I.

Title: The notebook

II. Background of the author:
Nicholas Sparks
This author is a well-known writer who often uses the themes of love, tragedy, and fate in
his stories. He tried many careers in his life until he and his wife moved to the setting
of The Notebook, New Bern, North Carolina. There he wrote The Notebook, his first major
novel.
This
was
followed
by
such
famous
works
as Message in a Bottle and A Walk to Remember. Nicholas
based
this
novel/book
The Notebook, on the lives of his wifes beloved grandparents. He still lives in New Bern with
his wife and five children.

II.CHARACTER ANALYSIS
Noah Calhoun
The narrator of the book and the main character, Noah is a good and kind man who fell in
love with Allie fourteen years before the novel opens. He has never forgotten her and is
overwhelmed with how much he still loves her when she returns to tell him she is engaged.
Allison Nelson
A young woman who comes from a privileged family, she spends a wonderful summer
with Noah when they are young, but is forced to leave when her parents disapprove. She meets
Lon and becomes engaged to him, but something in her makes her return to Noah to be sure she is
not making a mistake.
Lon Hamilton
He is Allies fianc, who fights for her in the end, but is too late. He has allowed his career
to disrupt any hope he may have had to win her for himself.

III. SETTING RELEVANCE

Outdoors, in the water on a small wooden boat, inside of a house, at the dinner table
(outside), outdoors in the rain, in the street and more

IV. CRITICAL COMMENTARY

A. Introduction
The story starts in a nursing home where an elderly man narrates a love story to a female
patient. The story is about a young couple who fall in love during early 1940s. The story begins

when a country boy Noah Calhoun meet a girl Allie Hamilton in the south at a carnival and is
immediately smitten.

B. Synopsis/Summary:
A man with a faded, well-worn notebook open in his lap. A woman experiencing a
morning ritual she doesnt understand. Until he begins to read to her. The Notebook is an
achingly tender story about the enduring power of love, a story of miracles that will stay with
you forever. Set amid the austere beauty of coastal North Carolina in 1946, The Notebook begins
with the story of Noah Calhoun, a rural Southerner returned home from World War II. Noah,
thirty-one, is restoring a plantation home to its former glory, and he is haunted by images of the
beautiful girl he met fourteen years earlier, a girl he loved like no other. Unable to find her, yet
unwilling to forget the summer they spent together, Noah is content to live with only memories. .
. until she unexpectedly returns to his town to see him once again. Allie Nelson, twenty-nine, is
now engaged to another man, but realizes that the original passion she felt for Noah has not
dimmed with the passage of time.
Still, the obstacles that once ended their previous relationship remain, and the gulf
between their worlds is too vast to ignore. With her impending marriage only weeks away, Allie
is forced to confront her hopes and dreams for the future, a future that only she can shape. Like a
puzzle within a puzzle, the story of Noah and Allie is just beginning. As it unfolds, their tale
miraculously becomes something different, with much higher stakes. The result is a deeply
moving portrait of love itself, the tender moments, and fundamental changes that affect us all.
Shining with a beauty that is rarely found in current literature, The Notebook establishes
Nicholas Sparks as a classic storyteller with a unique insight into the only emotion that really
matters.

C. Reaction:
Positive:
The good thing about the story is it tells that Love conquers all. Although this idea is
sometimes overworked, in this particular work, it is the most prevalent theme of all. No matter
how many setbacks Allie and Noah faced, their love always brought them together again . the
story is at times troubling and even quite sad, because of the disease that is claiming Allies
mind. However, there is a sense of victory, in spite of the inevitability of Allies future, because
in the end, love wins, no matter how hard life tries to make it not so.
The story is a romance and as such tends to a somewhat sugary story that may seem
unrealistic to many readers. However, it is also a very poignant plot that allows the reader to
suspend his disbelief and believe in miracles.

Negative:

The part of the story that made me sad is knowing that allies has a disease. And the fact
that Allies parents dont think Noah is good enough for their daughter and Lon, who neglects
the woman he loves by prioritizing his career ahead of her.But In the end, they have no power to
keep these two soul mates apart.

