The meanings of love as experienced by Noah Taylor Calhoun in Nicholas Sparks` The Notebook.

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ABSTRACT

Octafianie, Farikha Ayu. (2015). The Meanings of Love as Experienced by Noah Taylor Calhoun in Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.

This study discusses the novel entitled The Notebook written by Nicholas Sparks. The objective of the study is to analyze the meanings of love as experienced by Noah Taylor Calhoun, the main character in The Notebook. The character of Noah is also discussed to help the readers understand his love experience. Therefore, there are two problems in this study. They are “How is Noah described in the novel?” and “What are the meanings of love as experienced by Noah?”.

The theory of character and characterization are applied to analyze Noah’s character. Meanwhile, the theory of love and theory of katresnanism are applied to analyze the meanings of love in Noah’s experience. The approach used in this study is the psychological approach. The Notebook, a novel written by Nicholas Sparks is used as the primary data.

Based on the analysis, Noah is described as a loving person. He loves not only human being, but also the nature and animals. Noah is a kind-hearted person. He helps people around him to solve their problems. Noah is also a hard worker. He never demands the pay role for things he has not done.

Through his experience, Noah shows that love is the greatest blessing in the world. Love makes people feel lucky and happy. People can get happiness by loving others. Love means doing the best thing for the beloved ones. Love also means supporting the beloved ones to do the best. Besides, people’s heart and mind can be united when love exists in their hearts.

This novel is recommended for people who like a romantic story. The readers can feel the emotions in the novel. As a suggestion, the future researchers may analyze the meanings of love as experienced by Allie, the other main character. Besides, analyzing the symbols used in the novel is also interesting. This novel is worthy to be applied in English class as a material of teaching reading in senior high school for the second grade students.

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ABSTRAK

Studi ini mendiskusikan sebuah novel berjudul The Notebook yang ditulis oleh Nicholas Sparks. Tujuan dari studi ini adalah untuk menganalisa makna cinta sebagaimana dialami oleh Noah Taylor Calhoun, tokoh utama di novel The Notebook. Karakter dari Noah juga didiskusikan untuk membantu pembaca memahami pengalaman cinta Noah. Oleh karena itu, ada dua buah masalah yang didiskusikan dalam studi ini, yaitu “Bagaimana Noah dideskripsikan di dalam novel” dan “Apa makna cinta sebagaimana yang dialami oleh Noah?”.

Teori karakter dan karakterisasi diaplikasikan untuk menganalisa karakter Noah. Sementara, teori cinta dan teori katresnanism diaplikasikan untuk menganalisa makna cinta yang dialami oleh Noah. Pendekatan yang dipakai dalam studi ini adalah pendekatan psikologi. Novel The Notebook yang ditulis oleh Nicholas Sparks ini menjadi sumber data utama.

Berdasarkan analisa, tokoh Noah dideskripsikan sebagai seseorang yang penyayang. Dia tidak hanya menyayangi sesama manusia, tetapi juga alam dan binatang. Noah merupakan seseorang yang baik hati. Dia menolong orang-orang di sekitarnya untuk mengatasi masalah mereka. Noah juga seorang pekerja keras. Dia tidak mau menerima upah untuk sesuatu yang belum dikerjakannya.

Dari pengalamannya, Noah menunjukan bahwa cinta adalah berkah terhebat yang ada di dunia. Cinta membuat orang merasa beruntung dan bahagia. Orang-orang bisa mendapatkan kebahagiaan dengan mencintai orang lain. Cinta berarti melakukan yang terbaik untuk orang yang dicintai. Cinta juga berarti memberikan dukungan kepada orang yang dicintai untuk melakukan hal terbaik. Selain itu, hati dan pikiran orang-orang bisa disatukan ketika ada cinta di dalam hati mereka.

