A Research Paper Proposal
Presented to the Fourth Year Department
La Immaculada Concepcion School
City Of Pasig
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in
English IV
By
LALALALALALALAL ))
02/17/14
Theme Analysis
The Discovery of Faith
In the early part of the novel, religious faith is presented only in the form of Jamie Sullivan as seen through the immature eyes of Landon Carter. He mocks her for her Christian faith, pointing out that whatever happens in life, good or bad, Jamie always attributes it to the “Lord’s plan.” Jamie has faith in God no matter what happens, and she shows it by carrying her Bible with her at all times. In breaks at school, rather than chatting with friends, Jamie prefers to read the Bible. Landon, on the other hand, has no interest in religion. He attends church only because everyone is expected to do so. It means nothing to him personally. But as he gradually gets to know Jamie his attitude slowly begins to change. He first mentions faith in chapter 10, after Jamie has confessed that she does not always understand what the Lord’s plan might be. He replies that one must have faith, although he does not really know what he is talking about, and he knows that he does not, and he soon steers the conversation away from God and toward romance. But after Jamie tells him she is dying, he faces his own personal crisis and turns with all sincerity to religion. He prays for a miracle and starts reading the Bible. Later, he and Jamie read the Bible together. It is when Landon reads a particular Bible passage that he finds the answer to the question that has been troubling him: what more can he do for Jamie? He feels that he has finally received an answer from God, and this shows his faith has been rewarded. For her part, Jamie never for a moment loses or even questions her faith.
Coming of Age
The novel covers only a few months in the life of Landon Carter, but these are vitally important months because they mark his coming of age, his rapid transition from an aimless and rebellious adolescence to a mature adulthood. Landon is forced by circumstances to grow up very quickly. At the beginning of the novel, he is a senior in high school with no real ambitions, no record of achievement, and a reputation for indulging with his buddies in immature pranks. He thinks it is fun to mock Jamie Sullivan for her unconventional appearance and her religious faith. He takes the drama class only because he is expecting to be able to sleep though most of the classes. Hegbert Sullivan thinks he is irresponsible, and his judgment is accurate. But hiding underneath Landon’s irresponsible exterior is a young man who has a capacity to feel deeply and to rise to exceptionally difficult challenges. He first has to shake himself loose from peer pressure, the pressure exerted on him by his peer group to be just like them. This is a difficult thing for him to accomplish. Jamie Sullivan has always been a girl who attracts the ridicule of Landon’s friends, so how is he to be any different? But gradually, he finds the strength of character to express his devotion to Jamie no matter what others think. He is learning to follow his own heart and moral conscience, even if this means acting contrary to what his circle of friends approves of. This kind of independent action is quite different from the deliberate rebelliousness he has cultivated up to this point in his life. As his love for Jamie deepens, Landon learns how to behave selflessly, to be generous to others, and to survive a test of character in the severest of circumstances—the fatal illness of the girl he has fallen in love with. In the way he handles himself during these difficult months he shows he has taken a huge step toward becoming a responsible adult, knowing how to love another and being aware of his obligations to himself, his family, and his community.
Forgiveness and Reconciliation
When the novel begins, there are some deep-seated, long-held family wounds in the town of Beaufort. Landon is estranged from his father, Worth Carter, the Washington D. C. politician who is hardly ever at home. It is as if Landon has grown up in a one-parent home. Not only this, Worth Carter and Hegbert Sullivan are at odds. Hegbert has not forgiven the Carter family because he once worked for Worth Carter’s father, who built up his fortune through ruthless business practices. But Jamie’s illness effects reconciliation in both these situations. The wealthy Worth Carter persuades Hegbert to accept financial help to meet Jamie’s medical expenses, as a result of which Landon drops his resentment of his father. His father acts as best man at his son’s wedding, and Landon says he knows he can count on him. Worth’s generosity also effects a reconciliation with Hegbert, and fulfills at least something of what Jamie once mentioned to Landon—that the Carter family might one day give back some of the money that Landon’s grandfather made by unethical means.
CHARACTERS
Landon Carter
Landon Carter is the narrator of the novel. As a fifty-seven-year-old man, he looks back on a few months that changed his life when he was seventeen. At the beginning of the novel, Landon is an immature boy who has little idea of what he wants to do with his life. He thinks of himself as a rebel. He is not especially good at anything, and his main source of pleasure seems to be hanging out at the graveyard with his friends and pulling harmless pranks, such as soaping up car windows in the neighborhood at night. He becomes president of the student body only because his father insists that he run, so he can boost his resume and get into the University of North Carolina. Landon signs up for the drama class only because he thinks it will be easy, but it turns out that this class sets in motion a chain of events that will force him to grow up very quickly. It throws him together with Jamie Sullivan, and although at first he resists getting involved with her, eventually he falls in love with her. Through Jamie he learns how to behave selflessly, with consideration for others. He also learns about religion and faith. By the end of the novel he has learned how to give everything he has to the one he loves—a notion that would have been meaningless to the boy he was before he got to know Jamie. Worth Carter
Worth Carter is Landon’s father. He is a long-serving U.S. Congressman and a wealthy man, since he inherited his father’s fortune. He is a skillful politician, diplomatic and charming. During the 1950s he serves on a House committee that investigates communist influence in the U.S. Worth Carter does not get along with Hegbert Sullivan, and he is not much of a father to Landon. He spends so much time in Washington D.C. that Landon regards him as a stranger. However, when Worth donates money to enable Jamie to have medical care at home, Landon is so grateful that he is reconciled to his father.
