Van Houten

At the beginning of the novel, Hazel, the protagonist cancer patient, believes van Houten to be such a genius as only could write the book that she loves; however, this turns out to be untrue. He Is a fat, sad old man who finds his few comforts In alcohol and insulting teenagers. Hazel gets to know van Houten as a â€Å"miserable [creature] who [scours] the earth In search of something to hurt† (277) when she finds In Amsterdam. He is not only someone apparently incapable of loving, but also only capable of damaging whatever he comes in contact with.How did this happen? Van Houten was torn apart when his daughter died. This drove him to become the kind of man that he Is in the novel, but Peter van Houten â€Å"was insufferable long efore [he] lost [his daughter]† (286), meaning that his daughter's death was simply the unveiling of a man who was always a lost cause. In other words, this â€Å"grief [did] not change [van Houten]. It revealed [him]. † (286) In this way, his daughter turned him into the man he is.Though he became this sad old man through the loss of his daughter he did not completely turn sour. When, for a second, it looked as though van Houten would â€Å"leave [his bottle] on the curb,† (287) Hazel thought he might give up drinking and become the author she wanted him to be. Though he chooses not give up his life tyle, It becomes apparent that he is Indeed trying when he says: â€Å"I'm trying, swear. † (285) This shows the reader that he is not completely lost.Through the many views of him seen in the novel, it is shown that Peter van Houten Is a mean man, but he Isnt a bad man. He tries to become better; he tries to overcome the weight that he carries through his life in the form of his daughter's death. Whatever he will become, he Is yet another side-effect of his daughters death. Essay on Van Houten By rootcanal Fault in Our Stars, be remembered; Villain or Victim? He is portrayed throughout the Unfortunatel y, the answer is not so black and white.Peter van Houten is simply a turns out to be untrue. He is a fat, sad old man who finds his few comforts in alcohol who [scours] the earth in search of something to hurt† (277) when she finds in kind of man that he is in the novel, but Peter van Houten â€Å"was insufferable long style, it becomes apparent that he is indeed trying when he says: â€Å"I'm trying, I Houten is a mean man, but he isn't a bad man. He tries to become better; he tries to death. Whatever he will become, he is yet another side-effect of his daughter's death.