Novel ini direkomendasikan bagi orang-orang yang menyukai cerita romantis. Para pembaca bisa merasakan emosi-emosi yang ada di dalam novel. Sebagai saran, peneliti selanjutnya bisa menganalisa makna cinta yang dialami oleh Allie, tokoh utama lainnya. Menganalisa simbol yang digunakan di novel ini pun juga menarik. Novel ini berguna untuk diaplikasikan di dalam pelajaran Bahasa Inggris sebagai materi pembelajaran di SMA untuk siswa kelas dua. Kata kunci: love, Katresnanism, happy

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THE MEANINGS OF LOVE AS EXPERIENCED BY NOAH

TAYLOR CALHOUN IN NICHOLAS SPARKS’

THE NOTEBOOK

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN FINAL PAPER

Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

Farikha Ayu Octafianie Student Number: 081214095

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

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THE MEANINGS OF LOVE AS EXPERIENCED BY NOAH

TAYLOR CALHOUN IN NICHOLAS SPARKS’

THE NOTEBOOK

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN FINAL PAPER

Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

Farikha Ayu Octafianie Student Number: 081214095

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

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ABSTRACT

Through his experience, Noah shows that love is the greatest blessing in the world. Love makes people feel lucky and happy. People can get happiness by loving others. Love means doing the best thing for the beloved ones. Love also means supporting the beloved ones to do the best. Besides, people’s heart and mind can be united when love exists in their hearts.

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ABSTRAK

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to Allah SWT for the endless love. I thank Him for His blessings through the lovely people coming to my life. Through His blessings, I can see how beautiful the life is. I also thank Him for the strength given to me so that I could finish my study.

I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to my one and only major sponsor, Dr. Antonius Herujiyanto, M.A, for his kindness, patience, suggestions, inspirations, and encouragement in finishing my final paper. Besides, my sincere gratitude goes to all my lecturers in Sanata Dharma University and to the administrative staffs of PBI study program. May Allah SWT always bless them.

My special gratitude goes to my beloved mother, Noer Hidayatie, for her amazing love. She always supports me with prayers, a heavy rain of loves and cares. I send my sincere gratitude to my late father in heaven, Ashuri, for the life teaching he has given to me. He will always be the greatest man in my life. My special thanks go to my older sister, Rafika Meyzarni, and her husband, Arie Hasta Arif, for their care and encouragement to finish my thesis soon, to my older brother, Wahyudi Wibisono and his wife, Novi Andriani, and my younger brother, Perwira Yudha Bimantara Arby for the laughter and love we share. I am thankful to my best friends, Lia Ayu Prabandari and Yohanes Widi Abirama Putra, for the great friendship and their support. Our friendship makes my life more beautiful, meaningful, and cheerful. I thank Tyas, Dety, Siska,

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Angel, Via, Nita, Angga, Enda, Leo, Benny, Boni, Andreo, Pakde Rio,

Vincent, Nana, Purwo, Seto, and all PBI ’08 members for colouring my life during my study.

I also thank all refugees in Sewon who have taught me the life lesson. From them, I learn that there will always be a hope no matter what happens to us. There will be a rainbow after the storm. I thank them for teaching me how to be grateful for everything I have in my life.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who comes to my life with love and care that I cannot mention one by one. God bless them all.

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Page

TITLE PAGE ... i

APPROVAL PAGES ... ii

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... iv

PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ... v

ABSTRACT ... vi

ABSTRAK ... vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... x

LIST OF APPENDICES ... xi

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ... 1

CHAPTER II. DISCUSSION A. The description of Noah ... 6

B. The Meaning of Love as Experienced by Noah ... 11

CHAPTER III. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A. CONCLUSIONS ... 18

B. RECOMMENDATIONS ... 19

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LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1 THE AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY ... 22

APPENDIX 2 THE SYNOPSIS OF THE NOTEBOOK ... 25

APPENDIX 3 LESSON PLAN ... 27

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Love is universal. Love is not only about the relationship between a man and a woman. Love can be seen in mothers and children, friends, family, and nature as well. Hauck (1983) states that love is a feeling that we have for people who did, are, or will satisfy our deepest desires and needs (p. 22). It shows that love is one of the best things in life. Loving and being loved can make the life more beautiful and meaningful. Love is important in the world. People can do good things because they have love in their heart.

