Words on Wednesdays - TFIOS!

Today I am writing my post with blistered hands after my first proper riding lesson in near six years. Good fun, but I am going to ache tomorrow!
This week's challenge is to be positive, to talk about things you are passionate about. Books are a big passion of mine, I'll move on to discuss The Fault in our Stars in just a moment, but first I want to say a little bit about my main passion; DOCTOR WHO.

I have no idea who any of the other people in this picture are,
they were very keen we should have a picture together...

This is quite a good week for it, the finale of Series 8 will be airing this Saturday, and on the same day I shall be joining forces with my friends here in beautiful Cardiff for Cardiff Comic-Con; we have cosplays ready as the eleventh Doctor, Clara and the TARDIS - I can't wait! Look at my fabulous 11th Dr Costume which I wore first in 2013:
50 years on, Sci-Fi's longest running show is just as fabulous as ever.

Right, onwards to TFIOS.
(NB - SPOILER ALERT)

What is important to remember about this book, and John Green's wonderful characters Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters, is that they are in no way special. And especially not just because because they are sick, this is not a book about sickness, it is a book about love, and living the life you want to despite illness, not defined by it. Hazel and Gus are NOT special in the grand scheme of things, they are not going to be remembered because they are just an ordinary boy and girl who by pot luck got the short end of the stick and their lives end prematurely. Augustus Waters' acutely aware of his insignificance in the grand scheme of things, puts this very nicely;

"Anyone can name fourteen dead people. But we're disorganized mourners, so a lot of people end up remembering Shakespeare, and no one ends up remembering the person he wrote Sonnet Fifty-five about.” 

Or, of course, you need only to look at the title to see where I am coming from - the original quote from Julius Ceasar (Shakespeare) reads;

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings."

I.e - There is no grand scheme that has screwed them over, it's just dumb luck and we would be fools to treat it any differently.
Now that we have moved very far away from the idea that Hazel and Augustus are what I would refer to as 'Special little snowflakes' we can look at the novel on a podium somewhere among the great Love stories. Hazel and Gus are special to each other, ('you gave me an infinity within the numbered days' - what a romantic line!) and that is what matters. It is a dysfunctional romance, yes. not ideal in every way, namely Hazel's very present and literal baggage in the form of her gas canister and Gus's premature death, but if you list all the great novels commonly associated with love, you might notice that serious flaws is a recurring theme...

Jane Eyre - He's still married, the ex lives in the attic.
Romeo and Juliet - Lasts five days, six people die including the double suicide of the titular lovers.
Lolita - Thirty-something stepfather becomes sexually obsessed with twelve year old girl. 
Paris and Helen of Troy - She runs off with him and her husband starts a ten year war.
The Great Gatsby - Gatsby is living in a dream world where he and (Now married) Daisy can follow the (metaphorical) American Dream. Ends in, again, double murder

You get my point. Despite their... issues... these, and TFIOS, are still counted as the worlds greatest love stories. I'm certain Gus would have something to say about the metaphorical resonance here. Flaws are overlooked and The Fault in our Stars succeeds in John Green's aim to 'argue for [sick people's] humanity by giving them a love story to rival the greats. And with a stunningly beautiful love quote modeled by Bryony on Monday:

'I fell in love the way you fall asleep - slowly, and then all at once...'

A sub theme of the story is the idea that we have a (albeit limited) choice on the impact we have within our own little part of the world. Gus and Hazel take very different approaaches to this, with Hazel trying to 'minimise the casualties' that will be caused by her inevitable death and Augustus desperate to 'leave [his] mark on the world', ensuring that he has a pre-funeral to ensure he has done this (by affecting his friends). His posthumous letter to Hazel suggests he is pleased with the way he has shaped his life, his own little part of the world. 

“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.”

I hope you liked my short and sweet piece on this marvelous book, remember you don't have to agree with my opinion, this is one nineteen year old's view on the novel, not the definite answer!

Ooh, also, Today is the Fifth November, so I shall leave you with the following parting words, and I hope you all go out and enjoy the annual celebration of the defeat of insolent and violent Catholicism! ((Please don't take this as my religious view, but that is literally what Bonfire night is; the Protestants showing off that they are better than the Catholics))

- Emily

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November
Gunpowder, Treason and Plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot.