Nicholas Sparks.

1
Nicholas Sparks.

• By Alisha Zaveri and Pratistha Katila.

2
Thesis Statement

• Most of Nicholas Sparkss stories take place in
  North Carolina, the place where he finally
  settled and wrote his first novel. His stories
  are also about love and loss, a frequent topic
  shown in his life.

3
Nicholas Sparks Picture
4
Nicholas Sparks Childhood/Family

• Nicholas Charles Sparks was born in Omaha,
  Nebraska, on December 31, 1965. As a child, he
  lived in Minnesota, Los Angeles, and Grand
  Island, Nebraska, and then settled in Fair Oaks,
  California, at the age of eight. His father was a
  professor, his mother a homemaker and
  optometrists assistant. He graduated
  valedictorian and then got a full track
  scholarship to Notre Dame. He broke the track
  record for Notre Dame. (A record that is still
  there today.) In the process, he got injured.
  While recovering, he wrote his first book.

5
Nicholas Sparks.

• He married his wife, Catherine, in 1989. While
  living in Sacramento, he wrote his second novel
  that same year, though again, it wasnt
  published. He worked a variety of jobs over the
  next three years. In 1990, he worked on a book
  with Billy Mills and the sales of the book topped
  50,000 copies during the first year.

6
Nicholas Sparks Books

• He moved from Sacramento, California to North
  Carolina. In 1994, at the age of 28, he wrote The
  Notebook over a period of six months. With that
  followed Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember,
  The Rescue, A Bend in the Road, Nights in
  Rodanthe, The Guardian, The Wedding , True
  Believer, At First Sight, Dear John, The Choice,
  The Lucky One, The Last Song, Safe Haven, and
  Three Weeks With My Brother. His newest book, The
  Best of Me, will be released in October 2011. The
  books we read were Dear John and The Last Song.

7
His Books Made Into Movies

• The film version of Message in a Bottle was
  released in 1999,
• A Walk to Remember was released in January 2002,
• The Notebook, was released in June, 2004.
• Nights in Rodanthe was released in September
  2008.
• Dear John, was released in 2010.
• The Last Song, was also released in 2010.
• The Lucky One has a release date of spring 2012.

8
His Life Shown in His Books

• His life was shown in his books frequently. He
  wrote Message in a Bottle because of his mothers
  own death in a horseback riding accident. The
  Notebook was written about his wifes
  grandparents love story. A Walk to Remember was
  based on the premature death of his own younger
  sister. Most of his stories also took place in
  North Carolina, where he lived. Something I found
  strange was that a lot of the characters names
  in his stories were the names of his wife and
  children. He wrote stories about characters with
  his wife and childrens names falling in love
  with other people, such as in Message in a
  Bottle. The girls name was Catherine, the name
  of his own wife. Thats really weird!

9
Imagery in Dear John

• Here are some examples of imagery in Dear John.
• Page 28, In time, the color of the ocean began
  changing from iron gray to orange, then yellow.
  In the breakers beyond the pier, I could see
  pelicans riding the backs of porpoises as they
  skimmed through the waves.
• Page 34 I felt something click, like a key
  turning in a lock. Up close, she was even more
  beautiful than Id first realized, but it had
  less to do with the way she looked than the way
  she was. It wasnt just her slightly gap-toothed
  smile, it was the easy way she swiped at a loose
  strand of hair, the easy way she held herself.

10
Imagery in The Last Song

• Here are some examples of imagery in The Last
  Song.
• Page 24 The festival was temporarily located
  in the parking lot at the head of the pier, and
  it mostly resembled a small county fair. The
  rickety rides were part of a traveling carnival,
  and the parking lot was lined with overpriced
  game booths and greasy food concessions. The
  whole place was kind ofgross.
• Page 108, And so, of course, did the blinding
  sun. Judging by the fact that shed been waking
  up with the farmers since shed arrived, she
  figured today was no different. It probably
  wasnt even seven yet. The sun was hanging low
  over the ocean, and a few people were walking
  their jogs or jogging near the waters edge. No
  doubt theyd slept in beds.

11
Nicholas Sparks Quotes.

• I learned what is obvious to a child. That life
  is simply a collection of little lives, each
  lived at a time. That each day should be spent
  finding beauty in flowers and poetry and talking
  to animals. That a day spent with dreaming and
  sunsets and refreshing breezes cannot be
  bettered.
•  You hope for success, you dream about it, but
  you never expect it.
• My wife, my family, my friends-they've all
  taught me things about love and what that emotion
  really means. In a nutshell, loving someone is
  about giving, not receiving.