THE ARCHITECTURE OF EXISTENTIAL SINCERITY AND A SEMANTIC AND PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF JOHN GREEN’S “THE FAULT IN OUR STARS

Abstract

This paper examines the semantic and pragmatic architecture of existential sincerity in John Green’s novel The Fault in Our Stars within the framework of the aesthetic movement known as New Sincerity. The study investigates how semantic deviations, pragmatic violations, conceptual metaphors, and performative speech acts function as linguistic mechanisms through which terminally ill adolescents construct identity, maintain agency, and negotiate existential realities. Particular attention is paid to the strategic violation of Gricean maxims, the creation of an adolescent sociolect, lexical foregrounding, and the use of conceptual metaphors such as the Grenade, Water, Void, and Infinities. The analysis demonstrates that linguistic creativity serves not only as a stylistic feature but also as a psychological defense mechanism that enables characters to confront mortality while preserving emotional authenticity. The findings reveal that Green’s novel exemplifies the principles of New Sincerity by combining intellectual complexity with emotional transparency, thereby transforming language into a tool for constructing meaning and achieving existential resilience in the face of death