Amsterdam

I am still reading "The Fault in Our Stars." Hazel and Augustus are in Amsterdam and just walked out of Mr. Van Houten's house. I am completely baffled by Mr. Van Houten's reaction to Hazel and Augustus. He calls them dumb and childish and could not be more cruel. It  shows the truth in having two sides to everything. When I look at Hazel and Augustus all I can see is maturity, and wisdom beyond their years. They talk and think in abstract ways. How could someone think they are immature? I think that Mr. Van Houten, besides being literally crazy, is the immature one. He can only see pieces of things. He only sees specific metaphors. He does not see reality and the need for completeness and closure. He tells Hazel that characters do not exist outside of the novel, but how can they not. The personalities of characters, the actions of characters, the thoughts of characters are present in the outside world. They are pieces of society. The story of characters continues on after the book ends, but it is a story the author decides not to write down. That story lives on in the reader and they can continue on the story in their own head. Hazel is not crazy for wanting closure to the story. She can and has thought of possible endings, it is just that she wants to know what the author would want to happen. The fact that Mr. Van Houten refuses to give her access to that is crazy. There may not be importance to the ending of "An Imperial Affliction," but there is no way you can stop a story directly in its tracts without ever thinking about what would happen next.