YA book blog post

“The Fault in our Stars” by John Green blog post By Nubia Phillips 805

            I think that the author, John Green was really trying to use setting as a big part of the story. For example, when they had dinner in Amsterdam, when they were in Anne Frank’s house, and finally, all the days when  Gus was dying. This really shows John Green was using setting to shows  how nothing else mattered because Gus and Hazel were so in love.

            The first place I think the author used setting to show Gus and Hazel’s love is when they were eating dinner in Amsterdam. For example, although they were in a public, outdoor restaurant they were still in a very much in a privet environment. For example, they gave many examples such as “cyclist pedaled fast, well dressed men and women on their way home from work…” they described the surroundings, but not very well. They were also doing things that may seem like they are very pritvet such as sharing secrets and things like that. This shows that they are not very important. Only Gus is important in Hazel’s eyes, and the other way around.

            The second place I think the author used setting to demonstrate the lack of importance in anything else other than Gus to Hazel is when they were in Anne Frank’s house. This is because they kissed. This was a museum and there were many other people there. The text says that “My hand let go of the oxygen cart and reached up for his neck…” Hazel’s oxygen cart is very important to her. It is essentially what keeps her alive. She just dropped it in a minute for Gus. Also, other people in the museum were looking at them, but they didn't care.

            The final example of John Green using setting to show how intimate Gus and Hazel’s love is and nothing around them  can hinder that, is when Gus was dying. When this was happening, Hazel would come over to Gus’ house everyday and just keep him company. This shows love becuase Gus didn't do much of anything when he was dying. Yet, Hazel still enjoyed his company and the other way around. The text says “When I got his face so nose-touchingly close so that I could only see his eyes, I couldn’t tell he was sick” this shows that even if he was sick, it didn’t matter because she loved him so much. It didn’t matter that the location wasn’t as romantic as it was in Amsterdam because they were in Gus' basement,  but all that Hazel cared about at that moment was Gus.

            I think that John Green did this in a lot of scenes because setting can be important anywhere if you are with the person you love. Even if you aren’t in the best conditions, it doesn’t matter. Hazel and Gus weren’t always somewhere where it was like in Amsterdam, but they always enjoyed there time together no matter what, and nothing or nobody makes a difference about that. It is basically the same if you are with the right person.