Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

The novel's main character, Logan Thibault is in war on a tour of duty overseas when he comes across a picture of a young woman standing in the middle of pine trees. He suddenly experiences some luck by surviving in combat and winning poker games with buddies. He met his best friend Victor while in combat over seas and once their tour is complete they separate but plan to meet again for a fishing trip.
Victor's only explanation for that sudden stroke of luck is the photograph. It seems like its Logan's lucky charm and he can not seem to get the young lady out of his head. His solution is to embark on a journey to find her. He walked day in and day out across the country. His search is stopped when he meets a young, divorced mother from a small town, Elizabeth.
The picture is kept a secret as their relationship grows. Logan is given a job from Elizabeth's Nana at the kernel and he finds a place to stay. Keith Clayton, Elizabeth's ex-husband threatens to ruin their relationship and he does not want Logan anywhere near their son, Ben. Clayton does not trust Logan at all. He begins sneaking around Logan's home and finding out as much information he can. Clayton becomes aware that Logan is hiding something and his secret now plays an important part in his relationship. Even though they are divorced Clayton does not let other guys into Elizabeth's life. If something becomes to serious, he will run the guys right out of her life and being a police officer makes that fairly simple.
Tension begins to grow, and Ben runs away into a storm... I can't give many more details without ruining the ending.

1) The photograph made a huge impact on Logan's life while overseas in Iraq. Do you think it is possible to have love at first sight from a picture?
2)Do you believe Clayton had a right to be meddling in Elizabeth's life like that. Do you think part of it was jealousy, even though they are divorced?

14 comments:

Kyle N.1-2 said...

1. It depends upon knowing the person or not on the picture. If you have never known the person, I don't think it's possible to just "love" her/him right away without a reason. It's questionable, though, but I don't think I would fall in love at first sight with a picture.

2. I don't think he had a right to be in her life after divorce. Once you're married, your life and theirs is joined forever, and you should be involved. But after a divorce? Divorce is like saying I don't love you or I am not interested in you anymore. He should not be involved with the woman he divorced, he shouldn't still be in her personal life.

AnaleeL7-8 said...

2) I don't think he had the right to meddle into Elizabeth's life unless it regarded their son. I also believe it was out of pure jealousy.

Sarah N. 7-8 said...

1. I think that it is possible to like a person in a picture, but not love, because you really don't know anything about them. When you see the picture your entirely relying on looks and you imagine what the person would be like. As Kyle said, if you don't know them previously it is unlikely to fall in love.

Sydney M 7-8 said...

1. I don't think it is possible to have love at first sight over a picture. You are just seeing the person and basing everything on looks. You don't know their personality or how they talk or anything. It'd be hard to fall in love over a picture, but I guess it could be possible to like someone.

Nicole H. 7-8 said...

1. I agree, I don't think love at first sight is possible by looking at a picture. It might be more likely to like someone and imagine how they act, but to really love them you would need to get to know them.

Lisa T. 1-2 said...

1. It's definitely possible to be attracted to someone in a photograph, and I agree with Nicole and Sarah when they mention the way one can "imagine" what somebody is like. Logan may have fallen in love with the person he imagined the girl to be, but I don't think he could be in love with who she really was until he actually knew her.
2. Clayton had a right to oversee the relationship Logan would have with his son if he were to be with Elizabeth, but he did not have a right to invade her privacy or Logan's.

Ashlyn W. 7-8 said...

2) I don't think that Clayton had a right to invade their relationship. If it reguarded their son, then that's a different story. If it involved his son he does have a right to be involved.

Ashley B. 1-2 said...

1) I agree by the fact it is possible to imagine what the person would be like through the picture and that it would be hard to fall in love.

Avi D. 7/8 said...

1. It could be possible. For many Asian culture's an arranged marriage is a viable solution. The first glimpse the groom has of the bride is in a picture. So in that case it could happen. But I believe that no one would in their sane mind go out on a journey to find a girl in a random picture.

Sarah H 1-2 said...

I think you can definately find someone attractive by looking at a picture and imagining what they would be like, but I dont think you can fall in love with someone that way.

I also think that Clayton had no right to be in Elizabeth's relatonship like that. They are divorced for a reason.

Monica J. 1-2 said...

1.I dont think you can fall in love at first sight with a picture. You have to at least have the presence of the person and the realness of them.
2.I think he didnt have the right but it was jealously because if u love someon eonce like they did even if they did lose it you always have a little part of you that will always have feelings for that person.

Ashley B. 1-2 said...

2) I agree with Monica that part of you will always be with that person but i also believe it was completely wrong for Clayton to be messing around in Elizabeth's and Logan's relationship like that.

Sevgim A.1-2 said...

1. Why not. I believe in love at first sight, but when you get to know the person it has to be normal, like meeting any other person.

Mrs. Sherwood said...

Thread graded and closed.