Desiree+S


 * //Plot Overview://**

//Dear John// starts out with John the main character explaining his past life. He talks about how while he was younger he was disobedient and took advantage of his father. John then explains how he is part of the military. The story then switches to present. John is at the beach surfing when he sees a group of teenagers who are at the edge of the dock. Then he sees a girls bag fall into the ocean. John retrieves the bag, this is the first time he meets Savannah. From this point on they will both become inseparable. For the next two weeks John and Savannah will fall in love. After these two weeks John must return to the military, saying good-bye becomes heart breaking for Savannah and John. Savannah promises John she will never leave him and one day they will be married, as long as he comes back to her. While John and Savannah are apart they continue to write letters to each other. They continue to express how much they love each other and cannot wait to be together when he returns. Once John comes home for his first leave from Savannah they become inseparable. They go to see Savannahs parents and they go to see John’s dad. John also begins to see what Savannah does while he is away and how busy she has become. John’s leaves do not last long, and after everyone it is hard for them to say good-bye. While John is away Savannah’s letters will eventually become more distant and he will receive less and less of them. Then one day Savannah sends John a letter explaining that the distance has become too much, she has fallen in love with someone else, and is engaged. John burns all the letters he has and decides to not write back. John’s father will become ill causing John to have to come home every so often. John’s father ends up dying, this will be the next time John goes to see Savannah. When he goes to see her he finds out she is married and lives on a ranch. He also comes to find out her husband is very sick and is dying. There love re-kindles but does not cross any boundaries. John will come to see how scared Savannah has become due to all of this and will help save Savannah’s husband and her own life.


 * //Character List://**


 * John Tyree**: He is the main character of “//Dear John//”. He is part of the U.S. military and makes a career out of it. He falls deeply in love with Savannah and will remain in love with her throughout the whole story.
 * Savannah**: She is a college student who loves children and working with special needs students. She will fall in love with John while she is in college. She will betray him and marry her best friend from college and will end up helping her husband fight to live.
 * Tim**: He is a college student who has an autistic brother who will become deeply loved by Savannah. He is Savannah’s best friend in college and will become her husband. He will become ill after they are married and becomes close to death.


 * //Important Quotations//**:


 * “//Beyond the window and through the tears in my eyes, I could see a layer of clouds spread beneath me. I had no idea where we were. All I knew was that I wanted to turn around and go back home, to be in a place I was meant to be.” (Nicholas Sparks, 139)-//** This quote becomes important because it explains how much John had fallen in love with Savannah and how much she had meant to him. He explains that he has finally found himself and it is with Savannah. He also shows the reader that Savannah is who he is meant to be with and that there is no other woman for him.


 * //“You’re a hero and a gentleman, you’re kind and honest, but more than that, you’re the first man I ever truly loved. And no matter what the future brings, you always will be, and I know that my life is better for it.” (Nicholas Sparks, 187)//****-** This quote was recited by Savannah in her last letter to John. This is important because it determines how they act in the end of the story when they are together for the last time. She explains how she will never forget him and he will always be her first love. She also will never forget how great of a person he was and still will be without her.


 * //“Saying good-bye was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Part of me wanted to turn the car around and race back to the hospital, to tell her that I would always be there for her, to confide in her the things Tim had said to me. But I didn’t.” (Nicholas Sparks, 270)//**- This quote was said by John when he was done saying good-bye to Savannah at the end of the book. This is important because it shows that John still loves her, but yet he loves her enough to not ruin the commitment she made to her husband. He is able to show the reader that he will always love her and it will never change, and that she is the only woman to ever have his heart.


 * //Analysis of major characters//**:


 * John**: John is the main character. He seems to be very tough and at first would appear to be a flat character. As the reader continues though they can see that he has many feelings that are displayed for the people he loves the most, such as Savannah and his father. His is in the military, which takes most of his time. During this time though his love for Savannah overrides this all, which can be shown through his letters to her. He is gentle and vulnerable. It takes a lot for him to open up to a person, but once he does he gives them his all. When he finally opened up to Savannah there was nothing he could hide from her. He is a very proud man as well. He is proud of his country and he is grateful for the soldiers he fights with. He is also very emotional. When he sees certain things it will remind him of Savannah or his dad and he suddenly becomes overwhelmed with emotions and will continue to think of that specific person. Though John is part of the military and fights battles, deep down he has many emotions which determine how he chooses to live out his life.


 * Savannah**: Savannah is Johns first and only love in the novel. She is going to school to learn about autistic children and hopes one day to open a ranch and have riding lessons for special needs children. She is a young girl from the country-side who falls in love with John when they meet at the beach one summer while she is working for Habitat for Humanity. She is religious and has very strict morals and values. She spends two weeks with John before his leave, and will continue to love him and be with him while he is gone. They stay together while he is away and will become inseparable when he comes home. While he is away on one of his leaves she writes him a letter breaking up with him and informing him she is with another man and is engaged. She will marry he best friend Tim but will still love John while she is married. This love for him will rekindle when she sees him again after his father’s funeral. Throughout the novel Savannah will never loose her love for John and will constantly be in limbo with her emotions for him and how to act when they constantly come back.


 * Tim**: Tim is Savannah best friend and has grown up with her. Tim was Savannah’s neighbor growing up. He also had an autistic brother who was very close with Savannah. He will go to college with her and is in love with her throughout the whole novel. Though he is in love with her, he only wants her to be happy no matter who it is with. He even approved of her and John being together. He will become his brother’s guardian when his parents get into a terrible car accident and die. He will end up marrying Savannah and living on a ranch. After about a year of marriage, he will fall sick and be hospitalized. For the fallowing year he will be in and out of the hospital wondering if he will survive or not. Throughout the novel he is terrified about leaving his brother behind and who will take care of him. Tim’s love and kindness for Savannah and others is how he is defined throughout the entire novel.