Noah Calhoun THE ANALYSIS

3. THE ANALYSIS

3.1 Noah Calhoun

Noah Calhoun is the protagonist character of The Notebook. He is seventeen years old. He is a hard worker man. He lives with his father in New Bern. He likes watching the fade sun sink lower from the wrap-around porch if his plantation-style home and sit there in the evening, especially after working hard all day. He especially likes to look at the trees and their reflections in the river. North Carolina trees are beautiful in deep autumn: greens, yellows, reds, oranges, every shade in between. He always showers at the end of the day. After he has combed his hair back, puts some faded jeans and a shirt, then goes to the porch. He sits there everyday. For the first time he sees a beautiful woman is playing with her friends in that town, he falls in love with her. Her name is Allie. She comes from another town, and spending her holiday with her family there. Day by day, they become closer and have a special relationship. They are very happy together. Everyday he always thinks about Allie, every moment that they ever had is never forgotten. He loves her very much. Loving Allie is something special for him. He likes give surprises to her. He will do everything to make her happy. Sparks 1996:102 says,“I can remember every moment we were together, and in each of them there was something wonderful. I love you, Allie, more than you can ever imagine. I always have, and I always will.” He guided the canoe toward some trees near the bank. “Close your eyes,” he whispered, and Allie did, Universitas Sumatera Utara bringing her hands to her face. “Okay, now you can open them.” They sat in the middle of a small lake fed by the waters of Brices Creek. He works at a shipyard for six months before he is laid off, then moves to New Jersey because he has heard the economy is not so bad there. In December 1941, when he was twenty-six years old, the war began, just as Goldman had predicted. Noah walks into his office the following month and informs Goldman of his intent to enlist, then returns to New Bern to say good-bye to his father. He receives a letter from Goldman thanking him for his work. Sparks 1996:29 says, “I couldn’t have done it without you. You’re the finest young man who ever worked for me, even if you aren’t Jewish.” At first he is one of twelve employees, but as the years dragged on, the company grew, and he is promoted. By 1940 he has mastered the business and is running the entire operation, brokering the deals and managing a staff of thirty. The yard has become the largest scrap metal dealer on the East Coast. He spends his next three years with Patton’s Third Army, tramping through deserts in North Africa and forests in Europe with thirty pounds on his back, his infantry unit never far from action. He watches his friends die around him; watches as some of them are buried thousands of miles from home. The following week he returns to New Bern and buy the house. He remembers bringing his father around later. He really loves his father. But his father seems weak as he walks around, coughing and wheezing. Less than one month later his father died of pneumonia and is buried next to his wife in the local cemetery. Universitas Sumatera Utara

3.2 Allie Hamilton