Love is abstract. Love cannot be touched, but people can feel that love does exist. The meaning of love can be various for each person. Their love experience probably affects their definition of love. People who live happily with the beloved one will call love as a romantic thing while those who do not might say that love is hurting.

Fromm (1956) says, “Love is the active concern for the life and the growth of that which we love” (p. 22). Therefore, love means doing and giving something to the beloved one. Love is not only about telling, “I love you”. Love is an action. People should show their love through their actions. People who fall in love will have a commitment to care and to make the beloved one happy.

However, instead of making the beloved ones happy, some people expect that the beloved ones have to make them happy. Therefore, when what they

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expect does not happen, they get disappointed. Their disappointment will let them do evil things and put love as its reason.

When someone whom they love hurts them, they blame love. People will say that love hurts. They use it as an excuse to hurt the beloved one back. Wybourne (2012) says that “Love's the one thing that can never hurt anyone, although it may cost dearly”. Therefore, it is not love which hurts people. Love never hurts, but people do.

Talking about love is always interesting. This is probably the reason why many novelists use love as the theme in their novel. The Notebook is one of the novels telling about love. The Notebook was written by Nicholas Sparks in 1996. This novel is about the love story of Noah Taylor Calhoun and Allie Allison.

Noah and Allie fell in love when they were teenagers. It is their first love. Their love changes their lives forever. They have to be separated since Allie’s parents think that Noah is not the best person for their daughter. Noah tries to write letters to Allie. Allie’s mother hides the letters so Noah never gets them replied.

Fourteen years later, Allie comes to visit Noah three weeks from her wedding. Their reunion unites their love again and they realize that they never stop loving each other. Allie has to make a difficult decision whether she chooses to marry with Lon, his fiancé, or to stay with Noah.

Allie has chosen Noah and they have led a wonderful marriage. The problem comes when Allie has an Alzheimer’s and she starts to forget everything. They decide to live in a nursing home. Noah reads the notebook telling their love

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story for Allie every day. He hopes that by reading the notebook, Allie will remember him and feel their love once again. In their forty-ninth anniversary, the miracle happens. Allie remembers him and tells how she much misses him.

This final paper aims to show the readers the meanings of love as experienced by Noah in Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook. It will discuss the romantic love between Noah and Allie. If the readers can find out the meaning of love, they probably can do the right things to the beloved ones. Considering the background of the study above, the study would like to address two questions. First, how is Noah described in the novel? Second, what are the meanings of love as experienced by Noah?

The theory applied here are the theory of character and characterization, theory of love and theory of katresnanism. Theory of character and characterization are used to find out how Noah is described in the novel. Therefore, understanding the characters is important.

Barnet, Bermar, and Bruto (1988) say that characters can be defined into two meanings. The first is that a character is a figure in a literary work. The second is that a character is a personality. It means that a character is the mental and moral qualities of a figure. For example, readers can say that the character is weak, or strong, or whatever (p. 71). Therefore, characters deal with the personalities of a figure that are reflected through their action, thought and behaviours.

Murphy (1972) mentions that there are nine ways that can be used to creates characters. They are personal description, character as seen by another,

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speech, past life, conversation of others, reactions, direct comment, thoughts, and mannerism (p. 161-173).

Meanwhile, the theory of love and katresnanism are used to explain the meanings of love experienced by Noah. Herujiyanto (2007) explains that,

Theory of katresnanism is a term which refers to the result of an inductive work functioning as a reminder and invitation (éling-kèlingan) of one’s true self (jati diri) and one’s existence which was granted due

to katresnan (divine love) as soon as one was born.

