Vanessa O.

Nacar

July 30, 2015

BSEd 2 C

Rating:

A Walk to Remember
Reflection:
Nicholas Sparks waves his magic romance wand once again, this time over the
ideal of transformational first love. In A Walk to Remember, Landon Carter
narrates the flashback story of his senior year in the late 1950s at Beaufort High
in Beaufort, North Carolina, when he first discovers the power of love. The Carters
are a family whose wealth was built on a grandfather's profits from bootlegging.
Compounding the lack of strong male figures in Landon's life is his hypocritical
congressman father, who rarely spends time at home. Neglect pushes Landon to
develop a rebellious streak, and at the start of the story he is both adrift and
certain, confident and susceptible to peer opinion in other words, a typical
teenager. There is more than a touch of Holden Caulfield in his character when he
encounters Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of a local minister and the goody-twoshoes of the school. Jamie is such social poison to Landon's insecure circle that he
avoids her at all costs, until, as the newly elected class president desperate for a
date to the dance, he asks her, certain that she'll be available. She accepts, and
that night Jamie helps Landon out of an embarrassing bind, revealing a strong
character that intrigues him despite her relentless and isolating Christianity.
After Jamie asks Landon to star in the school's Christmas play, a town tradition
which her father instituted, he develops a gradual and reluctant relationship with
her. They rehearse, they walk home, they talk; when opening night arrives and
Landon sees Jamie in an angelic costume, he realizes that he's fallen in love.
Bewildered and ecstatic, they nurture their feelings until Jamie reveals the secret
that forces Landon to realize what he holds most dear, despite what fate has
handed them. Sparks is a modern master of fateful love stories and road-not-taken
fables written in uncluttered prose. A Walk to Remember is perfect autumn
fiction, when thoughts turn to changes and life's journeys, both mapped and
unmapped.

Based on the book by Nicholas Sparks, the romantic drama, A Walk to

Remember, stars two main characters, Jamie Sullivan (Many Moore) and Landon
Carter (Shane West) who are brought together by fate. Directed by Adam
Shankman, this movie tells the story of the schools bad boy who pulls a prank gone
wrong. In order for a boy to enter is gang, he must jump off of an industrial
building into a shallow river, ending p in the hospital. This incident results in Landon
having to do community service by tutoring and by being involved in the schools
spring play which is where he encounters the serious and hardworking preachers
daughter, Jamie. Landon cant seem to get his memorization of the lines quite well
and ends up asking Jamie for help, resulting in the beginning of their newfound love
together. As time goes on and Landon spends more time with Jamie, he realizes
that she is slowly changing him, but for the better. On the other hand, being with
the innocent Christian girl of the school threatens his reputation of being the
popular bad boy, yet his love for her cannot be stopped and their relationship
flourishes. However, one secret that Jamie had kept hidden from Landon puts a
bump in the road and is difficult to get around. Will this unravelled secret tear
them apart or just make them stronger? A Walk to Remember will forever be a
classic in my opinion because of its characters and the overall messages that are
portrayed throughout the movie.
Jamie Sullivan and Landon Carter are two extremely memorable characters
in this movie. AT the start, they are so different and quite opposite; Jamie being
the preachers daughter who is an angel and Landon how is mischievous and needs
guiding. Jamie starts to shape Landon into the man that he had always been and
helped him realize what he was truly capable of. Both characters end up defining
each other, making them how they are at the end. AS an individual, Jamie is kind
hearted, puts others before herself, and defines what being a Christian really is.
With the assistance of Jamie, Landons character changes immensely from the
beginning to the end of the movie. At the start, he was selfish, ignorant, carefree,
and rebellious, however, as the movie progressed, he started having the traits of a
Christian, just like Jamie. Landon also helps Jamie by breaking through her very
introvert barrier and showing her how to live life in the eyes of God and as a
teenager.
I believe that there were two underlining messages in this movie. The first
message spoke about the unpredictability of death, its timing, its causes, and its
life altering results. The second message dealt with the fact that goodness in its
purest form can and will draw out the goodness and purity of another. For example,
Jamie was young, beautiful, and even tapped into the singing and acting talent.

Looking at her, you would have never imagined by looking at her that she was slowly
dying of cancer. In Landons case, we start off seeing him with the wrong crowd
and just an overall troublemaker and it wasnt until Jamie took the time to
encourage him to be much better that he was. These two themes are timeless
because he cannot escape death, has no control over when it may occur, and we
cant help but look at those who are troubled and wonder what good intensions and
gestures would do for them.
Such a book like this one really targets a particular group of people. I
believe that this book is directed and addressed to high school students. I am not
saying that someone of another age would not enjoy this book. The writing, and
expressing of how Landon went through his high school years judging and critizing
Jamie, shows that when he felt the connection between them, it was true. This
book shows the true meaning of loving someone with all of your heart. Today many
teenagers tell one another, be it a boyfriend or girlfriend, that they love one
another. How do they really know if they love each other? Do they, or are they just
wanting to feel older and fit in? The illustration of how Landon feels for Jamie
shows how you feel about someone when you truly love him or her. Another example
of how it is directed towards high school students is that it shows the meaning of
true beauty. Beauty is only skin deep. Yes, Landon did not think that Jamie was the
prettiest girl at first, but when he got to know her, and see how beautiful she was
on the inside, she became a true angel to him. What I am trying to say is that
even though high school students usually look first for the prettiest girlfriend or
the most handsome boyfriend to go out with, there is more to loving someone than
the way they look. You should love them for the way they treat you and how
beautiful they are on the inside, as well as the out. Thats how Landon grew to feel
about Jamie.
In so many ways this film stands head and shoulders above the rest of the
films in this genre. There is the tender romance shaped by respect and values; the
powerful spiritual principle of forgiveness; and the steadfast dreams of a young
girl who longs to see a miracle, then exclaims maybe God has bigger plans for me
than I had for myself.
In conclusion, A Walk to Remember envelops the human spirit toward the
power of goodness and love between two people. Even though tragedy strikes
Jamie, Landon survives because she taught him that death couldnt separate he joy
and peace that love and goodness brings. Landon realizes that the short time he
had with Jamie was sufficient to last him a lifetime because Jamie represented

truth, honour, respect, and valour, which are timeless qualities that Landon would
carry in his heart for the rest of his life. Although Jamie knew she would die at a
very young age, her fearlessness enabled Landon to live on.