Mrs. Carter
Mrs. Carter is Landon’s mother. She is the parent most responsible for raising Landon, and he describes her as “a nice lady, sweet and gentle.” She provides a willing ear when Landon chooses to talk to her about his feelings, and she offers him good advice. She can also be forceful when necessary, as when she persuades her husband to return from Washington and arrange to pay for Jamie’s medical expenses.
Angela Clark
Angela Clark is Landon’s former girlfriend. She rejects him after a few months, choosing to go out with Lew instead. Angela gets drunk at the homecoming dance and has to be helped home by Landon and Jamie.
Carey Dennison
Carey Dennison is the student body treasurer. Like Landon, he does not have a date for the homecoming dance, and Landon is scared that he may ask Jamie before he, Landon, has a chance to do so.
Miss Garber
Miss Garber is the drama teacher at the high school. She is in her forties and is over six feet tall, with red hair. She is enthusiastic about what she does, and keeps using the word marvelous.
Margaret Hays
Margaret Hays is Eric Hunter’s girlfriend. She is the head cheerleader at the school. Landon thinks she has nice legs but he also thinks she is not very bright.
Eric Hunter
Eric Hunter is Landon’s best friend. They have known each other since kindergarten. Eric is captain of the football team and has twice led the team to state titles. He teases Landon about his friendship with Jamie, and sometimes his humor has a cruel edge. But he is a loyal friend, and when he hears about Jamie’s illness he apologizes to her for his past behavior. He also collects four hundred dollars to donate to the orphanage.
Mr. Jenkins
Mr. Jenkins is the director of the orphanage. He is a kind man who has known Jamie for a long time.
Eddie Jones
Eddie Jones is a skinny boy with pimples who offers to play the character Tom Thornton in the play. However, he is not good at the part and is having second thoughts about it, so he does not mind giving way when Landon offers to take over the role.
Lew
Lew is a twenty-year-old mechanic who starts to date Angela Clark after Angela ends her relationship with Landon. Lew is an aggressive young man who almost picks a fight with Landon at the homecoming dance. He spikes the punch but deserts Angela when she gets drunk.
Hegbert Sullivan
Hegbert Sullivan is a seventy-two-year-old Baptist minister, the father of Jamie. When he was younger, Hegbert worked for Landon’s unscrupulous grandfather, but quit to enter the ministry. His memory of his former employer has soured his relationship with the entire Carter family. Hegbert married late and was in his mid-fifties when Jamie was born. His wife died in childbirth and Hegbert has raised Jamie on his own. Hegbert is very protective of his young daughter but also inspires her with a love of God. Landon and his friends openly mock Hegbert, who in his sermons seems obsessed with denouncing “fornication.” Hegbert is well aware of this, and he does not trust Landon with his daughter. However, as Landon shows that he is capable of behaving responsibility, Hegbert attitude toward him softens.
Jamie Sullivan
Jamie Sullivan is the seventeen-year-old daughter of Hegbert Sullivan. She is a very religious girl, carrying her Bible around with her everywhere, and always talking about “the Lord’s plan.” She is happy and cheerful and sees the best in everyone and in every situation, always ready to help those in distress. There is an innocence about her. However, Jamie is not popular at school, because she is not “cool” like Margaret Hays or Angela Clark. She usually wears an old brown cardigan and puts her hair up in a bun. She appears to have no friends. She and Landon have known each other since second grade, but they barely talk to each other. Landon joins in with his friends in poking fun at her, and he takes her to the homecoming dance only because there is no one else available. As they slowly begin to become friends, Landon is embarrassed to be seen with her and continues to believe that he does not really like her. But eventually her positive qualities win him over. She is kind, patient, considerate, and optimistic, with an unshakeable religious faith.
PLOT
The story starts with a prologue from Landon Carter at age 57. The remainder of the story takes place when Landon is a 17-year-old high school senior. Landon lives in the small, religious town of Beaufort, North Carolina. His father is a genial, charismatic congressman.
