The Fault in Our Stars

by John Green

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Chapter 14 Summary

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On the way home, Hazel and Augustus order champagne on the plane, using their cancer to gain special treatment. This is fun, but soon Augustus begins to be bothered by pain. He takes a pill that makes him want to sleep. As he drifts off, he comments that Van Houten’s anger at them seemed “personal.”

At home, Hazel describes Amsterdam to her dad, and he tells her he read An Imperial Affliction while she was away. He says that he may not be a good judge of literature, but he found the book “defeatist.” Hazel replies that this makes it “honest,” but her dad disagrees. He says that it is hard to decide what to believe about life and death and God, but in his opinion, hopelessness is not the only intelligent response. He suggests that it is arrogant for a mere human being to assume that it is possible to be certain about the meaning of life and death:

I believe the universe wants to be noticed…And who am I, living in the middle of history, to tell the universe that it—or my observance of it—is temporary?

That afternoon, Hazel and Isaac visit Augustus, entertaining him with gallows humor. For example, Isaac says his eyes are great, except for the fact that they got cut out. During this conversation, he mentions offhand that his ex-girlfriend has not once called or e-mailed him since their break-up. This makes Augustus angry, and he insists that they go out immediately and take revenge. Hazel helps the other two to her car, reflecting that it is the first time in years that she has been the most able-bodied person in a group.

At Augustus’s direction, Hazel buys a carton of eggs and drives to the home of Isaac’s ex-girlfriend. There Isaac throws eggs at the girl’s car while Augustus stands beside him giving instructions. Isaac misses the first several throws but eventually makes a few hits.

Hazel does not help egg the car, but she does take a picture so that Isaac can see his own handiwork someday, after "robot eyes" get invented. Hazel describes the picture in detail, commenting that Augustus looks happy, with a lopsided grin and an unlit cigarette his mouth.

After the boys finish the egging, Augustus triumphantly helps Isaac back to the car. Hazel speeds off, only to find that she has reached a dead end and has to turn around. Their getaway ends up being rather slow and sloppy, but none of them really cares.

As the chapter ends, Hazel comments that the picture she took that day was the last picture she ever took of Augustus.

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