D. Conclusion
Noah goes to Allies room late at night even though he is chancing a panic attack when
she awakens. He means only to leave a poem under her pillow, but instead kisses her
passionately. This causes her to awaken and recognize Noah, glad that he has come back to her.
Their passion continues and Noah says they begin to slip toward heaven. This is such a vague
ending that its possible to believe that they die there together once more just as Allie had
promised.
In the present it made clear the female patient is Allie suffering from Alzheimers
disease. The person who reads the story is none other than her husband and her love Noah. She
neither
recognizes
her
husband
nor
her
grandchildrens.
She has to be sedated by physician. Noah breaks down after seeing her condition. Next day he
found unresponsive on his bed and rushed to hospital. Later he returns to the nursing homes
intense care ward. Later that night he enters to Allies room and Allie remembers again. Allie
questions his lover about when she wont be able to remember anything; he answers her that
hell never leave her.
Again she asks him if he thinks their love for each other is strong enough to 'take them
away together. He says that he thinks their love could do anything. After telling each other they
make love and go to sleep in Allies bed. The next morning a nurse finds them on that bed having
both died in each others arms.

I. TITLE: The Secret Life by James thurber

II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
James Thurber
James Thurber is most famous as a cartoonist and writer for The New Yorker in the 1930s
and 40s. He published "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" in The New Yorker in March of 1939. It
tells the story of an aging man who, though inept and bumbling in real life, passes his day with a
series of fantasies in which he takes on the role of any number of powerful, bold, decisive men.
The story has become an American classic, and Mitty a famous literary character. The word
"Mittyesque" can even be found inThe American Heritage Dictionary. (It refers to someone who
is an absent-minded dreamer.)

III. CHARACTER ANALYSIS:

Walter Mitty

In real life, Walter Mitty isn't anything special. He gets bossed around by his wife a lot.
He can't do simple mechanical things. He's forgetful. He's not a great driver, and people always
seem to be either yelling or laughing at him for one blunder or another. To compensate for his
failings in the real world, Mitty creates an entire "secret life" for himself: a series of fantasies in
which he is a powerful, decisive man admired by those around him everything he is not in
reality.
Mrs. Mitty
Is like a caricature of herself. She's so bossy, so overbearing, and so domineering that she stands out
in a story in which she only has five lines. Behold, all of Mrs. Mitty's dialogue, which pretty much speaks
for itself:
"Not so fast! You're driving too fast! [] What are you driving so fast for?" (2)
"You were up to fifty-five. [] You know I don't like to go more than forty. You were up to fifty-five. []
You're tensed up again. [] It's one of your days. I wish you'd let Dr. Renshaw look you over." (3)
"Remember to get those overshoes while I'm having my hair done, [] You're not a young man any

longer. [] Why don't you wear your gloves? Have you lost your gloves?" (4)
"I've been looking all over this hotel for you. [] Why do you have to hide in this old chair? How did you
expect me to find you? Did you get the what's-its-name? The puppy biscuit? What's in that box? []
Couldn't you have put them on in the store? [] I'm going to take your temperature when I get you
home." (14)
"Wait here for me. I forgot something. I won't be a minute." (15)
All she really does is tell Walter what to do or scold him for doing it wrong.
Mrs. Mitty is so over-the-top it might make you angry. One perspective is that Thurber is being
sexist here by caricaturizing what he seems to think wives are like. He limits the character of Mrs. Mitty
to nothing more than some negative stereotypes, and that's just not OK.
Another perspective is that Mrs. Mitty is just a humorous character who is certainly not meant to
comment on women in general. Thurber needed an over-the-top wife to explain Mitty's retreat into
fantasies, and Mrs. Mitty fit the bill.

IV. SETTING RELEVANCE

Walter's fantasies take us elsewhere, but we'll get to that in a minute. Waterbury is a
pretty big city in Connecticut. Though Thurber never mentions the state, just the city.

