The Fault in Our Stars

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Making Your Mark”

In this activity, students will create and deliver a presentation regarding how they would like to make their mark.

In The Fault in Our Stars, Green includes philosophical ideas regarding “making a mark” on the world before passing away. Hazel is portrayed as a Heroic Observer, making her mark by noticing the world and the people around her, allowing others to be seen. Augustus, however, sometimes mentions how he wishes he could be remembered differently before he passes, though his perspective on himself changes by the end.

Consider this essential question: How do you want to make your mark on the world? Prepare a brief slideshow that reveals and explains your response. Then present your slides to the class.

Requirements:

• A minimum 5-slide presentation that addresses the essential question
• Slide 1: Title, Presenter Name
• Slide 2: How you viewed and pursued the question
• Slide 3: Your answer to the essential question
• Slide 4: Concrete, well-researched details on how you may achieve this goal
• Slide 5: Concluding slide that summarizes how this question and response relate to The Fault in Our Stars
• To whom do you relate more closely regarding your response: Hazel or Augustus? Explain.
• Incorporate 3 cited quotes from the novel; explain the connections.
• Reflect on the importance of this question; share your thoughts in 2-3 sentences.
• Include intentionally and thoughtfully designed slides with an array of meaningful visuals.

Present your slides to the class, discussing each of the required points.

Teaching Suggestion: Prior to starting their presentations and research, it may help to have students engage in a journal prompt and/or discussion regarding the essential question. As this is a reflective question that requires some self-awareness, students may need some additional time to consider their answer before beginning their research and formulating action steps. As many responses may be tied to thoughts on career goals and making contributions through one’s choice of profession, resources on metacognition, learning styles, goal setting, and occupations may be helpful.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who experience anxiety when presenting in front of peers, working in pairs may be beneficial for supporting each other during the process and final product. Completing the presentation via video software and sharing the product with the teacher and peers for feedback may be helpful. Students might instead give “boardroom presentations” in which they present to a small group of their peers rather than the full class.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. The Fault in Our Stars raises several ethical and moral dilemmas related to terminal illness, including the right to make one’s own decisions about treatment, the impact of illness on family and friends, and the nature of support groups. Choose one of these ideas for your essay.

• With regard to your chosen topic, what moral dilemma does Green depict in the novel? (topic sentence)
• Identify, analyze, and discuss 3 key moments in the story that demonstrate this dilemma. Include specific evidence to support your topic sentence. Evaluate the chosen plot points; elucidate the ethical impact made by each in the context of the overall storyline.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, critique Green’s efficacy in encouraging readers to face and question the moral dilemma.

2. In The Fault in Our Stars, the characters navigate their lives in the face of mortality.

• Which character best represents existential themes such as the search for life’s meaning or the inevitability of death? (topic sentence)
• Explain and analyze at least 3 points of rationale for your topic sentence choice. In your argument, discuss how this character best relates to the philosophical concepts of mortality.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, paraphrase Green’s overarching message about mortality and summarize its effectiveness in character development.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by textual details, and a conclusion.

1. Literature plays a significant role in the lives of Hazel and Augustus. In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, discuss the ways in which the novel demonstrates literature’s impact on Hazel’s and Augustus’s perceptions of the world. In your examples, analyze and explain literature’s effects on the characters’ views, states of being, and relationships. Include in your discussion an evaluation of the impact of these pieces of literature on the overall message of the narrative.

2. Green incorporates symbolism and metaphor throughout the novel in order to tackle themes of mortality and meaning. Choose 3 symbols to analyze and discuss, explaining how they are literally incorporated into the main plot line and elucidating both their metaphorical meanings and their far-reaching implications on the story’s main messages. Include direct and cited quotations to support your explanations.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. “Hazel is different. She walks lightly, old man. She walks lightly upon the earth.” (Chapter 25) Which of the following themes does this quote best match?

A) The Heroic Observer

B) Sentimental Cancer Narratives

C) Questions of Mortality

D) The Desire for Answers

2. Which of the following best explains why Hazel dislikes her cancer support group?

A) They lack sympathy for her plight.

B) They do not see a cancer diagnosis as necessarily malevolent.

C) Their discussions seem disingenuous and overly sentimental.

D) They only come up with solutions and do not truly listen.

3. An Imperial Affliction ends midsentence. How does this ending best reflect Hazel and Augustus’s philosophical discussions on mortality and life’s meaning?

A) It demonstrates how others move on even when one passes away.

B) It demonstrates how fragile life is and it can be very suddenly taken away.

C) It demonstrates an individual’s inability to share their story.

D) It demonstrates figurative immortality through literature.

