Nicholas Sparks has occupied a genre that is not typically attributed to the masculine ilk - Romance Novels and he has captured the hearts of readers with Hollywood meticulously turning his books into movies. In so doing Nicholas Sparks has been able to reach people who may not necessarily have been book lovers as close to ten of his books have been turned into movies. His books portray the love stories of average Joes and have gone on to sell more than 50 million copies worldwide. Unlike most authors, Sparks found success instantly when he wrote a novel that was inspired by the love story of his wife’s grandparents and called it The Notebook.
However Nicholas Sparks has never enjoyed the critical acclaim that is awarded to more serious writers. His books are not termed as classics due to their overlying romantic genre even though Hollywood has come calling again and again as they turn his books to movies. What cannot be denied though is the fact that Nicholas has the ability to bring his audience (whether they be reading or watching his works) to tears. He has become the master of conflicting romance and he uses epilostary, imagery and flashback religiously even though his writing may tend to be of a repetitive nature. Critics have accused him of everything from writing too simplistically to sinking in the mire of sentiment. Others however have praised him for his natural ability in bringing his characters to life through his amiable prose.
Nicholas uses various literacy devices from flashbacks to imagery and epilostary to symbolism. He always aims to achieve his ultimate goal of resolving dysfunctional romances in all his stories as he emotionally connects to his audience. Although people that are familiar with his other works can tell beforehand the trouble the couple in the current story will face and have to overcome as there seems to be a similarity in all of Sparks’ books.
The Process of Character Development and Inspiration
Nicholas Sparks, like any other author has pulled from experiences from his life to create his books. Whether they are people he looks up to or names of friends and family that he has used to bring his stories to life. He constantly derives inspiration from the characteristics of the people that are a part of his life and experiences. In The Notebook he tried to create a love story that defined two people and he has claimed that the inspiration for that story came from his wife’s grandparents. He said that, “their relationship withstood time and circumstance and many many years into their marriage they still genuinely cared for each other. The Notebook was an attempt to describe such a powerful love.” (Sparks, www.nicholassparks.com)
Sparks, through his novels have a knack for slowing down the pace of our everyday world with its wars and death and destruction and pointing us instead to a world of hope that could exist in the real world. His books turn his fictitious reality into our reality. Most of his characters are southern gentlemen and he infuses them with southern charm and mannerisms. His stories give readers the belief that they too can find someone as great and sweet and nice as the characters in the books they read or maybe they could be these people who others may describe with those words. As a man who puts a lot of places and events from his own life into his books, he gives his books a life that can be applicable to the common man or woman. Although the argument can be made against placing him on the same pedestal as writers like Hemingway or Faulkner, the accessibility he provides his readers and his ability to evoke their emotions should be applauded
A Male Author that Writes Love Stories
Nicholas Sparks does not require that his readers have an analytical mindset or even a philosophical one – all he asks is that they can and do ponder on the issues of love. His books are crafted in such a way that even a sceptical can find pleasure from the pages as each tale paints a picture of life in a vivid and visual form that can entertain any reader. Nicholas is not stereotypical in his depicting of his characters as his stories have been written through the point of view of both the men and women from all age groups and occupying different levels of the social strata of society and he does it successfully. While it is easy to understand how he is able to create the many layers of the male characters he writes about, he has been known to say that he derives the inspiration to write about his female characters from the women in his life. These inspirations have coloured the descriptions of many of the female characters that exist in his books – with most of them being blond and blue eyed and shapely but not voluptuous. He also draws from those around him when he needs to create children or senior citizens.
While Sparks is in fact a prolific writer in the romance genre, his gender creates an appeal in the purchasing public that is predominantly female. His books create a hope for female readers everywhere in their depiction of the ideal man. This ability to tell endearing stories to the opposite sex ensures he has a large following. Research shows that women buy more books than men and these women are more inclined to read the love stories that were penned by men if in some way it may paint a picture into the thought processes of these men. On its own this genre already has its appeal which is only heightened when it is a man writing those stories. However men do still pick up Sparks’ books from the shelves. Their number may not be as large as that of the women but they too want to read these books in case it gives them an insight into the women they are surrounded by. The ability of these books to be believable creates a resonance with readers making it more tangible. Death is mixed with life and intertwined with love in a way that the reader could almost imagine that to be their own family or life experience. Readers begin to experience the loss and love of these characters as they turn the pages and eventually they begin to live vicariously through the characters ability to forge through life in their search of true love and happiness.
Dear John – Nicholas Sparks
There is no human being that is exempt from inner conflict and it can only be solved by the individual experiencing it at that moment. In the book Dear John, John Tyree found that out the hard way. His life decisions created such an internal conflict in his life that he began to doubt if indeed he made the right choices. In this book Nicholas Sparks used repetition; various segments of John’s life and foreshadowing to show how John’s past decisions have haunted his life. The book begins with John falling in love with Savannah and in the memories shared of John by Sparks we see him upset with himself. We see him asking the questions that foreshadowed the end of his relationship with Savannah when he asked, “Why did I do it and will I do it again?” he feels regret for the decisions he had made and was left pondering the reason behind his own decisions. Nicholas Sparks divided this novel into various parts as his story began to unfold.
