Outside Reading Book Top Ten List

Top Ten List
Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

Main Character John:

John Tyree is one of the main characters of Dear John (hence the title). John is an army-enlisted mid-twenty year old man. Two qualities he has is determination and respectfulness. He is determined because of his dedication towards getting back with Savannah. He shows his characteristic of respectfulness when it came to Savannah and her ambitions and goals in life, he respected them all. His significance of the story is that the plot revolves around him and his story of how he fell in love with Savannah and the obstacles he faced with the relationship of her and his father.

Main Character Savannah:

Savannah Curtis is a main character in this book. She is so generous in the way she volunteers her summers to help build houses for the needy and her desires to help autistic kids. She is a main character because she is the girl of who falls in love with John; and their relationship is the basis of the plot. The mood of the story often is a reflection of her feelings.

Motif of Loss:

In the story a reoccurring idea is loss. John loses his father from a heart attack and mild stroke. He also lost the strong relationship he had just mended with his father. John also lost the love of his life, Savannah, when she married another man while he was away fighting in the war in Iraq. Lastly, John lost his feeling of security in his country when the terrorist attacks of September 11 occurred.

Setting:

The setting of the book is in North Carolina on the coast majority of the time. Otherwise it took place at the house that Savannah was staying at while building houses in North Carolina. Also Iraq and Germany were other places were John was and occasionally described in lots of detail. No significant events took place outside of these general areas.

Letter From Savannah to John pg. 186-187:

This letter was sent to John from Savannah while he was in Iraq for the army. The letter stated that she had fallen in love with another man and that she was essentially breaking up with him. This broke John’s heart and changed his mood for the rest of the story. He was still in love with Savannah. This letter was significant to the book because it was the spark that thickened the plot for the rest of the story and created a feeling of unpredictability for the readers.

Relationship to his other book ‘The Notebook’:

The book ‘Dear John’ and ‘The Notebook’ both written by Nicholas Sparks are very similar. Both are love-stories and start out with them extremely in love with each other at a young age. Then in both books the girls find other love when the boys are sent off to the army. Also in ‘The Notebook’ and ‘Dear John the man’s fathers die and they take over something important to them such as the house to remodel and the coin collection respectively. This is significant because ‘The Notebook’ is a very well known novel and motion picture and since they are so similar it is possible to see the book ‘Dear John’ on the big screen and have it be a success. Also its significant because if they are similar it would attract some readers who enjoyed ‘The Notebook’ to read ‘Dear John’.

Internal Conflict with Savannah:

The internal conflict of Savannah is that she is in love with John but she is married to Tim. While John was away in Iraq she needed comfort to help her cope with John being away and Tim was there to console her. So when John came home and Savannah was married to Tim she still knew in her heart that she loved John more than Tim but she could not change anything especially while Tim was in the hospital for extreme medical problems and because of all he did for her while she was sad.

Relation of September 11 and the book

The September 11 attack was one of the major causes of the plot and significant events in the story. The event resulted in John leaving and essentially breaking him and Savannah up. Also having this in the story made it relatable to the audience because every individual has a feeling they get when the attack is brought up and it creates a personal mood for each reader.

Theme of your 1st love is never forgotten:

The theme of this book is that your 1st love is never forgotten. John and Savannah were so deeply in love and they shared so many special moments together. After John left to go back to Iraq the 1st time they stayed in love to the time he came back on leave. When he left again their love was still alive but it faded when Savannah became closer with Tim. But when John returned home once again to find Savannah married to Tim, when they saw each other they both realized that they were meant to be together.

Plot:

The plot of this story is about John and Savannah and their relationship. They met during the summer while John was on leave for the army and they instantly fell in love. Also the story is about John and his growing relationship with his father. In the end John and Savannah suffer the consequences of trying to have a long-term relationship and they ended up not together. Also John loses his father during a heart attack. This book is about how John deals with the obstacles put in the way of his relationships.