. People are born in the world with a huge love of God. Even God Himself is love. Theory of katresnanism is a reminder that people are born with love so they should love themselves and others as well. When people have an attitude of katresnanism, they will have a positive thinking. The positive thinking will enable people to understand that giving means receiving. When people give others something, at the same time they will also receive something back.

Theory of katresnanism has thirty-three principles. They are andhap asor, andhom slamet, angon mangsa, atur panuwun, banyu sinaring, binerkahan, cancut taliwondo, citra wicita wicitra, duga prayoga, yatna yuwana, kasugengan, kraton Ndalem, lothong kemayang, migunani, mrantasi, mulat sarira, nalar, ngugemi, nyamleng, nyumangga,rukun, samanunggal,sithik edhing, sumeleh, tentrem, tulus, tuhu, teposeliro, sumarah, mranani, mbombong mbimbing, pas, and nyedulur mulur. Three out of thirty-three principles are chosen to analyze the meanings of love as experienced by Noah in The Notebook. They are

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binerkahan, nyumangga, and samanunggal. These principles are dominant seen in the novel The Notebook.

According to Rohrberger and Woods (1971), there are five kinds of approaches in literature that enable readers to receive positive aesthetic values and understand how literature is shaped and something of what it means. They are the formalist approach, the biographical approach, the sociocultural – historical approach, the mythopoeia approach, and the psychological approach (p. 6-15). The psychological approach is chosen for this study. This approach focuses on the psychological side of human being, such as mental and personality. Therefore, it can be used to explain the character’s personality, thought, and behaviour.

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CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

This chapter is divided into two parts, based on the questions in the problem formulation. The first part is going to discuss the description of Noah in the novel. The second part concerns with the meaning of love as experienced by Noah.

A. The Description of Noah

Using the second principle that is analyzing someone’s character as seen by other characters, it is found out that Noah is described as a man who looks mature than he really is. He has a well-built body and he gets it from his hard working. It is seen through Allie’s character when she is thinking about Noah.

He always looked older than he really was, she remembered thinking. His appearance was that of someone slightly weathered, almost like a farmer coming home after hours in the field. He had the callused hands and broad shoulders that came to those who worked hard for a living, and the first faint lines were beginning to form around the dark eyes that seemed to read her every thought (p. 33).

As said by Allie, Noah is handsome, tall, and strong. He has light brown hair and calming voice. Allie likes his voice very much. His voice is one of the things she remembers the most about Noah.

He was tall and strong, with light brown hair, and handsome in his own way, but it was his voice that she remembered most of all (p. 33).

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Noah has dark and soft eyes that Allie admires very much. His eyes sometimes amaze Allie and make her nervous. When she is talking to Noah, she often gets nervous every time she looks at Noah’s eyes.

But God, those eyes. Those soft, dark eyes.

She turned away and took a deep breath, wondering how to say it, and when she finally started, her voice was quiet (p. 39).

His eyes are what people call the windows of someone’s heart. Noah cannot hide anything from Allie since his eyes always show what Noah feels.

“I know. You could never hide anything. Your eyes always gave you away. You had the most wonderful eyes I’d ever seen” (p. 116).

From the direct comment, it can be found out that Noah is a loving person. He loves his late father very much and always prays for him. His father means so much for him. Noah gets values of life from him.

And every night without fail he took a moment to remember him, then said a prayer for the man who’d taught him everything that mattered (p. 28).

Noah also loves the nature. He enjoys the nature as the part of his life. He likes getting close to the nature. Nature can always give him the peace and warmth. He enjoys the sound of nature more than other things.

The evening passed, staying warm, nice. Noah listened to the crickets and the rustling leaves, thinking that the sound of nature was more real and aroused more emotion than things like cars and planes. Natural things gave back more than they took, and their sounds always brought him back to the way man was supposed to be (p, 9).

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There’s something special, almost mystical, about spending dawn on the water, he thought to himself, and he did it almost every day now (p. 86). He likes camping and exploring the nature. He regards the nature as his friends and he always enjoys being close with the nature.

