Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks

The notebook by Nicholas Sparks is an outstanding love story. The story begins in a nursing home, where an elderly man reads to a women with Alzheimer's every morning. The man reading these stories is Noah Callohan. He is telling these stories in hope to trigger the women's memory of their love and life together, Allie Hamilton. The novel is then told in flashbacks starting in 1946. This part of the novel focuses on Noah buying a real fixer- upper of a dream house. This home is a symbol of where Noah and Allie's love blossomed. Noah came from a family of very little money and never had a prestigious job. He was able to get the money to buy this home from serving in the Vietnam War. The story now flashes back even further to the summer that Allie and Noah first met. It was the summer of 1935 and these two teenagers became inseparable, they were truly in love. Unfortunately, when the summer ended so did their relationship. It was hard for them to keep in touch when Allie moved back home and her family was not fond of Noah's class. The story now goes forward to 1946 and Allie is engaged to an extremely successful man. While planning her wedding she sees an article in a newspaper of Noah standing next to the house they spent time in as teenagers. Allie decides that she has to to go and see Noah. During her visit she realizes how madly in love they still are. The rest of the story focuses on Allies struggle whether to follow her heart or follow the path her family has made for her.
Questions:
1) If you were Noah would you spend most of your day trying to trigger Allie's memory or just go on living your life?
2) If you were Allie would you listen to your family and marry a man they approve of or would you end the engagement and be with Noah?

12 comments:

Madi Y 7-8 said...

1. If I was Noah and I loved someone that strongly and dearly I would never give up on trying to get them to remember me and the memories that we shared.
2. I would try to explain to my family what really makes me happy. And if they love and care about me then they would want me to be with the person that makes me happiest.

Ashley B. 1-2 said...

1. I would try to trigger their memory, even if it began to feel impossible and desperate. Its hard to believe a disease can strip away everything that two people have shared.

2. I would end the engagement to be with who i truly cared for. It seems really shallow just to marry a man because your family either planned it or approved it. There should be a deeper connection than that. And I agree with Madi, if my family really cared about me, they would back me up 100%.

Unknown said...

1. If I was Noah I would most deffinatley spend every second of my day trying to trigger Allie's memory.

2. I would have to listen to my heart, not my family. I believe that it is not up to them to choose who I spend the rest of my life with reguardless of their approval.

Nicole H. 7-8 said...

1) If I was Noah, I would try my hardest to get Allie to remember her life. If she really could not remember, I would still stay by her side whenever I could.
2) If I really loved someone, I would not listen to my family if they tried to pick out my husband. Love is love and it cannot be forced.

Brandon Messner said...

1. I would just go on living my life because if she's so elderly that she has Alzheimer's, then I think she'd die sooner than I would manage to jog her memory and that would have been a huge chunk of my life right down the toilet

2. I would marry Noah because it does not matter what your family thinks, it is your choice entirely.

Morgan O 7-8 said...

1) I would continue to remind her because even if they were only small moments where you could trigger her memory, those moments would be worth it.

Morgan O 7-8 said...

2) Also I would marry Noah no matter what my family said because my family cannot tell me who i love, that is my decision.

Lisa T. 1-2 said...

1. I don't think there's any way to just move on. I agree with Morgan; being with her again even for short periods of time would be enough to go through the trouble.
2. While I trust my family's opinions, I don't think it would matter to me if I was as sure of what I wanted as Allie was sure of Noah.

Megan M 1-2 said...

1. Noah truly cared about Allie and they were each others soulmates. If I was in his situation I would have to do the same thing as him. No matter how heartbreaking it was, if your one soul mate could not remember who you were, any chance of a memory would be worth it.
2. It would be my life, my marrige, so it should be my choice. I would be with whomever I cared about the most, because of him, not because of his income.

Avi D. 7/8 said...

1. I agree with Brandon, I would just continue living my life and not waste my time. I am old too and there are still things I need to do before I die. If I have time I might try to jog her memory, but it would not be my first priority.

2. Its my life and I can do what I want. That being said, I value family and I would not want to lose them. Instead of out rightly disobeying them, I would try and convince them that Noah is a viable husband.

Tyler W 1-2 said...

1.If i was in Noah's shoes, i would probably do as he did. This book shows that they were in deep love and became inseparable.

Mrs. Sherwood said...

Graded