31 pages • 1 hour read
Nicholas SparksThe Notebook
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1996A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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The Oak Tree
Noah and Allie both pinpoint their night beneath the large oak tree as the night when they fell in love. Noah will later buy the property the tree sits on just so that it can never be cut down. The tree is one of the first thing’s Allie sees when she returns to New Bern. The couple speaks of it often during their two days together. The oak tree is a symbol of solidity and longevity. It was there before Allie and Noah, and it is possible that it outlives them as well. It is a constant reminder to Noah of what he lost when Allie left.
Allie’s Painting
Allie made a painting for Noah before she left the summer the first met. When she returns fourteen years later, she is surprised to see it hanging over his mantel. When he explains that he sees the painting as an extension of her and that he can tell who she is just by the way she performed the brush strokes, she understands that she never should have stopped painting. Noah putting the painting over his mantel guarantees that he will never be able to forget her, even though the memories of the loss hurt him. The painting is a reminder to Allie that she is capable of making art that inspires and moves people like Noah.
The Letters
Noah and Allie write letters to each other after their separation, but neither receives their letters until they are grown. After they are married, Noah continues to write letters to Allie, often to comfort her in the aftermath of shared tragedy or as a reiteration of his passion for and devotion to her. Later, when Allie’s memories are fading, the letters show her that times were not always hard and that she was once in love with Noah. Her letter to Noah, asking him not to be angry with her when she forgets him, is a reminder to him of how concerned she was for him after her diagnosis. Noah never appears to struggle with expressing his feelings vocally, but his writing allows him to take his reasoning further and to more fully give voice to what Allie means to him.
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By Nicholas Sparks