4. Which of the following statements best describes Hazel’s changed perspective of her friend, Kaitlyn?

A) Initially, Kaitlyn is viewed as naïve, then is later seen as sophisticated.

B) Initially, Kaitlyn is portrayed as sympathetic but is later viewed as unempathetic.

C) Initially, Kaitlyn is perceived as popular and sophisticated, then is later seen as unexperienced.

D) Initially, Kaitlyn is conveyed as well-loved but is later viewed as innocent.

5. Augustus discusses being close to Death itself but not allowing it to harm him. Which of the following symbols best represent this idea?

A) An Imperial Affliction

B) Augustus’s missing leg

C) The Price of Dawn

D) An unlit cigarette

6. Which of the following quotes best relates to the theme The Heroic Observer?

A) “Pain demands to be felt.” (Chapter 4)

B) “According to Maslow, I was stuck on the second level of the pyramid, unable to feel secure in my health…” (Chapter 13)

C) “But this was the truth, a pitiful boy who desperately wanted not to be pitiful, screaming and crying…” (Chapter 18)

D) “And here it was, the great and terrible ten, slamming me again and again as I lay still and alone in my bed staring at the ceiling…” (Chapter 21)

7. How does the “grenade” motif best describe Hazel?

A) Hazel pushes down her emotions and will eventually “explode.”

B) Hazel may pass away suddenly, causing pain to her family and friends.

C) Hazel feels as though she is a weapon in war, used only to purposefully inflict pain.

D) Hazel wonders what it would be like to suddenly break down emotionally and physically.

8. How does the drug Phalanxifor represent conflict in Hazel’s life?

A) The drug is a continual reminder that she is sick.

B) She needs this drug to go into remission but is financially unable to afford it.

C) Phalanxifor causes fluid to fill her lungs, but stopping the drug may prove deadly.

D) The medication is painful to take but is necessary for her to keep the cancer at bay.

9. Why do Augustus and his parents argue prior to the Amsterdam trip?

A) They need him to remain home to take care of his father.

B) They need him to stay in order to receive treatment for his returned cancer.

C) They dislike Hazel and do not trust her to take care of him.

D) They fear that Augustus may succumb to his cancer while overseas.

10. Which of the following plot points best demonstrates Van Houten’s initial characterization before his character arc?

A) Van Houten writing An Imperial Affliction

B) Van Houten refusing to discuss the ending of his book unless Hazel visits Amsterdam

C) Van Houten disclosing that his daughter died of Leukemia

D) Van Houten discussing how he refuses to pity sick children while Augustus and Hazel visit

11. Of the following scenes, which best demonstrates the difference between Augustus’s and Hazel’s personalities and perceptions?

A) Augustus convincing Isaac and Hazel to throw eggs at Monica’s house versus Hazel refusing to enter into a relationship with Augustus

B) Augustus going to the gas station versus Hazel going to Amsterdam

C) Augustus helping Hazel sell her swing set versus Hazel’s struggle to speak with Kaitlyn

D) Augustus’s desire to be remembered versus Hazel reading at Augustus’s prefuneral

12. How does “The Red Wheelbarrow” befit the scene with Augustus in the ambulance?

A) The poem is short and simple, much like the fragility of life as Hazel is implying to Augustus during this scene.

B) The poem focuses on noticing the little things, and Hazel needs Augustus to stay conscious and observant.

C) The poem was written to bring hope, and Hazel wants this poem to bring Augustus peace.

D) The poem was written at the bedside of a dying child, and Hazel recites this poem to Augustus.

13. Which statement best describes the difference between Augustus’s prefuneral versus his official funeral?

A) The prefuneral is small while the official funeral itself is a large affair.

B) The prefuneral is sincere while the official funeral feels contrived.

C) The prefuneral is a sign of pragmatism while the official funeral is more emotional.

D) The prefuneral is meant for close friends and family while the official funeral is for the church organization.

14. What gives Hazel hope for her family?

A) Her mother is pregnant with another child.

B) Her parents plan to dedicate their lives to the community.

C) Her mother is getting her master’s degree to help counsel families struggling with cancer.

D) Her father is leaving his work to commit himself to helping others with terminal illness.

15. What does Augustus send to Van Houten?

A) Rough drafts of his eulogy for Hazel

B) Love letters for Hazel

C) His manuscript for An Imperial Affliction sequel

D) Letters begging for an ending to An Imperial Affliction

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. How does the novel challenge or reinforce common perceptions about illness?

2. Consider the impact of An Imperial Affliction on Hazel’s worldview and her perception of her own story. How does literature influence her understanding of life and death?