Social Life in the 1950s: “A Walk to Remember” by Nicholas Sparks

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Cultural Values in a Walk to Remember Analysis
Conclusion
References

Introduction

The novel A Walk to Remember written by Nicholas Sparks is considered to be a marvelous contribution to the world of literature. This book is a touchy love story of two young people with a reflection of American culture and values of the society. A Walk to Remember is a real bestseller of the author which managed to underline the individual style and writer’s manner of presentation. The theme of first love which is the most innocent and frank closely interacts with the atmosphere of southern culture depicting its peculiarities and social standards of life.

Cultural Values in a Walk to Remember Analysis

The story begins with Landon Carter’s recollections about his youth and first love. The novel is deepened into the love affair of teenagers, Landon Carter and Jamie Sullivan, a young innocent girl with an open heart and clear thoughts. The girl was a Baptist minister’s daughter who never walked without the Bible in her hands. The author strived to show her inner world through which Jamie strived to involve Landon into the depth of the human soul and heart reflecting the pain and joy of living. The beginning of the novel is quite inspiring and stimulates for reading in order to recognize the details of a true love story…

I relive that year often in my mind, bringing it back to life, and I realize that when I do, I always feel a strange combination of sadness and joy… This is my story; I promise to leave nothing out. (Sparks, 1).

It should be stressed that Nicholas Sparks tried to depict the peculiarities of American culture through the behavior of his characters. The way of life described in the novel is presented as a part of country society which influences every step of people’s actions. The story takes place in Carolina, to be more exact in its North part; the author has shown that people in this state live predominantly in very small towns. In such places, the life pace is considered to be a kind of show but being far from backward.

There is a culture that develops in a situation like that, one based on family and friends, church, and figuring out ways to beat the heat on those steamy days of summer. …And that’s I try to capture in my novel. (Sparks, 2001).

Morehead City, the place where all events took place, is a small town with kind and friendly people. The author managed to show the peculiarities of social behavior through some scenes of the novel. It is the place where inhabitants say hello to each other from their cars even if they do not know the person at all. It is the place where kids can walk completely barefoot through October enjoying the atmosphere they live in. (Joyce, 2006)

The analysis of the novel allows evaluating the standards and habits of society. The author managed to show the joining of two different people and their fates; two young people with different social positions and moral values. Jamie lived in her own world being far from that one of Landon. She strongly believed that everything in life happened according to the plan of the Lord. Landon is aware of the fact that nobody would ask the girl for dancing and decides to do it himself. It shows that a small town gives no much opportunity for the girl with personal individual interests. Everyone knows that she is deepened into religion and her style of clothes, such as plaid skirts and old sweaters, would not interest any boy in her society. Nevertheless, it is just a mask of the hidden beautiful soul and open heart. Having seen Jamie in a dress of an angel he is completely amazed by her true beauty and charm. Only after these young people fall in love with each other experiencing all joys and sorrows of life-changing and true and innocent love. Nicholas Sparks managed to involve the readers in the world of unforgettable feelings testing by social norms and cultural values (Kalkay, 2003).

The author wanted to reflect the peculiarities of time; the 1950s were characterized by clear and frank relationships between teenagers. Nicholas Sparks stated that in case the novel was based on modern time he would insert a detailed description of social restrictions and rules. The emotionality of the novel proves the fact that the story was written from the depth of the author’s heart reflecting his personal experience and inner sufferings of his youth. It is important to stress that the story is very tragic; the end of the book disclosing the fact of Landon’s death put an end to the characters’ hopes for a happy future together. It is a story of broken hearts and destroyed feelings. (Iqtidar, 2003)

The theme of American culture disclosure is vividly shown through the characters’ actions. The author tried to show how society, people who surround you can change one’s fate and perception of the values.

Jamie helped me become the man I am today (Sparks, 234).

Deepening into the plot of the novel one can notice that the author tried to interact the way of people’s life with religious aspect influencing their behavior. Sparks noted that God helped Jamie to live and lead a happy life despite the fact that she was not an ordinary student with many friends and males’ attention. Nevertheless, religion is interwoven with her life and the relationships between young people. The author showed that religion and belief in God were an integral part of American life in the 1950s.

One more aspect in disclosing the peculiarities of American culture lies in the description of North Carolina people and the way of life. Special attention is paid to the beauty of the state and the peaceful way of life.

Eastern North Carolina is a beautiful and special part of the country… Nowhere is this more evident than Bogue Banks. (Sparks, 215).

The novel is focused on the southern culture highlighting scenes with hushpuppies, boiled peanuts, and RC cola. This cuisine is considered to be southern being the source of pride in the region. The influence of society and public opinion is strongly felt throughout the whole novel. Thus, there was a scene when Landon expresses his reaction to a play of the community.

To say that the play was a smashing success was, to put it mildly. The audience laughed and the audience cried which was pretty much what they were supposed to do. (Sparks, 136).

Thus, the role of the culture and social influence are significantly stressed by Nicholas Sparks through the characters’ behavior and values. The novel is aimed at disclosure of the way of life in small towns of Carolina in order to allow the readers to compare it with contemporary life conditions and moral values (20^th Century American Bestsellers, 2002).

Conclusion

To sum up, the analysis of the novel A Walk to Remember written by Nicholas Sparks should be stressed that the author managed to highlight the basic aspects of social life in the 1950s. The novel is abundant in emotional scenes through which the inner world of the community is presented. The readers can observe the gradual change of young people’s perception of the world they live in. Nicholas Sparks successfully demonstrated the tragedy of love through American culture and social values.

References

Sparks, Nicholas. A Walk to Remember. Grand Central Publishing. pp. 256. 2000.
Kalkay, Eda. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks. Warner Books. USA, 2003.
20^th Century American Bestsellers. Graduate School of Library and Information Science. 2002.
Joyce, John. A Walk to Remember. Educational Review. USA, 2006.
Nicholas Sparks: Past Interview. 2001. Web.
Iqtidar, Faiza. A Walk to Remember Analysis. USA, 2003. Web.

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Social Life in the 1950s: “A Walk to Remember” by Nicholas Sparks

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