The Juxtaposition of Antithetical Forces in the Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Abstract

This research paper seeks to study the juxtaposition of antithetical forces in the text The Fault in Our Stars penned down by John Green. The research centers on the characters' quest for finding an answer to the meaninglessness, attempts for filling the void, facticity, existential angst, and ultimate despair in the framework of the philosophy of 'Existentialism' posited by Jean-Paul Sartre. All the major characters in the novel are cancer patients, living a dismal and distressing life under the looming shadow of death. In an existential vein, the protagonists set out on a journey of self-exploration and choose to eke out a momentary optimism from their pessimistic situations. While battling with the terminal disease, Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters engage in an emotional liaison that becomes a redeeming force in their traumatized existence. This research will study how love becomes a life force, an antithetical force juxtaposed with death and devastation. The transience becomes an impetus of change from despair to fulfillment as the protagonists experience infinity in an ephemeral togetherness and find a meaning of life in empathy and love.