This post discusses the best quotes and metaphors in The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Make sure you finished reading!
Ranking the Top 10 Quotes & Metaphors in The Fault in Our Stars
Augustus loves metaphors. They’re sprinkled everywhere throughout The Fault in Our Stars. There were so many themes, quotes, and metaphors that stood out to me while reading. Here is an analysis of my top 10 personal favorite quotes and metaphors from The Fault in Our Stars:
10. “So what’s your story? No, not your cancer story. Your Story.” – p.32
When Augustus asked Hazel this, it reminded her that her identity goes way beyond her battle with cancer. It’s refreshing. What is more romantic than someone who takes interest in little things like your favorite color, favorite sport, etc.?
9. “I don’t believe that everybody gets to keep their eyes or not get sick…but everybody should have true love, and it should last at least as long as your life does.” – p.75
How sweet. Still heartbroken, Isaac expresses this belief to Hazel in the hospital after his eye surgery.
When I first read this line, I kept thinking of how cheesy it was. What an ideal wish to have. But when you truly think about it, it’s the perfect quote to set up Hazel and Gus’ love story.
At this point, Hazel values herself as nothing more than a negative side effect at the cost of knowing her. But this quote reminds her that she deserves so much more than that, regardless of her circumstances.
One of the most fulfilling experiences us humans can have is the feeling of unconditional love. It’s unfortunate for Isaac that he hasn’t found it yet. Luckily for Hazel, she has the opportunity to experience it with Augustus.
8. “We do remember Shakespeare’s powerful rhyme, but what do we remember about the person it commemorates?” – p.112
A quote written in the letter from Peter Van Houten that explores the type of people we choose to remember after their death. I like this quote because it kind of makes a reference to the book we are reading now. For those of you who don’t know, The Fault in our Stars was inspired by a friend of John Green’s who battled cancer herself, as stated in the acknowledgements. So here we are, recognizing John Green for his great works, but do we know of Esther Earl who it commemorates? If you did not know, you know now.
7. Augustus’ Love Confession – p.153
Augustus’ love confession is so rememberable because it makes a ton of references to the first time he met Hazel. It perfectly highlights the difference between their mindsets. Hazel refuses to fall in love because she recognizes how small and unimportant humans are in a big world. Augustus chooses to fall in love with Hazel despite how small and unimportant humans are in a big world.
Despite these truths that Augustus accepted, he still loves Hazel, and it should count for something.
6. “Grief does not change you, Hazel. It reveals you.” – p.286
Having gone through grief himself when his daughter died of cancer, Peter Van Houten drops this gem of a quote on Hazel after Augustus’ death.
The message is clear: Despite what we think we know about ourselves, grief has a way of revealing our truest values. We can proclaim what we believe all we want, but our convictions become tested when we experience the pain of loss.
With this quote, Van Houten admits that his daughter’s death revealed who he truly is as a person.
To add to his quote, I think when our truest self is revealed, only then can we start to make real change.
5. “Pain demands to be felt.” – p.57
Pain demands to be felt—a quote originally found in An Imperial Affliction, and soon repeated by Augustus after Isaac exposes a facet of human nature.
When Isaac’s girlfriend broke up with him, he throws a fit by throwing around whatever he can in Augustus’ room. Augustus encourages Isaac to embrace his anger while Hazel is left to observe.
In a world where we feel pressured to be strong all the time, and hold in our emotions, this scene reminds us that it’s human nature to feel pain, and that it’s okay to express this pain in a healthy manner. Because when emotions are simply ignored and not confronted, they always have a way of resurfacing until it is properly processed.
4. The Cloud Metaphor – p.219
On the way back home from Amsterdam, Augustus tells Hazel about how he used to think it’d be fun to live in a cloud. But like any dream shatterer, his science teacher exposed the true reality of living in the clouds that would make it impossible.
Augustus’ memory reminded me of the beauty of hope-filled and child-like dreams. Even when faced with the harshness of reality, it’s human nature to cling onto hope. While I know it’s important not to have “our head in the clouds” all the time, it’s our hope that makes what seems impossible, possible.
3. The Fault in Our Stars – p. 111
The title of this book is one big metaphor in which I spent the entirety of the story searching for it’s meaning. It’s a direct reference to Shakespeare’s work when Cassius says, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves.”
This quote tells us that we are in control of everything that happens in our lives, (which is a great message in a lot of circumstances), but John Green notes that everything is not in our control.
Hazel and Augustus are star-crossed lovers— a couple who want to be together but are separated by fate. This is the fault in ours stars—the tragedy that everything does not work out the way we want it to.
2. “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.” – p.313
Hazel spends a lot of the story trying to distance herself from Augustus so that he doesn’t get hurt. Yet Augustus keeps loving her anyways.
He values every bit of time they had together, in spite of the their impending tragic destiny. This is a gift that nobody else can give to him. Augustus likes his choices, and so does Hazel.
1. “Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.” – p.260
This quote is 100% my favorite takeaway from the novel.
When Van Houten first shared his story about the tortoise paradox, and ended it with this quote, I was lost. It sounded like nothing but gibberish. Even though I figured there was a purpose to his story, I didn’t understand.
It made no sense to me until Hazel explained it again:
“There are infinite numbers between 0 and 1. There’s .1 and .12 and .112 and an infinite collection of others. Of course there is a bigger infinite set between 0 and 1, or between 0 and a million. There are days when I resent my unbounded set. I want more numbers than I’m likely to get, and I want more numbers for Augustus Waters than he got. But Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I’m grateful.”
~John Green
Augustus’ death is a tragedy. It was cruel and unfair for him to pass away at such a young age.
But despite that fact, Hazel holds onto the memories they created together with fondness.
I love this quote because it’s a beautiful way to view the things in our lives that have been taken away too soon, whether it’s our dreams, a loved one, etc.
And sure, while that special someone or something has been cut off too short in our lives, it shall last for an eternity. Let’s be grateful that we had the blessing of experiencing those things at all.
Now I know there are plenty more quotes and metaphors that I left out. I encourage you to comment your favorite quotes and metaphors below that you believe deserve some more attention.
