ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos


21st-Century Literature Videos 16 videos

ELA 12: 2.16 Harry Potter’s School Days
163 Views

Who wants to read another story about a kid going off to boarding school? Apparently, pretty much everybody.

Life of Pi Summary
38820 Views

Sorry, guys: this novel doesn't follow the dramatic life events of pumpkin pie, nor does it explore what it truly means to be the mathematical cons...

Catching Fire (Part 1)
2682 Views

We volunteer you as tribute to watch this video analysis of Katniss in the second book of the Hunger Games series. After the berry suicide attempt...

See All

The Fault in Our Stars 13587 Views


Share It!


Description:

Have you ever read a book and thought, "Whoa, this sounds like my life"? If you feel that way about The Fault in Our Stars , you're in for some major bookception: the main character, Hazel, is reading a book whose protagonist's struggles match her own.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:05

The Fault In Our Stars a la Shmoop. Imagine reading a book that ends in the middle

00:15

of sentence. It would be like your favorite show getting

00:23

canceled in the middle of the last episode. That's exactly what happens to Hazel in A

00:32

Fault in Our Stars.

00:34

When her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, ends mid-sentence...

00:38

...she's so upset that she takes a transatlantic journey to find the real ending.

00:44

Why does she take this trip?

00:47

Why doesn't she just move on and read something else that actually has an ending?

00:51

Or write some fan-fiction? Maybe it's just plain ol' curiosity.

01:01

Wouldn't you want to know how your favorite book ends? You know... before the movie comes

01:08

out? Or maybe it's the fact that Hazel is just

01:15

sick of uncertainty.

01:17

She already has plenty to worry about: Will she die? Will her friend Gus die? Will the

01:23

sun go supernova and we all die?

01:27

Perhaps her search for the ending to An Imperial Affection is just the search for some certainty

01:33

in her life. But then there's the fact that Hazel's story

01:40

is basically the same as Anna's, the main character in An Imperial Affliction.

01:46

It's almost like the author was watching Hazel and recording her life.

01:54

Haven't you ever read a book and thought the main character... was you?

02:02

Hazel wants to know what will happen to her family after she dies, and she seems to be

02:06

looking for those answers in Anna's story.

02:10

She wants to know that Anna's mom will be okay, just like she wants to know that her

02:14

own parents and loved ones will be okay. So, what's the real reason Hazel goes on this

02:23

epic adventure?

02:25

Is it because, like all of us, she's just curious?

02:28

Or is she looking for certainty in an uncertain world?

02:32

Or does she see her own story in Anna's and wants to discover her own fate?

02:43

Or maybe JetBlue just had a killer deal on round-trip tickets to Amsterdam...

02:47

Shmoop amongst...

02:48

<<pause>>

03:00

...yourselves.

Related Videos

Utopias Becoming Dystopias
29768 Views

This video defines utopias and dystopias, and investigates how a utopia might become a dystopia. Can a seemingly perfect world actually be a dystop...

The Importance of Being Earnest Summary
123040 Views

They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...

The Giver Summary
105893 Views

Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains ju...

Invisible Man (Ellison)
1818 Views

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an American classic. Hope you're not expecting any exciting shower scenes though. It's not that kind of book.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
1257 Views

Do not go gentle into that good night. In fact, if it's past your curfew, don't go at all into that good night. You just stay in your good bed and...