The Notebook By Nicholas Sparks Study Help Essay Questions

1. Note the role of Gus in the second chapter ("Ghosts"). How is his role important? What key information does he provide? What statements provide thematic commentary and which foreshadow future events? Make a list of the other minor characters. What important roles do other minor characters play in The Notebook? Be sure to consider how they develop the characters, plot, and theme of The Notebook.

2. Is any character in The Notebook truly a villain? Is there a bad guy? Differentiate between an antagonist and a villain. If no villain exists, how do you explain the difficulties that Noah and Allie endure? How does the lack of a clear-cut villain support the development of characters, plot, and themes?

3. Compare and contrast the relationship that Noah has with his father to the one that Allie has with her mother. What is the significance of this juxtaposition? How do the relationships Noah and Allie have with their parents significant to the relationships they have with their own children? What is the thematic significance of this?

4. Identify the different settings in The Notebook and analyze their significance for developing character, plot, and theme. Pay particular attention to areas of isolation and how characters share their personal isolated areas with others.

5. Are Noah and Allie more accurately categorized as fully developed characters or caricatures? Are the realistic elements of The Notebook believable? Which parts, if any, push the limits of reality?

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Noah shows Allie which animals?