DEAR JOHN

By: Cason Thomas

Nicholas Sparks

• Born in Omaha, Nebraska on Dec. 31 1965.

• Graduated from Notre Dame.

• Ran track in college, but suffered an injury.

• Wrote books while recovering from the injury.

• Published 15 novels. 6 of them are now films.

PROTAGONIST

• John– Outspoken and confrontational.– Doesn’t hide what he has to say.– Very upfront with people.

ANTAGONIST

• Savannah– Didn’t try hard enough to understand John.– Took advantage of Johns dad to “study”

him.– Left John while he was out at war.

FAVORITE

• Tim– He is very laid back and understanding.– He didn’t take sides in John and Savannah’s

relationship.– Forgave John even though he beat him up.

LEAST FAVORITE

• Randy– He was rude and idiotic.– Became very jealous of John and Savannah’s

relationship.– Was always looking for a way to make John

upset or mad.

PLOT SUMMARY

• Exposition– John is home on leave from the Army.– Savannah and a group of college students are

doing humanitarian work in Wimington, NC. (John’s Home).

– Randy knocks Savannah’s bag into the water and John dives in and gets it.

– Savannah invites John back to where she is staying to meet everybody.

PLOT SUMMARY

• Rising Action– John and Savannah spend lots of time together.– Savannah suggests that John’s father has

Aspergers, a mental disease.– John hits Randy and Tim.– John leaves to finish his 2 years in the military.– Savannah and John write each other letters all

the time.

PLOT SUMMARY

• Climax– The attacks on the World Trade Centers occur.– John feels the need to re-enlist for 2 more years

in the Army.– Savannah writes John a letter that says

“goodbye”.

PLOT SUMMARY

• Falling Action– Johns father dies.– Savannah marries Tim, and is living with him

and his son Alan.– John sells his fathers valuable coin collection to

pay for Tim’s disease.

PLOT SUMMARY

• Resolution– Tim is cured of his sickness.– John sees Savannah staring at a full moon,

showing that she has never lost her love for John.

– John never regrets loving Savannah.

SETTING

• TIME PERIOD– The current time

period that this book takes place is between 2000 and 2004.

• PLACE– The book bounces

around, but the majority of it takes place in Wilmington, NC. It also goes to parts of Europe and Iraq for the war, and back at Savannah’s house in Chapel Hill, NC.

THEMES

• 1) Love can not conquer all.

• 2) War is difficult on people out fighting it and the people back home.

• 3) Soldiers want to give everything they have to protect this country.

RATING

• 8– I gave this book a rating of 8. I did this because it kept

me pretty interested the whole time. Also, not only did it cover love and a personal aspect of the story, it hit a huge topic that affects all of us, war. Although the storyline was sort of predictable, it was still a very fun book to keep on reading. I would suggest this book to all the love sick people who want to hear a mushy story that didn’t work out, because some people need to realize that not all relationships are perfect and work out.

SOCIAL ISSUE

• The War on Terror– Began when the World Trade Centers were

attacked by al-Qaeda who high-jacked 747 Boeing Jets.

– The death toll neared 3,000.(Rassmussen. "War on Terror Update - Rasmussen Reports"

Rasmussen Reports": The Most Comprehensive Public Opinion

Data Anywhere. Web)

PRESIDENT BUSH

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HzvE_Pa5qg&feature=related

• President Bush immediately took action by declaring a “War on Terrorism”

• The goal of this war was to stop terrorism world wide and to prevent an attack of this scale ever again. (http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/12/03/september.11.reaction/index.html>.IMDb)

THE WAR IS PERSONAL

• To many people, the war was necessary.• Thousands of people lost family members and

friends to the attack.• Many were never found because their bodies were

vaporized on the planes impact.• The lives of innocent men, women, and children

were lost with no regard to race or religion.• ("For 9/11 Families, Finishing Job in Afghanistan Is Personal - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News,

U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Web)

• Alan Jackson- Where were you• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_clidR7drg

POEM

http://poetry.about.com/library/weekly/aa110901g.

htm

TROOP DEPLOYMENT

• Initial invasion (2001) 130,000 soldiers• Dropped to 30,000- 50,000 by 2003.• Oct. 2005 back up to 80,000.• March 2006 troop levels were at 133,000.• June 1 2008 had 50,000 troops stationed.• Currently there are 68,000 troops in

Afghanistan. (Iraq - US Forces Order of Battle." GlobalSecurity.org - Reliable Security Information. Web. <http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_orbat.htm)

CURRENTLY

• "We must deny al-Qaida a safe haven," said Mr. Obama. " We must reverse the Taliban's momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow the government.  And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan's security forces and government, so that they can take lead responsibility for Afghanistan's future."

• Obama is planning on sending 30,000 new troops to Afghanistan to join the current 68,000 that are already there. He has then stated he will start withdrawing troops after one year. ("Joanne Mariner: Obama's War on Terror." CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names. Web. <http://www.counterpunch.org/mariner03042009.html>."Obama: 30,000 More US Troops To Afghanistan By Mid-2010 )

BIBLIOGRAPHY• Works Cited• Adam. "Personal Poem." Web Log post. Poems After the Attack. Web.

<http://poetry.about.com/library/weekly/aa110901g.htm>."For 9/11 Families, Finishing Job in Afghanistan Is Personal - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Web. <http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/12/03/september.11.reaction/index.html>.IMDb. "Dear John." Rev. of Dear John, the Novel. Web. <http://http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0989757/synopsis>."Iraq - US Forces Order of Battle." GlobalSecurity.org - Reliable Security Information. Web. <http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_orbat.htm>.Jackson, Alan. "Where Were You." Alan Jackson. Youtube.com. Web. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_clidR7drg>.Mariner, Joanne. "Joanne Mariner: Obama's War on Terror." CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names. Web. <http://www.counterpunch.org/mariner03042009.html>."Obama: 30,000 More US Troops To Afghanistan By Mid-2010 | Asia | English." News | English. Web. <http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Obama_Troops_Afghanistan_strategy_announcement-78273987.html>.Reports, Rassmussen. "War on Terror Update - Rasmussen Reports"" Rasmussen Reports": The Most Comprehensive Public Opinion Data Anywhere. Web. <http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/war_on_terror_update>.Sparks, Nicholas. "Nicholas Sparks on Nicholas Sparks." Nicholas Sparks. Web. <http://www.nicholassparks.com/AboutNicholas.asp?PageID=1>.