Augustus Waters is signature for his cigarettes. He says, "They don't kill you unless you light them...And I've never lit one. It's a metaphor, see: You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do its killing" (20). Augustus desires control through his life. He is diagnosed with cancer, then goes into remission, and finally is diagnosed again. Through all this chaos, Gus yearns for stability and a say in what happens to him. Augustus realizes he cannot control whether his body develops cancer, therefore he chooses something miniscule to combat on his own-- the cigarette. The cigarettes are an area in his life in which he can have the upper hand. Gus gets to have the last word by choosing to light it or not.
During the tip to Amsterdam, Hazel Grace wears a shirt with the painting, "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" on the front. This famous painting is done by the surrealism painter Rene Magritte. The translation in English is "this is not a pipe". As seen in the painting below, it is clearly a pipe. The purpose of his "Ceci n'est pas" paintings are to point out that no matter how naturalistically the object is depicted, the true item's meaning is never caught. Hazel Grace also explains Magritte's style by saying, "All representations of a thing areinherently abstract" (178). Surrealism was an era of painting that allowed the artist freedom of expression and for the observers to have freedom of interpretation.
This painting embodies Augustus' cigarette symbolism. The metaphor of putting a cigarette in his mouth shows the direct correlation between what is literal and what is up for interpretation. Gus literally put the killing machine in his mouth, but he does not give it the power to kill. The cigarette is his mouth is a parallel to Magritte's "Ceci n'est pas une pipe". Though it is clearly a cigarette, the purpose behind it is interpreted to be his desire for control.
This painting embodies Augustus' cigarette symbolism. The metaphor of putting a cigarette in his mouth shows the direct correlation between what is literal and what is up for interpretation. Gus literally put the killing machine in his mouth, but he does not give it the power to kill. The cigarette is his mouth is a parallel to Magritte's "Ceci n'est pas une pipe". Though it is clearly a cigarette, the purpose behind it is interpreted to be his desire for control.