Critical Lens

Trust is a very valuable thing is one’s life. Without trust, it is next to impossible to go through life. Graham Green happens to agree with this as she had once said, “… it is impossible o go through life without trust…” One can interpret this quote as trust being an essential aspect to life and in order to go through it, there must be someone or something a person can put his or her faith in. Two works of literature that reflect this quote are The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Trust sometimes helps people strengthen themselves to be able to go through tough times in life. John Greene proves so in his book, The Fault in Our Stars. Hazel and Augustus are able to build a strong relationship. The author uses characterization in order to build trust between the two characters. Since Hazel was able to put her faith in Augustus, her character became stronger and started to have more confidence in herself. Augustus, a philosophical teenager, helps Hazel live her life in the limited time that she has although he, himself was dying. Both characters became stronger and were able to live their life as much as they could because of how they made each other feel. Augustus made sure Hazel never looked down on herself. When it was time for Augustus to go, Hazel was strong enough to give him a proper good-bye. In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, trust is used in order strengthen the relationships within the family. When Mama receives the insurance check that the family was waiting for, Mama decides to buy a house with the money. Doing so creates a conflict between Walter Lee. To make things right, Mama entrusts him with the rest of the money. But, Walter Lee breaks the whole family’s trust by investing the money in the liquor store even though he told not to do so. When his friend runs away with the money, Walter Lee realizes his mistake. It was the family’s faith in Walter Lee, which let them forgive him. The family knew that he truly regretted what he had done and that he would do everything in his power to try and gain their trust. Trust is the key to building relationships and maintaining them. In John Greene’s The Fault in Our Stars and Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the trust and faith is what keeps the characters headstrong. Hazel and Augustus’s trust helps them stay optimistic through their illness. The Younger family’s trust within themselves helps maintain their relationships with each other and get through tough obstacles in life. Both works of literature prove that trust is essential to life.