V. CRITICAL COMMENTARY
A. Introduction:
Some view "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" as the endearing story of a loveable man
whose rather humorous, dramatic fantasies are harmlessly employed to get him through a dull
day of errands. Others see darker themes at work here. Perhaps the story's message is that a
dreamer can't survive in this world; or maybe that dreams are insufficient to compensate for what
bothers us in reality. Any way you cut it, there are tough questions and hilarity to be found in
"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty."
B. Synopsis/ Summary:
"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" tells the story of the aging Walter Mitty on a trip into
town with his overbearing wife, Mrs. Mitty. Walter is inept at many things; he is an absentminded driver, he can't handle simple mechanical tasks, and he forgets things easily. What makes
Walter
exceptional
is
his
imagination.
While Walter goes through a day of ordinary tasks and errands, he escapes into a series of
romantic fantasies, each spurred on by some mundane reality. As he drives his car, he imagines
he is commanding "a Navy hydroplane" through a terrible storm (1). When he rides past a
hospital, he imagines he is a world-famous surgeon saving a VIP's life. When he hears a
newsboy shouting about a trial, he imagines he is a crack shot being interrogated in the
courtroom. As he waits for his wife to finish at the hairdresser's, Walter sees pictures of German
plane and imagines he is a British pilot willing to sacrifice his life for his country. Lastly, as

Mitty waits outside against a wall for his wife to buy something in a drugstore, he fantasizes that
he is a bold and brave man about to be shot by a firing squad. The story ends with the inscrutable
Walter Mitty awaiting this romantic death.

VI. REACTION
Positive:
The story is fantastic it has plenty of fun-loving adventure, humor, and earnest sentiment
to make it entertaining for everyone. Its a simple story that makes up in charm and character
what it might lack in deeper thematic points and plotting.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty provides fun and laughs, but also meaningful thoughts
on life and how we choose to live it, along with a touching lead performance youll want to root
for. If youre looking for a holiday season movie thats different from the rest of the pack, this is
definitely a book to read.
Negative:
The story is very deep its good but it is hard to understand at times because the author
uses difficult words and it has many twist.

D. CONCLUSION:
There are two basic ways of thinking about this conclusion. The first is that Walter is
victorious in some way, and the second is that he is ultimately defeated.
It's important to note that "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" both begins and ends inside Walter's
fantasies; in this way, you might argue that the plot of the fantasies themselves and not the plot of
the real world dominates the text's action. Another way to interpret this is as a sort of victory on
Mitty's part, as far as the story is concerned. He uses his fantasy world to combat what he
dislikes about reality, and it would seem that his fantasies are winning out at least as far as this
story is concerned. They dominate reality.
The point isn't that Walter Mitty is up against a firing squad; rather, Thurber focuses on
Mitty's victorious attitude and demeanor. He is Walter Mitty the Undefeated, despite his
circumstance. This is a testament to the power of the human will and imagination Mitty is still
strong and proud, even though he's treated as a nobody by most of the people around him.
We end the story in Walter's fantasy, in which he is "undefeated, inscrutable to the last" .

A Walk To remember Movie review

Summary:
In A WALK TO REMEMBER, troubled teenaged boy, Landon, played by Shane West,
finds his life is changed as he falls in love with Jamie Sullivan, a Christian pastors daughter,
played by pop star Mandy Moore. As described by Landon, both Jamies exemplary strength of
character and her faith in him saved him because she was the only one who believed in him.