Part One
This part shows the makings of a love story and how two young people fell in love. The believability of this love story is a result of Sparks’ writing style where we see him use exciting and simple language to detail this love story. He builds the relationship like any other relationship would grow – from them just talking to them sharing a more personal connection. Nicholas went beyond his written words to take the readers into the thought process of the main characters as we see him telling us what they are thinking at various times. Sparks painted a clear picture of young love and the struggles of keeping love alive in the face of distance. We see Savannah torn between wanting John back with her and her understanding of the importance of his job even though it was keeping them apart.
A passage from the book explained it well when it said, “the saddest people I’ve ever met in life are the ones who don’t care deeply about anything at all.” Another way Sparks was able to tug on the heartstrings of his readers in general and Americans in particular was the way he wove 9/11 into his storyline. One would be hard pressed to find an American that has not been touched by 9/11 – whether it is those like Savannah who wait patiently for their loved ones to return or like John, those who anxiously go away to defend their country. Distance of any sort is strenuous on a relationship and Dear John embodies everything distance does to a relationship and especially one as young as theirs.
Part Two
Part two was not as uplifting as part one was. This part shows us their lives and struggles from both their perspectives and while Nicholas does not expect his readers to take sides they could very well relate as we see them struggle to preserve their relationship. On learning that John would serve another tour overseas Savannah believes that their relationship is beyond saving and her letters begin to change in tone. In the beginning her letters spoke of her love for John and her hopes in their relationship but later her letters become devoid of emotion and disconnected. The frequency of her letters also change and finally she finds herself writing her last letter to John.
She has now begun to hate herself as she claims the image she sees in the mirror is of a woman unworthy of love. While she understands that John will be stressed as it was a time of war she felt the best thing to do was to still go ahead and break up with him because the love he had to offer was one she could not accept due to her unworthiness. She has betrayed him and now she considered herself not worthy.Part Three
Here John is left to deal with his life and the consequences of the decisions and choices he made as the novel now shows him with the many choices at his disposal. He goes to North Carolina to see Savannah after dealing with the death of his father. While there he learns that Savannah’s husband has skin cancer and could be facing death. Tim now asks John to take care of Savannah if he ever succumbs to death. This request leaves John conflicted as his desires for Savannah never died but he also wants to help Tim live. Choosing instead the high road John decides to leave Savannah and Tim to enjoy their last days together. “Saying goodbye 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.” The fact that he didn’t showed that his love for her allowed him to sacrifice his happiness for hers. He sacrificed his own happiness instead of breaking up her marriage.
The epilogue to Dear John shows John finally understanding what true love is. He came to this realisation by understanding Tim’s definition of love when he was willing for John to keep Savannah happy even though it was a painful decision. With this realisation John sold his father’s possessions and donated the money anonymously for Tim’s treatment. The epilogue also takes us back to the familiar scene of John sitting on the hilltop watching Savannah’s house, a sight we were shown in the prologue. Hence the reader by this time assumes that John has now been able to settle some of his internal conflict that seemed to upset him at the prologue. He makes Savannah happy by saving Tim and the knowledge that she loves him even though he cannot be with her is enough for him. Nicholas Sparks displayed succinctly the struggles two lovers go through over a period of time and through different events.
Although the ending of the book was not totally realistic, it accomplished what he wanted it to and that was more than enough for Nicholas Sparks. Today many people have heard about the works of Nicholas Sparks via movies rather than the reading of a book. However Nicholas is first and foremost an author and the raw emotion that he pours into his books may not be easy to translate via the movie screen. Although many have claimed that Nicholas Sparks is melodramatic and unbelievable, his books do provide a means of escape. It is not meant to be taken as something much deeper for doing so may only leave the reader wanting more.
Works Cited
Sparks, Nicholas. Dear John. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2007. Print.
Kaufman, Amy. “Nicholas Sparks is a Master of Romance.” Los Angeles Times. 4 Feb. 2010. Web. 21 Aug. 2013.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/04/entertainment/la-et-sparks4-2010feb04
Spanich, Ryan. “Literary Love Making in Nicholas Sparks Novels: Finding the Balance between the Writer’s Life and Writer’s Work in BEST Selling Romantic Love.”
Colby College Student Research. 1 Jan. 2006. Web. 21 Aug. 2013. http://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=ugrs&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.uk%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Dliterary%2520criticism%2520nicholas%2520sparks%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D5%26cad%3Drja%26ved%3D0CE0QFjAE%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fdigitalcommons.colby.edu%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D1037%2526context%253Dugrs%26ei%3DECsRUpH0N8nG7AazioD4Bw%26usg%3DAFQjCNF5kxdHteYfaWnOR1Sil93FlhnCYw%26bvm%3Dbv.50768961%2Cd.d2k#search=%22literary%20criticism%20nicholas%20sparks%22
n.p. “How Internal Conflict can Haunt your Decisions: Dear John.” Jun. 2013. Web. 21 Aug. 2013. http://apliteraturehp.wikispaces.com/Nicholas+Sparks
Park et al. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks. n.d. Web. 21 Aug. 2013. Pdf. http://jacobenglish11.wikispaces.com/file/view/DEAR+JOHN+FINAL+.pdf
Nicholas Sparks. www.nicholassparks.com
