In my novel, "The Best of Me" by Nicholas Sparks, The story takes place in the small town of Oriental in North Carolina. Two high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply in love but split under complicated circumstances because of Dawson's last name, only to find each other again later in their adult lives. Both distinctly different, Amanda married and had children of her own. Dawson on the other hand lived a simple life and kept to himself. He didn't date anyone after Amanda. Both of these star crossed lovers were summoned back to the town of Oriental to attend the funeral of Tuck Hostelter, a close acquaintance to both. And in his will Amanda and Dawson were both mentioned. The two reunite once again.
Amanda Collier came from a wealthy family with high expectations. In her younger days her parents did not approve of Dawson Cole because of his family name. The last name Cole had bad things associated with it only by rumor and had a negative impact of Amanda and Dawson's relationship. They split as teenagers and reunited again later in life. Reconnected would be the proper term i think. As they rekindled, you see how the author uses their relationship as symbolism of the theme "can love rewrite the past?". This is a big part of the story because it relates to the climax of the story. Foreshadowing is also used in the story many times. For example, toward the end of the story, Amanda and Dawson have a disagreement. He heads to the bar late at night where there is nothing but negativity and ends up getting into a fight. At this point you can predict that something horrible is going to happen to him. Another example would be how Dawson and Amanda ran into each other at Tucks home after meeting with the lawyer to go over the will of their old friend. When both enter the home nothing but old memories spin in each Amanda and Dawson's heads. This implies that they will rekindle in some way. Flash Backs were also used in this story. Throughout the novel Dawson and Amanda reminisce on their teenage romance on times they had spend together and nights they snuck out (Chapter 1-4).
Allusion is a big literary element in this story. Simply because toward the end of the story Tuck, the man who's funeral Amanda and Dawson attended left behind two letters. It talked about he love the two had for each other and what he was leaving behind for each of them. Not only this but he spoke about how if the two had stayed together things would've been different. Their lives would have been changed completely. And he gives the two the option to be together again. He lent advice on his death bed on how each should treat one another. Keep in mind there was a letter for both. And each of these leads to a traumatic event that will be life changing. Tuck knew the two would come together again and purposely left them in his will because he knew they were meant to be together. I would consider this an analogy.
I find Dawson an intriguing character. He is this man who had no relation to his family history of violence. He is irrevocably in love with Amanda and knew the love he had for her could never be replaced. He stuck to his promises toward her and never let another women take her place even though he knew she was no longer his. Indirect characterization is used many times in the story. The author starts off with Dawson in first person and switches views to third person when he is speaking as Amanda. The author approaches both this way because there are two sides to every story and though each characters feelings for each other are the same, he shows how each one thinks and wonders. He explains the different back rounds of the two. And through out the novel you see how because of the lives they lived, they re romance had to come to an end in a way. Circumstances were in the end different for each. The protagonist i think is static only because there are so many lingering thoughts and actions lingering. He, meaning Dawson is also round because he has many ties and emotions.
After reading the book i felt like i was actually Dawson. I felt every emotion he felt whether it was rage or anger and i was able to relate. Everyone wants to feel loved and everyone ultimately has a first love. I think anyone who has been in love in some way can relate. I felt like i knew the character and met him in person as if he told me his life story.
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