Review:
A WALK TO REMEMBER is a romantic teenage tearjerker based on a novel by Nicholas
Sparks. This is the second screenplay adapted from one of his books. He also wrote MESSAGE
IN A BOTTLE. The production values are high, and the actors give very good performances.
Landon Carter and his gang of fellow misfits open the story by hazing another high
school student into their group. They further establish that they are the bad kids by cursing,
urinating in public (implied, not shown) and uttering a flurry of sexual innuendoes. Little do they
know that the prank they have planned for their initiate will go terribly wrong. The poor boy
ends up unconscious, bleeding, abandoned, and hospitalized. Though Landon evades arrest by
lying to the police about his involvement in the incident, the school principal finds empty beer
bottles as evidence of Landons continued slide into debauchery. For disciplinary purposes, the
principal assigns him to a theatre class and extra time at school on weekends as a tutor.
Jamie is a portrayed as a nerdy, frumpy, pastors daughter. She has upstanding,
uncompromising Christian morals and is very secure in who she is. At one point, after receiving
a well-rounded onslaught of insults, shes asked if it doesnt matter to her what others think, and
she replies that it truly doesnt.
While doing his penance, Landon finds himself off balance on Jamies home turf. He
is assigned the leading role opposite her in a school play. After struggling with his part, he ends
up asking Jamie for help with his lines. She says she will, but adds a caveat that seems out of
context at the time, You have to promise not to fall in love with me. This sets up the inevitable

romantic drama that follows.

The main theme of the story has to do with the fact that Jamie sees potential in Landon
that no one else has acknowledged all his life he is special and can do just about anything that
he sets his mind to and she tells him so. Inspired by Jamies kindness, Landon shares his
dreams of college and career with his divorced mother, but, for some reason never fully
developed in the script, she gently tries to dissuade him.
In contrast to Landons mother, Jamie encourages Landon and holds him to her high standards.
As their relationship grows, he rises to the challenge. He changes into a motivated, kind and
romantic young man.
As an aside, a speaker, who has made her living speaking to millions of high school and
college students, insists that teenagers will rise to the level of expectations placed on them. This
movie ascribes to that same theory. It illustrates, to teenagers especially, that they can make a
difference in peoples lives by being kind and living an unabashedly exemplary life themselves.
There are several subplots that are introduced but never thoroughly developed as the
story sticks mainly to the growing relationship between the two lead characters. The movie
seems to do well without their full development until the discussion on the drive home from the
theater reveals that there are some pretty important issues introduced, underdeveloped and,
ultimately, holes left that, if filled, would have made a good movie much better.
One of these subplots deals with the embitterment Landon suffers because he feels his father
abandoned he and his mother and then callously remarried. It seems much of the trouble Landon
gets into is due to his acting out the anger and insecurity caused by the divorce. Though it is
brought to a resolution that is only emotionally, not intellectually, satisfying, the strained
relationship between Landon and his father is only really fleshed out as it relates to the key plot
twist between Landon and Jamie.
From the Christian standpoint, the most disappointing thing about this movie is the
Romantic worldview that, somehow, human love can conquer whats bad and save someone. If
I had a daughter, Id be concerned that, after seeing this movie, shed get some romantic notion
of finding an unruly boy and taming him herself. There is plenty of context provided in the
movie to be able to at least allude to a religious conversion of sorts (no, I dont believe every
movie with a Christian theme needs to portray conversion exlicitly), but it is stated quite
explicitly in A WALK TO REMEMBER that Jamies faith in Landon saved his life.
Unfortunately, the movie reflects a phenomenon observable in the Church
throughout much of the United States: the strong spiritual woman who wears the spiritual pants
in the family. These women marry the good backslidden or unregenerate men. These men tend
to love and respect their wives and support their families, but rarely set foot in church. Landon
clearly states that he doesnt believe in God and challenges Jamies faith point blank. She
responds poetically that just as she cant see the wind, but sees and feels its effects, she relates to
God the same way. Landon only conforms to what Jamie requires of him, not to God. I guess at
least he is headed in the right direction - or is he?

As an exemplary Christian girl, Jamie should know better than to be unequally

yoked. Her father puts up a good fight to keep this troubled boy away from his daughter, but, in
the end, he surrenders to her tenacity as he sees Landon changing, and Jamie growing more and
more in love with him. This point may make A WALK TO REMEMBER the ultimate
missionary dating movie for those who ascribe to such a technique.

