Character Analysis

At this point, the author has developed the superficial, lazy character of Landon. We see how little grades mean to him, even though he wants to be accepted at UNC, how being attractive is the only important trait a girl needs to have, how the opinions of others rule the decisions he makes, and how mean he can be toward people who aren’t in his golden circle of friends. Nicholas Sparks also prepares us for how life-changing his senior year will be.
Although it is still the beginning of the book, I have already noticed a possible superficiality and judgement theme for the novel. This is seen in the attitudes of Landon and his friends, already.

Jamie Sullivan Image 1

"It's not that Jamie was unattractive--don't get me wrong. But Jamie wasn't exactly what I considered attractive, either. Despite the fact that she was thin, with honey blond hair and solf blue eys, most of the time she looked sort of ...plain, and that was when you noticed her at all."

This description of Jamie is in the eyes of Landon; however almost everyone at their school would agree this description is accurate. It isn't until later when Landon's view of her completely voltefaces, and he sees her under a new light. She becomes one of the most beautiful girls Landon sees in his new perspective.

Introduction

Sparks does a good job keeping his readers hooked at the end of every chapter. He will say something like "It wasn't until later that I would learn the reason why". In the opening pages, we learn about Landon's family and the lack of reliability of his father. We also learn about Jamie, the reverend's daughter. Sparks uses supurb diction and imagery to help the readers visualize her characteristics. In the book, we have also learned that Landon is involved in a rather mean group of friends. He is taking a drama class in his senior year of high school, for the purpose of a "slack" class. Little does he know that getting involved in that particular class is what altered his life.

Prologue

The prologue to the novel, A Walk to Remember engaged my attention and had me hooked by the third paragraph. Nicholas Sparks does a wonderful job in the prologue of revisiting the past. Sparks opens up the novel in first person of the protagonist, fifty year old Landon Carter. The author slowly takes Landon back to his seventeen year old memory of when his life was changed. Sparks uses detailed imagery and similes to capture the reader into the mind of Landon, and takes us to the setting of Landon's life thirty three years ago when his world was flipped upside down.

Florida Suit Says Arrests Are Retaliation for Atheism

This last article by Lizette Alvarez really struck my interest. The title of this captivating article is called "Atheist in Florida Files Suit Citing Harassment in Arrest." I must admit, this title is was reeled me in, but this particular article seemed different than the rest of Alvarez's. Although it shared the similar writing style, this one had more of a narrative-base than solely details and facts. No slang really stuck out to me, but I did notice the extraordinarily formal writing type. She used a lot of  functional statement syntax in her sentences meaning there was usually only statements, rather than interrogative or exclamatory sentences. One of the only rhetorical devices I noticed was the repetition of sentence and ideas. Another reason this particular article stuck out from her others is that this one was written in cause-effect format. Everything was in a process. There was no persuasion or argumentation in this article or simply in any of her articles that I read. Alvarez has a certain swing to her writing that makes it unique from other typical writers. She exhibits a very rare sense of biased opinion in all articles, and she certainly made the article effective for her readers. My personal favorite technique of hers is that the writing style is concise and extremely down-to-the-point. Her readers can get the facts in a quick, short, interesting manner.

Ready to Swim 103 Miles with Sharks

Again, I have found another very intriguing article written by Lizette Alvarez. It is titled "Swimming From Cuba to Key West, Without Leaving the Water." This article was soley based off of interviews. I didnt happen to find a single biased oppinion or judgement from Alvarez. She again was very consise in her writing. Although I'm sure unintentional, Alvarez used a bit of alliteration in a few of her sentences. Now considering this article consisted mainly of interviews and statements of facts, I didn't find a single personification or onomatopia usage. Perhaps more of a story or narrative would alter the interest of more readers. It could just be her type of writing, but a high suggestion would be to add more similies, metaphors, or simply any rhetorical device. Because this was written with only facts and interview, there was no point of view or plot. This was well written, but could definitely be more interesting if written differently.

Casey Anthony Not Guilty in Slaying of Daughter

I chose to follow Lizette Alvarez, a very skilled writer of the New York Times. I found one article, "Casey Anthony Not Guilty in Slaying of Daughter" particularly interesting. Not necessarily the information, but more of the writing style of the author is what stuck my interest. Alvarez used very little slang; at least none stuck out to me, and she made this report very formal; yet concise. I did notice; however, a syntax pattern of excessive compound-complex sentences. Nearly every sentence was written the same. There were very few simple sentences. The biased stand also stood out to me. Just the title alone, "Casey Anthony Not Guilty in Slaying of Daughter" makes me feel like the article will be about the wrong outcome for the alleged, Casey Anthony, by Alvarez's choice of slaying. I must admit though, the title is what reeled me into reading it. At one point in Alvarez's article, I felt she tried to sway the readers against the jurors. She states how the jurors had little difficulty reaching a verdict, and that might have been due to their sequestered stay for six weeks. The structure of Alvarez's article was a split between descriptive and narrative. I also noticed that there was no climax in the article. It was all simply down to the point; solely the facts and details. The honest effectiveness this author had on me with this particular article is that it was well-written and interesting, but nothing spectacular or extraordinary.