Hazel Grace Lancaster
Hazel Grace Lancaster is sixteen years old and is the story’s narrator. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lancaster, friend of Isaac and Kaitlyn, and girlfriend of Augustus Waters. Hazel has finished High School early, and is now a college student. Hazel is diagnosed with stage IV Thyroid Cancer with mentasis forming in her lungs. Character development Hazel Grace is a round character, throughout the book she changes her personality and the way she acts around people. In the beginning of the book she is a quiet and shy person who keeps most of her thoughts to herself. This can be seen when Hazel attends her support group. She doesn’t say much, as she says the same thing when she is called on. This can be seen when Hazel is called on at her support group: “I’m Hazel, I’d say when they’d get to me. Sixteen. Thyroid originally but with an impressive and long-settled colony in my lungs. And I’m doing okay.” (pg.5) She then says the same response during the next support group. “When it was my turn, I said, “My name is Hazel. I’m sixteen. Thyroid with mets in my lungs. I’m okay.” (pg.11) Hazel also describes herself as a shy and quiet person. This can be seen when she thinks to herself during the support group meeting, and says: “I was a fairly shy person-not the hand raising type.” (pg.12) After Hazel meets Gus she starts to come out of her comfort zone and starts talking to more people. This can be seen when she first meets him at the support group meeting. Here she replies to Gus’s response to Patrick’s question: perhaps you would like to share your fears with the group. As Gus said he fears oblivion. Hazel then decided to speak, where she gave a small speech about fearing oblivion doesn’t really matter in this world and encourages Gus to ignore it. “Everything that we did and built and wrote and thought and discovered will be forgotten.” “And if inevitability of human oblivion worries you, I encourage you to ignore it. God know that’s what everyone else does.” (pg.13) Hazel soon starts to stand up for herself and doing what she wants to do. This can be seen when she and Gus meet Peter Van Houten. Here she constantly gets teased by him and he doesn’t even answer her questions, so she stands up for what she wants. ‘’Listen, douche pants,’ I said ‘you’re not going to tell me anything about disease I don’t already know. I need one and only one thing from you before I walk out of your life forever. WHAT HAPPENS TO ANNA’S MOTHER?’” (pg.193) Why are the changes important to the story? Hazel’s changes are important to the story because this is what leads Hazel to start her adventure, meeting Augustus. If Hazel hadn’t stood up and talked at the support group, Augustus wouldn’t really have noticed her. Her speech made him notice her, which then made him to walk up to her at the end of the support group and ask her name and then made him to invite her to his house. If all this didn’t happen Hazel would have never became good friends with him and soon become a couple. Augustus was her mentor and he made her the person she is now. She would have never gone to Amsterdam and she wouldn’t have changed at all, she wouldn’t understand to live life to the fullest and allow others to come into her life and show affection for them. Archetypes: Unwilling Hero: The hero is hesitant, full of doubts, needs to be motivated into the adventure. Usually changes at some point and becomes committed to the adventure Hazel is an unwilling hero because she wasn’t quite sure of Augustus at first. She was then motivated by Augustus himself to become friends with him. This can be seen when Augustus tries to ask Hazel to come watch a movie with him, but he pulls out a cigarette and puts it in his mouth. “I felt a hand grab mine. I yanked my hand free but turned back to him…’You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don’t give it the power to do its killing.’ ‘It’s a metaphor,’ I said, dubious….’I’m going to a movie with Augustus Waters,’ I said.” The Caregiver: Is a helpful and understanding person. They think first before about how decisions affect individuals and their feelings. Hazel has been a caregiver because she cared for Augustus when he went through some tough times. This can be seen when she was there for when Augustus told her that his cancer has come back and when Augustus’s G tube was breaking. “’You get to battle cancer’, I said. ‘This is your battle. And you’ll keep fighting,’ I told him….’You’ll…you’ll… live your best life today.’” (pg.216) “Do not call nine-one-one or my parents… Quietly, I pulled out my phone and glanced down to dial 911. ‘I’m sorry,’ I told him.” (pg.243, 244) The Sage: Is a person who’s desire is to find the truth, and once they find the truth it will set them free. Hazel is the sage because she is so desperate to find the ending of the book “An Imperial Affliction.” She has always been wondering about the ending, as it is her favourite book. Hazel has travelled all the way to Amsterdam just to see the author who promised to tell her the ending in person. This is shown when she and Augustus are standing outside of Peter Van Houten’s door and thinking of how the moment has finally come. “My heart pounded. One closed door away from the answers I’d dreamed of ever since I first read that last unfinished page.” |