Literary Analysis #1 (The Lucky One)

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

1) This book was written in three different perspectives including Logan Thibault, Elizabeth "Beth" Green, and Keith Clayton. While Logan was serving for the U.S Marines, he came across a picture of a girl. This picture saved his life because when he moved to pick up the picture, he avoided a bomb that would have killed him. His marine friends all said that the picture was a good luck charm. Logan walked with his German Shepherd Zeus on a journey across the country in search for the girl in the picture. After asking multiple people he found out that the girl in the picture's name is Beth Green who owns a dog boarding/training place. Logan goes there to tell Beth about the picture but ends up not being able to and so he just applies for a job there. Keith, a very rude and impatient guy, fits into this story because he is Beth's ex-husband. He does not like the idea of Beth dating another man and having another male figure in Ben's life; his and Beth's son. We also find out that he has been scaring away all the other men that Beth has dated in the past. Logan falls in love with Beth in the middle of the story  but he still has not confronted her about the picture. Beth too begins to fall in love with Logan. The two begin to date and Ben and Zeus form a great relationship as well. Unfortunately, Keith tries everything he can to break them up. When he finds out about the real reason Logan came to town, to find Beth, he tells Beth. Beth freaks out and tells Logan that he is a stalker and she never wants to see him again. After she lets all her anger out, she lets Logan explain his reasoning and Beth ends up forgiving him. Keith is not happy about this and so he goes after Beth. Ben witnesses this happen and he runs away to his tree house. All this is happening while a storm is taking place so the tree house is not in a good condition. Keith, Logan, Beth and Zeus all run to the tree house to save Ben. Logan and Keith dive in to save him and eventually, Zeus does too. Zeus is the one who saves Ben in the end. Logan makes it out but Keith does not. There is a funeral for Keith where he is remembered as the "great father who gave up his life to save his son" and not a rude, angry guy. Logan, Beth, Ben, and Zeus all end up living happily ever after in the end. Nicholas Spark's purpose of this book was just to make a great selling book that people in love with. I feel that he fulfilled his purpose because the book was very captivating and so popular it eventually was made into a movie.

2) I think there were multiple themes in this book that included fate, destiny, love, and trust. It was fate and destiny that brought Logan and Beth together. If Logan had never picked up that picture, he would have been dead and they would never have met and fallen in love. Love was a big theme because Logan fell in love with Beth and did everything he could to be with her and make her fall in love. There was also a love connection between Logan and Ben, Zeus and Ben, and Zeus Logan. All four of them were brought together to make one happy family in the end. Trust was another theme in the book because Logan was very, very secretive throughout the beginning of the book. Beth had to trust him and everything he said. She also had to trust him when the truth about the photo came out.

3)  The tone of the book was very mysterious in the beginning because the readers had no idea what Thibault was doing hiking with his dog all alone. Nobody knew how all three characters related to one another either. Another tone throughout the whole book was a feeling of sadness and depression. Logan had numerous flashbacks to his marine days about all the fighting and death he faced. The fact that Keith was never a good dad nor husband was another reoccurring depressing situation.

- "From a distance, Clayton continued to evaluate them. The stranger seemed unfazed by Clayton's sudden appearance, as did the dog, and there was something in the stranger's gaze that unsettled him" (Chapter 1, Page 11).

- "Thibault walked back to the highway, knowing he was closet to finding her. He wasn't there yet but he would be soon. She'd been here. He knew that" (Chapter 4, Page 50).

- "By the time reinforcements arrived, it was too late. Kevin was shot in the head and died instantly. Ten others were wounded. only a few emerged unscathed: Thibault and Victor were among them" (Chapter 6, Page 62).

4) Ten literary techniques found in the book:

- CHARACTERIZATION: Chapter 2 page 20-23 is all about Thibault's life and how he was raised as a "military brat". The readers learned that he wanted to go in the marines right after school like his father had. His father had died of a heart attack when Logan was 15 years old. Logan felt like his life started only after he started his military training.

- PARALLELISM: "He wanted someone to hunt with: he got a son who would rather read. he wanted a son who could play catch or shoot baskets; he was saddled with a clumsy son with poor vision." (Chapter 3, Page 41) This excerpt is describing how Keith wanted a different son that Ben. He wanted a son who he could play sports with and not one who wasn't athletic and a bookworm.

-COMPARISON: "Ricky chewed tobacco; And Billy smoked. Ricky liked blondes, Billy like brunettes. Ricky liked rap music, Billy favored country-western" (Chapter 4, Page 46) This describes two men that was on Logan's team.

- IMAGERY:  "A tank rolled in, fast-moving infantry in the rear. The air vibrated as the muzzle flashed the upper stories it a building collapsed, dust and glass filling the air. Everywhere Thibault heard the sounds if screaming, saw civilians fleeing the buildings into the streets" (Chapter 4, Page 49)Thibault is explaining what happened when his friends from his team died in a bombing.

-RHETORICAL QUESTION: "How many men in their current age were single? Where did single men hang out? Single men who could be drawn into conversation" (Chapter 4, Page 52) This occurred when Logan was looking for men to question the girl in his photograph about.

-SIMILE: "It was too juicy, and the news would spread like wildfire, with or without an article" (Chapter 5, Page 55) Clayton lost a camera he used to take stalker pictures of girls and was nervous about whose hands they were in at the moment.

- SARCASM: "Might as well start dressing the boy in pink and teaching him to ride sidesaddle" (Chapter 5, Page 57) Clayton is being sarcastic about his son Ben when he is reminiscing about what his life would be like with a better son.

-FORESHADOWING: (Chapter 1-2) Thibault finding the picture that saved his life and him traveling foreshadows that he is out to find the lady in the photo.

- FLASHBACK: This literary technique is shown throughout the whole book when Thibault looks back on his days in the marines.

-POINT OF VIEW: All throughout the book the story is told from 3 point of views: Thibault's, Clayton's, and Beth's.