How is Peter Van Houten described in the fault in our stars?
Peter Van Houten is a bona fide alcoholic. When Hazel and Augustus meet him in person, he’s rude, abrasive, and utterly drunk. He says mean things to them and refuses to answer Hazel’s questions, effectively crushing her dreams of learning what happens at the end of An Imperial Affliction.
What does Peter Van Houten represent?
Peter Van Houten is a crucial character. He is the author of Hazel’s favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, and the father of Anna Van Houten, the inspiration for his book. He is an alcoholic, and when Hazel and Augustus met him in person, he was abrasive and drunk.
What disease did Peter Van Houten have?
Amsterdam in particular is under constant threat of being inundated by the surrounding waters, like Hazel herself to some degree. It’s also home to Peter Van Houten, whom we learn is drowning, so to speak, in his own suffering over losing his daughter many years earlier to cancer.
Is An Imperial Affliction Peter Van Houten a real book?
An Imperial Affliction is not a real book, and Peter Van Houten is not a real person. However, An Imperial Affliction is in some ways based on two books I love. The first is David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest. But Infinite Jest is not about cancer.
Why did Van Houten attend Augustus funeral?
Van Houten tells Hazel that he and Augustus corresponded after their trip. He says that Augustus demanded he come came to the funeral to make amends by telling Hazel what happens to Anna’s mother after her death.
What does Van Houten reveal to Hazel about his personal life?
Broke down and liquored up, Van Houten says that Hazel reminds him of Anna. Then he tearfully confesses that Anna was based on his own daughter, who died of cancer at the age of eight. Hazel surmises that An Imperial Affliction was a way for Van Houten to give Anna a second life as a teenager.
Is Peter Van Houten a real author?
Similarly, Peter Van Houten is a sort of author-within-an-author; he’s not a physically existing human, and he’s not John Green, even though he came from John Green. An Imperial Affliction is not a real book, and Peter Van Houten is not a real person.
How did Anna van Houten die in the fault in Our Stars?
When Hazel and Augustus were in Amsterdam, Hazel had worn a shirt with the quote; ‘Ceci n’est pas une pipe’, to which Peter Van Houten commented that it reminded him of Anna. Near the end of the book, Van Houten explained to Hazel that Anna had died of cancer several years ago.
What happens in the living room in the fault in Our Stars?
In the living room, Hazel sees two trash bags behind the couch. Van Houten reveals that it is eighteen years worth of fan mail. Van Houten asks Lidewij for… (full context) Hazel asks Van Houten if he remembers the questions she’d asked in her email, which he doesn’t.
How old was Peter van Houten when his daughter died?
Despite being considered something of an authorial genius, Peter Van Houten defies that impression due to his disheveled, rotund appearance; as described by Hazel, ” …a potbellied man with thin hair, sagging jowls, and a weak old beard.” Peter Van Houten’s daughter, Anna, died at the age of 8 from Leukemia.
What did Peter van Houten do at gus’funeral?
Though he appears to be a heartless drunk, genius intellectual Van Houten lost his way after he lost his young daughter to cancer. He did fly down to Gus’s funeral and offered Hazel a sincere apology.
