OVERALL ANALYSIS

CHARACTER ANALYSIS

Landon Carter

He is the narrator of the story who tells us how he grew up in the town of Beaufort, North Carolina, fell in love with Jamie Sullivan, and completely changed in his seventeenth year. He tells his story in flashback, forty years after it happened, as if he lived it only yesterday. As he begins, he remembers himself as a rather spoiled young rich kid who seemed to be living his life in a dissolute way. He isn't completely bad, but he seems to have no direction. It is only when Jamie Sullivan comes into his life that he begins to see how wrong he has been to make fun of others and to have no real goals to reach for. In the end, he becomes more religious, more compassionate, more loyal, and more sensitive. He credits it all to Jamie, but his coming of age is also because he is basically a good young man who just needed to find his way.

Jamie Sullivan

She is the real angel of the story, not just a character in the school play. She is depicted as a rather strange young girl who wears her long hair in a bun and dons the same sweater and plaid skirt almost everyday. Since they have all been children, her classmates have made fun of her for her strangeness and the bizarre behavior of her Baptist minister father, Hegbert Sullivan. But underneath her strange way of life, Jamie is a very good, compassionate young lady. She takes care of her father, she looks out for the welfare of the local orphans, and she irrevocably changes Landon's life as well. Ironically, she is the one who gets cancer and is dying throughout the story, a fact she hides until nearly the end. Her illness, however, allows everyone to see how strong her character is and how deep her faith. She is the kind of person we would all like to be.

Hegbert Sullivan

The local Baptist minister, Hegbert was once an employee of Landon's grandfather, but he quit his job when he realized how much of a thief the man was and how much he was hurting the town. Hegbert then became a minister and married rather late in his life. Jamie's mother died giving birth to her, so Hegbert raised his daughter all by himself. He is a very stern man who lives by a literal translation of the scriptures and doesn't hesitate to chastise his flock from his pulpit. As a result, he is often the subject of ridicule by the young people of Beaufort. His manner makes the children ridicule Jamie, his daughter, as well, so when she gets cancer, Hegbert, feels not only that he's losing the only one he loves, but also guilt that after all she has experienced in the form of ridicule, now she must die of a terrible disease.

Worth and Mrs. Carter

These are Landon's parents who live rather privileged lives, because of their wealth and his position as a congressman. However, even though he has tremendous power, Worth is not really a bad man, just a frequently absent one. His word is law in his house, but he is, in the end, open to what his son needs and ready to forge a stronger relationship with him. Mrs. Carter is the one who really raises Landon, because Worth is gone so much. She is sweet and loving, but no pushover. In fact, she expects much from Landon and is glad of the influence Jamie has over him. She is also the one he turns to in his anguish over Jamie's illness and it's her advice that helps him find the answer to what God wants him to do for Jamie.

Eric Hunter

He is Landon's best friend and is depicted as the golden boy of Beaufort High School. He's good-looking, athletic, and sometimes very cruel in his teasing of those who aren't part of the clique of the school. In the end, through Jamie's example, he, too, changes his ways and understands how he has wronged her and others in the past. His final gesture to Jamie is to collect over $400 for the orphans she loves so much, an act he wouldn't have dreamed of doing before he saw the truth through her.