A Walk To Remember
by Nicholas Sparks
Table of Contents
Landon
Landon—Landon’s story is mainly a coming-of-age tale in which he realizes that he must overcome his lazy, selfish, immature ways and become the kind of man he knows he should be: one who is respectful, considerate, loving, and good. He has, at first, no real inclination to overcome old habits and grow up. Because he is an obedient son, however, he does as he is told by his father and begins to assume a more active role in his high school. While his father’s motives may be purely pragmatic, one secondary effect of Landon’s activity is that he is placed in a position where he might learn how to exercise charity, honesty, respect and honor. Through his growing acquaintance and ultimately loving relationship with Jamie, Landon undergoes a process of transformation from adolescent nobody to mature adult. More than this, however, Landon becomes as much of a model of good behavior and a good example for others as Jamie has been for him.
Landon is, therefore, a character with an arc. He begins the story as a wiser and gentler older man looking back on his most cherished memory, which he describes as the seventeenth year of his life, when he truly fell in love. Through the various conflicts within the narrative, he is forced either to grow or to regress. He does both at alternate stages, but with each regression he finds his conscience there to urge him forward once more. Finally, at the end of the tale, he is in full accord with what is right and good.
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