the protagonist, “cancer books suck” (Green 3). Or as Gwynne Ellen Ash sees the novel as “learning to trust and love by dying […] there is no sap here, no melodrama, no maudlin schmaltz.” It's about being able to cope with existence. It is the complete human experience, filled with the lightness of life and the darkness of cancer. This illness is just that, an illness. It can consume and take over the physical body, but the spirit is present. Hazel Grace Lancaster is sixteen years old and has suffered from terminal thyroid cancer since she was thirteen. Hazel is depressed, “a side effect of death” and isolates herself from others (Green 3). However, she learns from Augustus Waters, a former cancer amputee patient, the true meaning of life and love. The discovery of a way to live with joy and laughter even in the midst of extreme pain is demonstrated through the use of themes, motifs and symbols. Several themes are included throughout the novel, such as the necessity of suffering, the fear of oblivion, the insensitivity of the universe, and the importance of fiction. Hazel, Augustus, and their friend Isaac all have, and/or had, cancer, which causes physical and emotional pain. The buildup of fluid in Hazel's lungs deprives her of oxygen; at one point, she rushes to the emergency room. Isaac has to give up his remaining eye, leaving him completely blind and causing his girlfriend to break up with him. Augustus deteriorates so physically that he takes painkillers, which leaves him almost inaudible; his faces agonize for the future, knowing ...... middle of paper ...... the heart of the novel are these themes, motifs and symbols. Works Cited ASH, GWYNNE ELLEN. “Visual and digital texts”. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 56.3 (2012): 241-244. Academic research completed. Internet. April 14, 2014. Cart, Michael. “The Fault in Our Stars.” Booklist 108.9/10 (2012): 98. Academic research completed. Internet. April 20, 2014. Chang, Jade. “Interview with John Green.” Happy reading. Goodreads, December 2012. Web. April 16, 2014.Green, John. The fault in our stars. New York: Dutton, 2012. Print. Lastufka, Alan. “Questions about the fault of our stars” John Green RSS. Word Press Admin, August 2, 2012. Web. April 20, 2014.REYNOLDS, ANGELA J. “The Fault in Our Stars.” Horn Book Magazine 88.6 (2012): 130. Academic research completed. Web.April 16, 2014. Sutton, Roger. “The Fault in Our Stars.” Horn Book Magazine 88.2 (2012): 105. Academic research completed. Internet. April 16. 2014.