LITERARY ELEMENTS

SETTING

The story takes place in the real-life city of Beaufort, North Carolina (pronounced "Bo-furt"), in 1958 and 1959. Beaufort is a small coastal port city that was established in 1722.


CHARACTER LIST

Major Characters

Landon Carter
The 57 year-old man who through flashback narrates the story of his seventeenth year, the year that changed his life.

Jamie Sullivan
The seventeen year-old girl daughter of a Baptist minister who is dying of cancer, but who impacts on the lives of everyone around her.

Hegbert Sullivan
The Baptist minister, the writer of The Christmas Angel, and Jamie's father, he tries to discourage the young couple from being together and falling love, but in the end, even he cannot disrupt God's Plan.

Minor Characters

Worth Carter
Landon's father and the local congressman, he is seldom home and so, he and Landon haven't much of a relationship.

Landon's mother
Although she is nameless, she has a great deal of influence on her son and is a source of strength when he needs it most.

Eric Hunter
Landon's best friend and the star of the football team, he is a natural joker and teaser and in the end, must come to grips with the way he had always treated Jamie.

Miss Garber
The teacher who teaches the Drama Class and helps them stage The Christmas Angel.

Carey and Eddie
The two boys whom Landon often mocks as being somehow less than he is.

Jamie's mother
Although she has died at Jamie's birth, it is her Bible that has a lasting influence on both Jamie and Landon.

Landon's grandfather
A kind of robber baron who made the family fortune by stealing from the people of Beaufort, his evil actions made Hegbert quit working for him and created discord between Hegbert and his son Worth for a long time after. Jamie heals their rift.

 

Cite this page:

Clapsaddle, Diane. "TheBestNotes on A Long Way Gone". TheBestNotes.com.

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