In Brief:
A WALK TO REMEMBER is a romantic teenage tearjerker based on a novel by
Nicholas Sparks. Landon Carter and his gang of fellow misfits open the story by hazing another
high school student into their group, which results in physical harm to the boy. Though Landon
evades arrest by lying to the police about his involvement in the incident, the school principal
finds empty beer bottles as evidence of Landons continued slide into debauchery. For
disciplinary purposes, the principal assigns him to a theatre class and extra time at school on
weekends as a tutor. There, Landon meets Jamie, a nerdy pastors daughter with upstanding,
uncompromising Christian morals. While doing his penance, Landon finds himself drawn into
Jamies
moral
universe.
Although there are some unresolved subplots, the production values in A WALK TO
REMEMBER are high, and the actors all give very good performances, including the two leads,
Shane West and pop star Mandy Moore. From a Christian standpoint, however, the most
disappointing thing is the Romantic notion that, somehow, human love can conquer whats bad
and save someone from immorality. Still, the movie shows that Christian kindness can make a
difference in other peoples lives
Story quote: 'Love is like the wind, you can't see it
but you can feel it.'
Chararacters

Jamie Sullivan is the daughter of the Beaufort church minister Hegbert Sullivan. She has
leukemia. Jamie is also Landon's wife. She is very religious, sweet, and kind.
Landon Carter is a son of a rich family, the narrator of the novel, and the husband of
Jammie
Hegbert Sullivan is Joeane's father. He is the Beaufort church minister. His wife died
shortly after giving birth to Jamie. He is very old with "translucent skin"; he is often
crabby but his daughter describes him as having "a good sense of humor." He wrote the
local play, The Christmas Angel but he maintains a strong dislike for Mr. Carter due to
his father's choices.
Mrs. Carter is the mother of Landon Carter. "She [is] a nice lady, sweet and gentle."
Mr. Carter is the father of Landon Carter. He is a congressman in North Carolina and is
gone nine months out of the year because he lives in Washington D.C..

Angela Clark is the first girlfriend of Landon and then begins dating Lew.
Carey Denison is the treasurer at Landon's high school as well as a tuba player. He is
unproportional, with short arms, a large stomach, and a squeaky voice.
Lew is Angela Clark's boyfriend, who "[is] twenty years old and [works] as a mechanic"
and "always [wears] a white T-shirt with a pack of Camels folded into the sleeve."
Miss Garber is the drama teacher at Landon's high-school. "She [is] big, at least 6'2," with
flaming red hair and pale skin that [shows] her freckles well into her forties." Her favorite
word is marvelous.
Eric Hunter is Landon's best friend, who does more making fun, than being an actual
friend. The popular jock at school, he starts out very crude, but when tragedy strikes his
long time friend, he shows that he is sympathetic.
Eddie Jones is not well liked by the drama department. He was scheduled to play the
main character in the play, but is demoted to the "bum" when Landon steps in. He is
extremely apathetic.
Jamie's dead mother is a minor role. Described as "a wispy little thing," she died while
giving birth to Jamie, and is greatly missed by Hegbert and Jamie.
Margaret, a cheerleader, is Eric's girlfriend.

A Walk to Remember did a good job in describing some concepts of Health

Communication like: The Extended Parallel Process Model, The theory of Optimal
Matching, the concept of tangible support, and the concept of emotional support.
From the movie, it can be concluded that fear can be considered a great
motivational tool to improve oneself. An example of this would be the surprise
onset of a chronic illness. The emotions from the film made you understand the
importance of making someone feel better when they are not feeling well. When
Landon tried to help Jamie finish her list, it brought her comfort and ease. It makes
you appreciate the little things people can do for you in a time of need and how
that can positively affect someone. You never know how much of an impact you
can have on a persons life. Landon experienced this while Jamie was alive and
after she passed. He was able to learn from Jamie that you should always have a
goal and a plan for the future. With her memory, he was able to accomplish the
goal of getting into medical school. This movie can teach you to live life to the
fullest and not take things for granted.

Book
Review
Ms. Jerlyn C. Guevarra
BSEd- IV English

Mrs. Lilia Ramos

Instructor