Here's the Shakespeare quote from which the book gets its title:
The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars,But in ourselves, that we are underlings.- from Julius Caesar, I, ii, 140-141
It's Cassius (a fellow underling) who speaks these words to Brutus, and he's saying ... well, I'll leave the interpretation up to you.
What is he saying? Why, exactly, are Brutus and Cassius underlings and not kings (in Cassius' humble opinion)? And what does that have to do with the title of John Green's book and the story within its pages?
And while we're on the topic of extracting meaning from quotes, let's take a minute to examine the epigraph:
As the tide washed in, the Dutch Tulip Man faced the ocean:"Conjoiner rejoinder poisoner concealer revelator. Look at it, rising up and rising down, taking everything with it."
"What's that?" I asked.
"Water," the Dutchman said. "Well, and time."
– PETER VAN HOUTEN, An Imperial Affliction
Why do you think Green decided to include this quote at the beginning of the book as an epigraph? What significance does it have? How does it relate to the story?
A Mission in Three Parts
That's the second part of your mission--to come to group next week with your thoughts on the epigraph. The first part of your mission is to come with your thoughts on the title. And the third part of your mission? Ha ha! That's to arrive with something of your own to contemplate.As we did with Homeland, please come with two of the following:
- a theme from The Fault in Our Stars, and what the author seems to be saying about that theme
- a symbol you noticed and how it is used
- a motif from the book and what purpose you think it serves
- a discussion question to ask the group
- a quote you found particularly interesting, meaningful, or puzzling
Got it? Thoughts on the title, thoughts on the epigraph, and two items from the list above. If we all do that, we should have a rousing discussion on this thoughtful book. (I'll bring the tissues.)
Happy reading.
