Augustus Waters wants to be remembered as heroic, he is obsessed with leaving a mark on the world. This is unlike Hazel, who just wants to save those she loves from pain. Hazel is more genuine at times than larger than life Augustus, who plans out “ a soliloquy” complete with “what felt like a practiced pause” for a first date (88-89). Perhaps it is fitting that a teenage boy with such grand aspirations as Augustus would be named after a Roman emperor. However, Augustus is not always referred to by his full name, sometimes Augustus is just plain Gus.
It seems like it does not really matter if Augustus gets called by his shortened name or not, he will respond to both. However, what name is used does seem to matter to Augustus himself. In the later parts of the book, when he is dying, Augustus notes: “‘You used… to call me Augustus” (240). His grand name fits his grand self-image, but the shorter nickname is just the name of an average guy. This is after Hazel has discovered him lying in a pool of his own urine, an image that irrevocably damages the image he wants to project. As Isaac notes “‘Augustus Waters was a self-aggrandizing bastard’” (258). Augustus has a self-image that is very pretentious, in part because he wants to be remembered as something other than another cancer patient. Unfortunately for Augustus, any acts of heroism, à la Max Mayhem, are impossible for his cancer-ridden body. He will not go out in a heroic manner in his mind, because he believes “there is no glory in illness” (217).
Hazel also struggles with the issue of what will happen after she dies, albeit in a different manner. She has concentrated on not leaving a mark, but rather minimizing damage. Her reticence to start a relationship with Augustus comes from her opinion that she is “a grenade and at some point I’m going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties” (99). Eventually, however, Hazel realizes that keeping Augustus out is pointless and begins a relationship with him. However, this development does not quiet Augustus’ need to leave a mark, he is still so obsessed with how he will be remembered that he has his own prefuneral where Isaac is exasperated to find Augustus “editing your own eulogy” (259). Hazel’s love does not transform Augustus, it does not make any less self-aggrandizing. His relationship with Hazel only gives him a different perspective. At the end, Augustus realizes that “the marks humans leave are too often scars”, and can now see that not everyone is obsessed with leaving a mark, like him (311). Augustus sees the value of Hazel’s attitude about dying, although he cannot espouse it.
Augustus preference for his full, Roman-inspired name is apparent throughout the novel. Something I find worth analyzing is Hazel’s change from calling him Augustus to simply Gus, which Gus recognizes while he’s dying. When Hazel first meets Augustus, she’s thrown into his world of cigarette metaphors and grandiose gestures, and is immediately attracted to his charisma. She explains, “I liked Augustus Waters….I liked that he took existentially fraught free throws. I liked that he was a tenured professor in the Department of Slightly Crooked Smiles with a dual appointment in the Department of Having a Voice That Made My Skin Feel More LIke Skin. And I liked that he had two names. I’ve always liked people with two names, because you get to make up your mind what you call them: Gus or Augustus” (32). While Gus is still healthy, he fulfills his grand facade; however, as his cancer returns, he becomes a regular teenage boy—Gus. Because Gus wishes to heroically impact the world in a memorable way, he wishes to be called Augustus, even as his cancer takes his life. Contrary to this, Hazel’s grenade-theory makes her wish the opposite: she merely wants to live her life without harming others. Because of this, she finds solace in Augustus becoming Gus, and loves him better that way. In her opinion, “He wasn’t perfect or anything. He wasn’t your fairytale Prince Charming or whatever. He tried to be like that sometimes, but I liked him best when that stuff fell away” (302).
ReplyDeleteI think that your comments about Augustus’ name are all very true. He is obsessed with how others view him, and the legacy that he will leave behind after he is gone, and this is reflected in all of his actions on a day to day basis. I believe that this also expands beyond just Augustus. From his first meeting with Hazel, Augustus asks her what her full name is, and continues to call her “Hazel Grace” throughout most of the novel (25). This use of Hazel’s full name reflects Augustus’ view and reverence of Hazel. Hazel sees herself as “Just Hazel,” ordinary and plain despite her illness (29). This discord between how Hazel views herself and how Augustus views her clearly expresses the differences in their ideas of legacy. Augustus is obsessed with being remembered, and the importance he places on his name reflects that. Gus, and other nicknames are often seen as childish and naïve, while Augustus promotes the idea of a strong and mature man. Hazel’s insistence that she is nothing special or important represents her wish just to exist and die without being too much of a grenade. Simplicity and extravagance may seem like polar opposites, but in the case of Hazel and Augustus they serve to balance each other out.
ReplyDeleteWhen Augustus says, “‘You used… to call me Augustus” (240), he realizes that he is a mere mortal, and not the hero he believed himself to be. His nickname humanizes him, which is why he abhors it. The moment Hazel discovers that Gus urinates himself is when his grandiose facade is finally dropped. It may be shocking to see him in such a state, but Hazel feels closer to him than ever before: “He wasn’t perfect or anything. He wasn’t your fairytale Prince Charming or whatever. He tried to be like that sometimes, but I liked him best when that stuff fell away” (302). It was hard for me as a reader to like Augustus because of the way he talked to and treated Hazel. However, Hazel must have seen something in him that I didn't. (Maybe she really did have a prosthetic leg fetish!) She was charmed by Augustus immediately, but eventually took him off a pedestal. Everyone around him admired him so much, so it was only natural he got a big head and felt like he had to keep up with his image. Even his Dad says, "It's total bullshit...The whole thing… He was such a bright kid. It's bullshit. I hate it. But it was sure a privilege to love him, huh?" (256). Everyone loves Augustus Waters, but Hazel is one of the few that got to know and love Gus.
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