Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The Last Song : Nicholas Sparks

This story begins and ends with a stubborn 17 year old girl named Ronnie. She lives with her mother and younger brother and lives a perfectly normal life. One summer, her mother unexpectedly decides to send Ronnie and her brother to visit her dad for the summer. Their father had left the family randomly when Ronnie was still young. She does not want to visit him because she feels abandoned by him. For the first few days at her father's beachhouse, Ronnie rebels. She hardly speaks to her father and doesn't try to make friends with anyone at all. When she finally gives up on that, she meets a new friend who gets her into lots of trouble. Nothing seems to be working out for Ronnie and her summer. One day, something almost magical happened. While walking along a beach she stumbles across a racoon eating some eggs. They were turtle eggs. Animal loving Ronnie made a cage to protect the eggs by using a shopping cart and slept outside guarding them. The next morning some more help finally came along. This help was a young man Ronnie's age. And they instantly had a connection. They then became inseperable. Ronnie was always with her new man, and he was always with her no matter what.

The romance continues throughout the book, only as their summer connection and bond grows stronger. Ronnie begins to talk with her father. Growing closer with him each day, not only through words but especially through music. One day Ronnie, her brother, father, and beloved boyfriend are outside on the beach watching the turtle eggs hatch. Her father randomly collapses and is taken to the hospital. Only then are Ronnie's eyes opened to why she was spending the summer with her father. Could it be his last summer? Could it be their final song together?


Discussion Topics:

1. Why do you think Ronnie worked so hard to rebel against her father?

2. Why do you think Ronnie put so much trust in a guy she just met?

3. Why is Ronnie's brother not upset about him leaving the family like she is?

10 comments:

AnaleeL7-8 said...

I think Ronnie worked so hard to rebel against her father because she did not want to have to spend the summer away from all her friends. She didnt understand why now she had to spend time with her father.

Sara D. 7-8 said...

I believe that she worked so hard to rebel against her dad to show him that she was deeply affected by him leaving. She wanted to show him the hurt she felt without him and that she wasn't going to be nice to him all of a sudden because he finally cared about seeing her and her brother.

Ashley B. 1-2 said...

I agree with Sara. I believe she truly cared for her father. They spent years sitting side by side playing on their piano and when he left because of the divorce she was deeply troubled. She stopped playing the piano and blamed him for several years to come, This is reflected when she rebels against him that summer. Also, her affection towards her father at the end of the story proves how much she cared for her father and the guilt she felt for blaming him all of those years.

Madi Y 7-8 said...

Couldn't she have just flat out talked to him about why he left. Did she honestly think that not talking to him was going to solve all her problems. She was not even trying to make it better by finding other friends to be around. She was just all around stubborn towards everyone.

Sydney M 7-8 said...

I feel the same way as the girls said above. In repsonse to what your saying Madi is that maybe she ignored him because she wanted him to feel the neglect that she did when he was gone. Yes she was stubborn but maybe thats how she intended to get her point across, by showing him what it felt like not having him to talk to.

Hannah J. 7-8 said...

From reading this book it is my understanding that Ronnie worked so hard to rebel against her father was to avoid the pressure he caused her and to avoid the hurt she felt when he left her. I think ROnnie put so much trust in a guy she just met was because she felt he was someone who wanted to understand her and who could corollate with a lot of her feelings, almost as if they were in the same boat. My opinion is that Ronnie's brother is not upset about their dad leaving the family may have been because her brother never really knew her dad and was very young when it happened and this may be the only arrangement he has ever had with his father.

Madi Y 7-8 said...

I agree with what everyone is saying. I believe Ronnie was upset with being left. And also I think it is a good belief that her brother was too young to have really known his father before he abandoned them. As far as the boyfriend, I think she relied on him more for the feeling of love. They really did not have much in common with eachother.

Amanda F 7-8 said...

)1. i agree with everyone else on this one, i believe Ronnie worked so hard to revel against her father because she wanted to show him she was upset, and sort of suggesting a "how could you have done that to me" kind of mood or attitude toward her father, but sometimes you could be wasting time when from the very start they could have worked things out.

)2.I think Ronnie put so much trust in a guy she just met because she needed someone to care about her and be around and to rely on as well. because being with her father for the summer has taken away her right to her friends at home she really has no one to depend on or talk to. Overall i think it is because she was a little lonely and was going through a stressful time.

)3.Ronnies little brother is probably not as upset because he was too young to remember or he is super grateful he gets to spend time with his father after not having one for quite some time, because sons always have a tendency to lean toward their fathers.

Monica J. 1-2 said...

I think Ronnie is so rebellious agaiinst her faher because she blames him for the seperation and the fact that hes the one who left her mother, which includes leaving her. She is upset with him so she trys to be rebellious as possible when she is with him to show she is not happy with him.

Unknown said...

1. I think Ronnie worked so hard to rebel against her father because deep down in her I think she believes that her father is at fault for the seperation of himself and Ronnie's mother.

2. I think Robbie put so much trust in a guy she just met because she was looking for someone to love and trust.