The Fault in Our Stars - How Do the Main Characters Develop Mentally Throughout the Book?

 In all books, the main characters always change as the story progresses. It's just a basic of books; change. And The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is no different. The Fault in Our Stars describes Hazel's life as she battles cancer and falls head over heels for Augustus Waters. Both Hazel and Augustus change immensely throughout the book, their beliefs and personalities switching up a bit.

In the beginning of the book, Hazel is very neutral to the fact that she is dying and doesn't really care about anything other than hurting people if she were to die. She is a distant person who doesn't want to fall in love or even have a strong relationship with anyone. She deals with her cancer by seeing it for what it is and she doesn't sugar coat anything in her life; “Any attempts to feign normal social interactions were just depressing because it was glaringly obvious that everyone I spoke to for the rest of my life would feel awkward and self-conscious around me” (Green 47). That quote shows that she understands that people feel uncomfortable around her and that she just has to deal with it. She is a very strong person and is dealing with everything in her life in a way most teenagers wouldn't. Things start to change when she meets Augustus. The second that she looks at him she feels something she's never felt before. And when she talks to him for the first time, she already knows she will fall in love with him. But she doesn't want to. She doesn't want to hurt him. In the middle of the book, she is more happy and up for forming a friendship, yet still is neutral to her cancer and doesn't want to fall in love. Towards the end of the book she is a total different person. She has let herself fall for Augustus therefore letting all her protective walls down. She is a romantic who doesn't care about building relationships with people. She feels that if she dies, and she hopes she won't, that she should have had lived her life to the fullest. The contrast between Hazel in the beginning of the book and the end is momentous.

Augustus on the other hand has a very different personality than Hazel's, and doesn't change as much throughout the book. In the beginning of the book Augustus has a very open and direct personality, which he keeps throughout the book. He says everything that comes through his mind, and is a very sweet person. He is very respectful and intellectual. He isn't afraid of falling in love or dying or anything. He is just living his life to the fullest. When he meets Hazel is falls for her instantly and does whatever it takes for her to know how much he loves her. In the middle of the book, when Hazel and Augustus are friends, Augustus's personality is the same as the beginning of the book. Nothing has changed. The end of the book, is when everything changes. Augustus gets cancer again. He becomes incredibly sick and weak. He tries to put up a front for Hazel and his family and says that he'll get through it, even though it obvious things are getting worse day by day. He starts becoming weak physically and emotionally. He gets mood swings and his self esteem lessens. He still has his wit and open, direct personality, yet he is struggling, and he doesn't want anyone to know it.

So to wrap it up, characters are always changing through the books. Sometimes the changes are negative and sometimes the changes are positive. The Fault In Our Stars does a great job of incorporating both the negative and positive changes.