The Fault in Our Stars Lesson Plan

Hazel says that Augustus's sandwiches tasted bad despite being metaphorically resonant; what might we learn about his character from this comment?

Augustus has arranged everything at the picnic to have, as Hazel puts it, "metaphorical resonance." It is meant to be symbolic and important and to serve a larger purpose. But in creating a metaphorically resonant picnic, he has sacrificed certain things--for instance, the taste of the sandwiches, or the pleasure of a genuine conversation as opposed to a prepared speech. This seems symptomatic of Augustus's philosophy and approach to life—he likes grandiose gestures, but might have a more difficult time with things that are more...