"We are motivated by a keen desire for praise, and the better a man is the more he is inspired by glory."- Marcus Tullius Cicero

A major theme that both short stories Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri and A&P by John Updike share with the novel The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is the idea of recognition and praise. All three pieces of literature exemplify the importance of recognition and praise and how it can affect one’s life. Kapasi, Sammy, and Augustus all share a desire for recognition for their accomplishments and a desire to be seen as a hero. The three works of literature also show different negative effects of not receiving the type of recognition they each want: sadness, guilt, shame, and worst of all, inadequacy; each detrimentally decreasing one’s self-worth and self-concept. Kapasi yearns for appreciation and recognition similar to that of Sammy and Augustus, who also wish to be considered heroes and to be praised and remembered for something greater than the simplicity of their existence.

In Interpreter of Maladies, when one of the main characters, Mr. Kapasi, starts to grow an interest in Mrs. Das, one can see how desperately Kapasi wants recognition for his accomplishments. He develops an affinity for her because she shows interest in his other occupation which is working with a doctor as an interpreter. Mr. Kapasi expresses to Mrs. Das that due to the loss of their son, his wife resents his other occupation and gives him no praise or recognition for it. When he explains it to Mrs. Das, she proceeds to call his other job “romantic” and “like no other”—showing admiration for Kapasi and his occupation (Lahiri). Mrs. Das repeatedly asks him to tell her more about his job and shows a lot of interest. She says to Kapasi, “So these patients are totally dependent on you… In a way, more dependent on you than the doctor” and then continues to tell him, “"Well, for example, you could tell the doctor that the pain felt like a burning, not straw. The patient would never know what you had told the doctor, and the doctor wouldn’t know that you had told the wrong thing. It’s a big responsibility" (Lahiri 18) Mr. Kapasi never found anything noble or heroic in his occupation and found it a last resort to make money when he desperately needed it; to him, it was symbolic of his failure. He feels an attraction to Mrs. Das as she shows emotions that he has not been receiving from his wife; emotions he needs from his wife thus making him unhappy with his life. As he observes her relationship with Mr. Das, he compares it to that of his marriage and instantly makes assumptions about it; he feels that she had expressed an interest in him that he did not see her express in her family. He then says that “the feeling of intoxication grew” as he grows an infatuation for her and creates imaginary scenarios of what was to come. It was only because she expresses interest, appreciation and admiration for his other occupation that he starts to feel many positive emotions he hasn’t felt in a long time and wants to prolong the day as opposed to going home and relaxing. Kapasi misconstrues Mrs. Das’ interest in his job as an interpreter thinking she had an interest in him as well, thus misreading Mrs. Das’ intentions. Kapasi is left feeling disappointed and distraught, losing all hope of what he had fantasized would become of his relationship with Mrs. Das; realizing she wanted something different from what he had thought.

In the short story A&P, Sammy originally acts on his beliefs and values but one can also see his desire for recognition. From the moment the girl he names “Queenie” walks into the store, he immediately analyzes her and starts to think about who she is based on what she looks like, what she is wearing, and what items she picks up in the aisles.  He, like Kapasi, develops an infatuation for her while judging who she is and who her family is compared with his. He, too, starts to fantasize about who Queenie is and what will become of them in the future. Thus, when his manager, Lengel, tells the girls that they should wear clothes when shopping in the store, Sammy feels Lengel embarrassed the girls and impulsively decides to quit his job. He attempts to say it quick and loud enough for the girls to hear and think he is their hero. When he takes off his apron and walks outside he notices that the girls are long gone and did not care that he quit his job; no one was there for him but a family with screaming children—no one to acknowledge and praise his deed. He is left feeling disappointed and uncertain of what the future holds for him, realizing “how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter” (Updike 153).  Sammy impulsively makes a decision to appear heroic in nature to impress a few girls that he does not even know whom of which do not actually notice or care that Sammy quit his job. Like Kapasi, Sammy’s infatuation blinds him from the truth; he receives neither praise nor recognition for what he did and now realizes what the consequences of his actions are. Although he quit due to his beliefs and values, he had hoped Queenie would see him quit and call him her hero.

            Similar to Kapasi and Sammy, one of the main characters, Augustus, of The Fault in Our Stars feels the desire for appraisal and recognition. Augustus is a cancer survivor who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, resulting in the amputation of one of his legs. As the reader learns more about who Augustus is, one learns that he has a fixation on dying a hero and nobly. When Augustus is playing a video game with his friend, Isaac, he was on a mission to save hostages and instead of completing the mission he jumped on top of a grenade that was thrown by the enemy in efforts to save the hostages. Although he fails the mission, in his mind he is successful because he was heroic and saved the kids by sacrificing himself. Later, when Augustus’ cancer comes back and he is extremely sick, he says to the other main character, Hazel, “You know… It’s kid’s stuff, but I always thought my obituary would be in all the newspapers, that I’d have a story worth telling. I always had this secret suspicion that I was special” (Green 240). Green makes it clear to the reader that all Augustus has ever wanted was to play an important role in life and to be a hero and to be remembered, not just another kid who will eventually die from cancer. He wants to be acknowledged and to accomplish something to be recognized for the world to know. Augustus is similar to Kapasi and Sammy in the way he expresses a desire for recognition for a noble cause. As the cancer is rapidly killing Augustus and he has become very sick, he cries to Hazel, “Where is my chance to be somebody’s Peter Van Houten... I hate myself I hate myself I hate this I hate this I disgust myself I hate it I hate it I hate it just let me fucking die” (Green 245). Augustus displays a sense of despair for being unable to have the chance to die heroically or be remembered nobly and recognized long after his death; he feels he is being pathetically killed from his cancer and leaving nothing to be remembered by. The three aforementioned men immensely wanted to be known, appreciated and praised for an accomplishment, whether that accomplishment was heroic or just a good deed.

            Although Kapasi, Sammy, and Augustus differed in why and for what they wanted to be commended, all three characters were attracted to the idea of being recognized and remembered for whom they were and what they did. All three works of literature portray the desire and longing to be praised and recognized for one’s accomplishments or actions. If one feels as if they need to have a purpose and cannot seem to define what that purpose is, they will create their own meaning and purpose in efforts to live a life they and others can be proud of. When the three characters are left at the end of each story with disappointment, it clearly depicts the importance of praise to human kind and the effects of deprivation of commendation; which in turn can make life feel grueling and strenuous.