The Cancer Patient’s Hope for Life in John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars: A Genetic Structuralism Study

Abstract

This research is an analysis of the hopefulness and hopelessness of cancer patients based on Genetic Structuralism by Lucien Goldmann to find the worldview in the novel The Fault in Our Stars. In this analysis, I focus on three characters that depict the topic that I take namely Hazel Grace and Peter Van Houten who are hopeless depictions, and Augustus Waters who is a hopeful depiction. This research uses qualitative research because all data use words rather than numbers. The primary data are taken from the quotation in the novel; The Fault in Our Stars which is related to hopelessness and hopefulness. The secondary data are taken from books, journals, articles, websites, and also theses which refer to the author's background and also the sociohistorical facts of the American Cancer Society in the 21st century. There are three research questions, they are: how hopefulness and hopelessness toward cancer are described in the novel The Fault in Our Stars, how the American Cancer Society’s condition in the 21st century is depicted in the novel, and what the worldview is expressed in the novel. This research uses the Genetic Structuralism theory from Lucien Goldmann to find out the worldview of the novel. To answer research questions, I use several methods and several ways such as: reading the novel comprehensively to understand the meaning of hopelessness and hopefulness in the novel, watching John Green’s interview on his website, searching for sources related to how cancer patients deal with their problems, and also searching for how the contribution of the American Cancer Society in its efforts to cure cancer patients that is mention by John Green indirectly in the novel. The results of this study indicate that worldview is found when I analyze the conversations of the characters Hazel, Peter Van Houten, and Augustus as well as several phenomena in the novel relate to the topic of the problem that I focus on (hopelessness and hopefulness) and searching for facts in the real world. income the reasons John Green created The Fault in Our Stars is that Green wants to remember his friend who dies battling stage IV thyroid cancer. Green also wants to convey that if we need to be healthy, then we must be happy and accept all the fates that God has been, and remain positive thinking about all things that happen in our lives.