MAKING IN TERMINALLY ILL ADOLESCENTS JOHN GREEN'S THE FAULT IN OUR STARS: RESILIENCE, IDENTITY, AND EXISTENTIAL MEANING

Abstract

This paper examines the psychological dimensions of resilience, personal identity, and existential meaning-making in terminally ill adolescents as portrayed in John Green's 'The Fault in Our Stars' (2012). While prior scholarship has centred on the novel's emotional and romantic dimensions, this study draws on Viktor Frankl's logotherapy, Erik Erikson's theory of identity development, and Martin Seligman's positive psychology framework to interrogate how Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters construct meaning in the face of imminent mortality. Adolescence, widely regarded as the critical developmental stage for identity formation, is complicated dramatically when a life-threatening illness disrupts normative developmental trajectories. This paper argues that Green's characters do not merely endure cancer but actively re-author their identities through narrative, relationships, humour, and philosophy. The study explores how Hazel's literary obsession with 'An Imperial Affliction' mirrors her search for an authentic narrative of death without closure, while Augustus's fear of oblivion drives him toward legacy-seeking behaviour. The paper further investigates how parental dynamics, peer interaction, and institutional structures such as the cancer support group function as both constraints and enablers of psychological growth. This research contributes to the interdisciplinary field of health humanities and adolescent psychology by demonstrating how Young Adult Literature can serve as both a mirror and a model for understanding the inner lives of seriously ill young people. The paper concludes that resilience in these characters is not passive endurance but active, meaning-directed engagement with an uncertain and foreshortened future.