Introduction
Nicholas Spark in his novel, A Walk to Remember, portrays Jamie Sullivan, as a centerpiece of his work. Perhaps, her relationship with Landon Carter, the main protagonist, and other characters in the novel can support this.
At the beginning, Jamie Sullivan is a character seen as unattractive, extraordinary and unpopular especially at school (Taylor, 2). Contrary to this, Landon Carter is very popular,due to her role as a president of a school organization. The association of the two leads to a relationship; although their backgrounds and personalities differ.
Jamie’s personality and trait are consistent throughout the novel.This supports the interrelation of ideas and events from the start to the end of the novel. The events tied to Jamie’s from the beginning are constructed to suggest a unifying factor; and how she relates with other characters in the novel. Sheis illustrated as real, convincing and an easy character to the reader.
Besides, she is humane, selfless, kind and realistic; these are ethics, which makes a person. However, her social and emotional conflicts, in the end help redeem these characters (Taylor, 33).These traits about Jamie make me like her.
Selfless
Jamie is a daughter of Beaufort Baptist church minister, Hegbert Sullivan. The selfless of Jamie is a reflection of his father. Her religious devotion is publicly visible through her niceness and kindness to others, regardless the way others treat her (Spark, 43). Besides, she keeps the welfare of others close to her heart before her own; she is devoted to taking care of her widowed father, who lost his wife while giving birth to her, and she has close relationship with her father (Spark, 45).
Jamie’s selfless trait becomes clear to Landon, as they spend quality time together after the school dance. Later, the bond between the two becomes strong, as Landon seeks Jamie to help in an orphanage where she gets involved as a volunteer.Although, she has no siblings or money, Jamie devotes her selfless time to the orphans. The selfless character of Jamie makes her appealing to me, because it is rare to have people with such unique quality.
Unifying Factor
As the relationship between the two ensues, it is evident that Hegbert does not approve of his daughter’s relationship with Landon.This creates a conflict with Landon’s grandfather work ethics. However, Hegbert disapproves. When Hegbert worked for Landon’s grandfather, they had a dispute that led to his resignation, to become a clergyman. As Jamie and Landon’s relationship strengthens, the two families are forced to face their differences.
The community is unified by the play, written by Hegbert. During the staging, Jamie Sullivan is bestowed with the lead role of the angel, assigned to her by the drama class teacher, Miss Garber (Spark, 60). The play is popular for Hegbert and Jamie because of the circumstances it was written.
Landonis also confronted with the resolution to reconcile with his estranged father. When the tragedy strike and Jamie reveals to Landon on her struggle with leukemia, Landon’s father offers to help (Taylor, 46). As she prefers to have her medical care at home, Landon’sfather offers the best equipment and medical assistance. Despite of all these challenges,their relationship blossoms to marriage.
Although from the beginning, Jamie seems alienated from the people around her including her own school. She is depicted as naĂŻve, yet easy to be around, but as the novel progresses, she comes out as pure of heart and strong in personality.
Realistic
Jamie is a character that defies stereotype. Her approach to life is so realistic, and being a devoted Christian, she is very objective in her perspective of others including non-Christians .Although she does not take alcohol herself, she is not pretentious and does not scold her friends like Angela, who does instead, think she needs help(Spark,22).
When dealing with Landon her trust in he leads to his positive transformation. Despite her poor health,Jamie remains a positive influence to the people around her. She is hopeful as she tells Landon her wish to get married in church in the presence of many people.
Conclusion
As portrayed by Spark, Jamie is an inspiring character, poignant yet very simple individual. This makes it easy for a reader to relate with her, and the events in the novel as they unfold .Nevertheless of her own struggles,she remains optimistic, which is an admirable trait. Jamie’s characters as illustrated in the essay are very rare to most people;hence, their uniqueness are quite appealing, to my own personality.
Works Cited
Spark, Nicholas. A Walk to Remember, London, Little Brown Book Group, 2011.
Taylor, Don. A Walk to Remember, North Carolina, Lulu.com, 2006