His father is not around very much, as he lives in Washington, D.C. Landon is more reclusive, which causes some tension in their relationship. Landon's father pressures him into running for class president. His best friend, Eric Hunter, who is the most popular boy in school, helps him and, to his surprise, Landon wins the election. As student body president, Landon is required to attend the school dance with a date. He asks many girls, but none are available. That night, he looks through his yearbook, trying to find an acceptable date. Since nobody else seems to be available, Landon reluctantly asks Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of Hegbert Sullivan, the Beaufort church minister, who accepts his invitation. While Jamie is very religious and carries a Bible with her wherever she goes, Landon (one of the popular students) is reluctant to go to the dance with someone like her. When Landon is threatened by Lew, Jamie comes to Landon's aid, to his appreciation. At the end of the night, he admits she was the best date possible.
A few days later, Jamie asks Landon to participate in the school's production of The Christmas Angel.[17] While Landon is not very enthusiastic about participating, he agrees to it anyway.[18] Jamie, on the other hand, could not be happier about her new cast mate. Landon knows that if his friends learn about his role in the play, he will be teased relentlessly.[19] One day at rehearsal, Jamie asks if Landon will walk her home, after which it becomes routine.[20] A couple of days later, Eric mocks the couple during their walk home and Landon becomes truly embarrassed to be with Jamie.[21] Meanwhile, Landon continues to learn about all the people and organizations Jamie spends her time helping, including an orphanage. Landon and Jamie visit the orphanage one day to discuss a possible showing of The Christmas Angel,[22] but their proposal is quickly rejected by Mr. Jenkins.[23] When Jamie and Landon were waiting to meet Mr. Jenkins, she tells Landon that all she wants in the future is to get married in a church full of people and to have her father walk her down the aisle.[24] While Landon thinks this is a strange wish, he accepts it. In truth, he is beginning to enjoy his time with her.
One day, while they are walking home, Landon yells at Jamie and he tells her that he is not friends with her.[25] The next day at the first show of The Christmas Angel, Jamie enters the stage dressed as the angel,[26] making Landon simply utter his line, "You're beautiful,"[27] meaning it for the first time. Following that, Jamie asks Landon if he would go around town and retrieve the jars containing money collected for the orphans' Christmas presents.[28] When Landon collects the jars, there is only $55.73, but when he gives the money to Jamie, there is $247.[29] Jamie buys gifts for the orphanage, and Landon and Jamie spend Christmas Eve there.[30] Jamie's Christmas gift to Landon is her deceased mother's Bible.[31] As they get in the car to go home, Landon realizes his true feelings for her. "All I could do is wonder how I'd ever fallen in love with a girl like Jamie Sullivan."[32] He invites her to his house for Christmas dinner. The next day Landon visits Jamie at her house, where they share their first kiss on her porch.[33] Afterward, Landon asks Hegbert if they can go to Flavin's, a local restaurant, on New Year's Eve. While Hegbert initially refuses, after Landon declares his love for Jamie,[34] Hegbert allows it.[35]
On New Year's Jamie and Landon go to dinner, where they share their first dance.[36] A couple of weeks later, Landon tells Jamie that he is in love with her.[37] To his surprise, Jamie replies by insisting that he cannot be. In response, Landon demands an explanation,[38] and Jamie reveals that she is dying of leukemia.[39]
The following Sunday, Hegbert announces to his congregation that his daughter is dying.[40] Jamie does not return to school the following Monday and that it is eventually learned that she is too ill and will never return to school.[41] While they are having dinner at Landon's house, Jamie tells Landon, "I love you, too," for the first time.[42] A couple weeks later, Eric and Margaret visit Jamie's house, where they apologize for ever being rude to her.[43] Eric gives Jamie the $400 that he collected for the orphanage.[44] Jamie refuses to stay at the hospital, because she wants to die at home. In turn, Landon's father helps to provide Jamie the best equipment and doctors so she can spend the rest of her life at home.[45] This gesture helps to mend the gap between father and son. One day, while sitting next to Jamie while she sleeps, Landon comes up with an idea.[46] He runs to the church to find Hegbert[47] and asks him for permission to marry Jamie. While Hegbert is reluctant,[48] his refusal to deny Landon's request is seen by Landon as approval.[49] Landon runs back to Jamie's side and asks, "Will you marry me?"[50]
Landon and Jamie are married in a church full of people. Although she was weak and was in a wheelchair, she insisted on walking down the aisle so that her father could give her away which was part of her dream.[51] Landon remembers thinking "It was...the most difficult walk anyone ever had to make. In every way, a walk to remember."[52] When they reach the front of the church, Hegbert says, "I can no more give Jamie away than I can give away my heart. But what I can do is let another share in the joy that she has always given me."[53] Hegbert has had to experience so much pain in his life, first losing his wife, now knowing his only child will soon be gone, too. The book ends with Landon 40 years later at age 57. He still loves Jamie and wears her ring.[54] He finishes the story by saying, "I now believe, by the way, that miracles can happen."
