Peter Van Houten is
awful. He is extremely rude and insensitive, he interrupts without a second
thought, and is never seen without some sort of alcoholic drink in his hand. Before meeting him, Hazel
envisions him as nearly god-like, having the ability to create realities and
hand them to her. She looks up to him before she ever knows
him, but once she does, everything she has thought him to be is ruined. And
this is why he is a fantastic character.
We are introduced to
Peter Van Houten before the book even begins. Three pages before the book officially starts, there is a quote taken from a mysterious book written by this mysterious
author, so clearly he is going to be important. Then, the book begins and Hazel briefly describes her lonely life, claiming her “third
best friend was an author who did not know [she] existed” and this author is,
you guessed it, Peter (12). She then, on the next page, equates the book this
author has written to her version of the Bible, feeling as though he
understands her because he is alive, but knows what it's like to be
dying (13). Throughout the rest of the novel, Van Houten is described as
something of a genius. He wrote an apparently amazing book, which Hazel finds quite a bit of solace in, and because
of this she practically idolizes him (after all, he is her third best friend). So,
of course, Hazel has to go meet him. She and Gus venture across the ocean to
find him and ask him questions about his book. Unfortunately for them, this
hyped up meeting ends up being kind of (very) shitty.
Peter Van Houten,
Hazel’s once sought after, untouchable, otherworldly hero, turns out to be “the
world’s douchiest douche,” as she so kindly puts it (184). He doesn’t care one
bit about the two teenagers who have just shown up at his door, praising his
work and begging to hear more about it, he just goes on talking about Swedish
hip-hop and tortoises. Hazel is, of course, angry and frustrated, and this is
perhaps the first time we see her truly express that. She yells, hits the glass
of scotch in his hand, and cries on Augustus the second they leave Peter’s
house.
Pre-meeting Peter
represents hope – he is untainted, essentially perfect, something intangible
and beautiful that Hazel can cling to. Post-meeting Peter is the harsh reality
of living with cancer – hope can only get you so far, and then you’re faced
with pain, disappointment, and results you were maybe not expecting. This man
who Hazel looked up to has shattered a world she created and has been living in
for so long, and now she is left not only without that, but without the answers
she came to him for.
Peter is awful, and that’s
why he’s great. Reality isn’t perfect, and things don’t usually turn out the
way we want them to, especially not for people living with disease and terminal
illness. But we make the most of what we are given, and for Hazel and Gus that
means having an amazing, unforgettable time in a foreign country despite the
fact that the man they went there to find turned out to be a dick.
I completely agree with Alyssa that Peter Van Houten is both an awful and great character. He is completely awful for many obvious reasons (he’s a drunk, he compares a teen with cancer to a failed science experiment, he refuses to indulge in her last dying wish, etc.), but the reasons he is great are less obvious. For one, like Alyssa pointed out, he makes the book real. Life isn’t fair, and Peter Van Houten makes damn sure of that in this novel. Like I stated in class, if the visit with Peter would have gone perfectly well this book would have come off as cheesy or predictable and it would have had way less of emotional impact because of this. Peter’s damaged character also adds so much more depth to this novel than some one dimensional, simple character would have. Peter’s anger provides much more insight into the different ways parents of children with cancer choose to cope, which is an essential aspect of this novel. Finally, Peter’s character is specifically essential to the ending of the novel. Having Peter fly all the way to Indianapolis for Gus’s viewing and then sending Hazel the eulogy even after she shuts him down at said viewing points to just how special Gus’s character was. He was able to crack through Van Houten’s shell and allow for a tiny bit of humanity to shine through, just in time for the emotional last scene of the novel.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that Peter Van Houten is a terrible, but necessary character. Through Peter’s character, John Green is able to show Hazel’s transition from living in a fantasy to facing reality. In the beginning, Hazel idolizes the author because she believes that he has the answers that she has always been looking for. Because Hazel strongly relates to Anna, the main character in An Imperial Affliction, she believes that her life will be just like Anna’s life. Hence, Hazel prompts Peter Van Houten to explain what happens to Anna’s mother after her death because Hazel believes that if Anna’s mother survives then her mother will survive as well. Like Hazel, many teenagers feel that their lives will drastically mirror the lives of the characters that they relate to. However, John Green uses Peter Van Houten to draw a clear line between reality and fantasy. John Green sends out an important message to teenagers that often the fantasy is not as pleasant as the reality. Moreover, Green exemplifies the idea that a person should not live by what is written in a novel. Instead, a person should create their own reality but forming their own ideas, beliefs, and opinions.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that Van Houten is an unsavory person, however nearing the end of the book I didn't so much hate him as much as I felt bad for him. Once Hazel realizes that Houten had somebody close to him die, specifically his daughter-- from cancer, his alcohol addiction, reclusive nature, brusque personality, and immediate refusal of Hazel and Gus's visit is explained. Ana in An Imperial Affliction was most assuredly a resemblance of his own daughter, so when Hazel came to his home dressed like the very person whom he so dearly missed and wished was actually there, such a vile and rude welcome can more easily be explained by extreme sorrow rather than from simply being a douchepants. As a father, he arguably underwent one of the most unnatural and trying series of events as he watched his daughter die. He turned to alcohol, and tried to waste away the years until maybe he could fulfill his promise to go see his daughter in heaven. While I would not recommend this approach, I think it is understandable for why he cared so little about his not-daughter Hazel.
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