Monica, a minor character when it comes to The Fault in Our Stars, has a bigger role then just playing the cliche girl who breaks a poor guy's heart. But first background knowledge. Monica and Isaac (a teenage boy about to go blind) dated for a long period of time. They were always known to be whispering "always" to each other, promising to stay together. Well lets just say that didn't last. A few days before Isaac has surgery, making him completely blind, Monica leaves him because she couldn't handle having a blind boy friend. This, of course, is followed by a long period of sadness, where even after Isaac becomes blind, he still thinks about her more than the surgery.
At a quick glance Monica is seen as rude, selfish, not really caring at all about Isaac. However, there are definitely more reasons then that to have her be a part of the story.
For one, she teaches the reader that nothing ever lasts, a common theme seen throughout the book. Her leaving Isaac shows that "always" doesn't necessarily mean forever. Everything ends, whether it's good or bad.
Second, while Monica can be viewed as selfish, maybe she was looking out for Isaac. As she said, she couldn't handle Isaac's disability. Leaving him, gives him the chance to find someone that can care for him even though he is blind. Could she have at least tried and stayed? Sure, but at least she was honest.
Also, Monica shows that you have to stand up for yourself. While leaving Isaac may have seemed like a "weak move", I believe it was actually strong of her. She did what was best for her, instead of allowing herself to get hurt in a relationship she couldn't handle. Even though Isaac was very upset, she went through with her decision. You can control your happiness, not others, and Monica's decision benefited her happiness. Isaac shouldn't rely on her as his only form of happiness, and the pain of her leaving will go away eventually.
These lessons that Monica teaches the reader are skills that everyone can apply to their life and they shouldn't be overlooked, even though Monica is just a minor character throughout the novel.
Hi McKenna, I really enjoyed reading this blog post. I have not personally read The Fault in Our Stars, but loved your analysis on this minor character. When reading other people's blog posts on the same book, they focus on Hazel and Augustus which can get mundane. It was very unique of you to talk about a character I never heard of. Monica sounds like a part of the book that gets overlooked, but can be impactful if you look closely. I like your comment that says she cared about Isaac and wanted what's best for him, and everything ends but isn't 'forever.' I hope to see more blog posts about this book, as I find them very interesting and it makes me want to jump on to the John Green bandwagon!
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