Camping and exploring became his passion, and he spent hours in the forest, sitting beneath blackjack oak trees, whistling quietly, and playing his guitar for beavers and geese and wild blue herons. (p. 23)

Noah loves the animal as well. He likes seeing and getting close to the animals. He regards them as his friends. He enjoys his meal at the creek so he can get close to the animals in the creek.

He ate at the creek because the mullets were jumping. He liked to watch them jump three or four times and glide through the air before vanishing into the brackish water. For some reasons he had always been pleased by the fact that their instinct hadn’t changed for thousands, maybe ten of thousands, of years (p. 21).

Noah has a dog named Clementine. Clementine is hit by car and a vet calls him if he wants to keep her. Seeing Clem, Noah cannot let Clem be killed in order to end her suffering. Noah takes care Clemenentine and she becomes a good friend of Noah. It shows how Noah loves the animal as well.

“Hit by car a few months back. Doc Harrison, the vet, called me to see if I wanted her because her owner didn’t want her anymore. After I saw what had happened, I guess I just couldn’t let her be put down” (p. 40).

Noah is a kind-hearted and helpful person. He likes helping his neighbours and friends. He has a neighbour named Martha Shaw. She is a widow living in an

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old house with her children. Noah helps her repair her house when winter is coming.

His neighbor, Martha Shaw, was there to thank him, bringing three loaves of homemade bread and some biscuits in appreciation for what he’d done. Her husband had been killed in the war, leaving her with three children and a tired shack of a house to raise them in. Winter was coming, and he’d spent a few days at her place last week repairing her roof, replacing broken windows and sealing the others, and fixing her woodstove (p. 29).

Noah also helps Gus’ family. Gus’ family does not have a car so they get

difficulty when they want to go shopping. Noah always gives them a ride when he is going shopping.

Once she’d left, he got in his battered Dodge truck and went to see Gus. He always stopped there when he was going to the store because Gus’s family didn’t have a car. One of the daughters hopped up and rode with him, and they did their shopping at Capers General Store (p. 29).

In the nursing home, when Noah is not with Allie, he often comes to others’ room to see his friends. He talks to them and shares his story with them. He understands that most of the people there feel lonely. He comes to accompany them. They feel happy when Noah comes to see them.

Men or women, they smile at me when I enter and speak in whispers as they turn off their sets. “I’m so glad you’ve come, they say, and then they ask about my wife (p. 151).

He also accompanies them when they remember about mortality. They sometimes feel afraid when something reminds them about their own mortality. Noah reads poetry to calm them.

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One of the things that Allie loves from Noah is his kindness. In her letter, Allie tells him about it. His kindness makes him like an angel to Allie. She believes that everyone can see how kind Noah is.

You have something inside you, Noah, something beautiful and strong. Kindness, that’s what I see when I look at you now, that’s what everyone sees. Kindness. You are the most forgiving and peaceful man I know. God is with you, He must be, for you are the closest thing to an angel that I’ve ever met (p. 200).

From his past life, it can be seen that Noah is a hard-worker. He used to work for Goldman. His father teaches him to work hard and to demand the pay role only from something that he has already done.

His years in the lumberyard had toughened him to this type of labor, and he worked hard. Not only did it help him keep his mind off Allie during the day, but it was something he felt he had to do. His daddy had always said: “Give a day’s work for a day’s pay. Anything less is stealing” (p. 25).

His hard work pleases his boss, Goldman. Noah quits working when the war begins. He decides to join the war. While he is in the boot camp, he gets a letter from Goldman. The letter tells how Goldman thanks him for his work. Goldman also gives a certificate showing that he will get a small percentage of the scrap yard if it is sold. Goldman feels so lucky to have a worker like Noah. Therefore, he is willing to give Noah that percentage.

While there, he received a letter from Goldman thanking him for his work, together with a copy of certificate entitling him to a small percentage of the scrap yard if it ever sold. “I couldn’t have done it with you, “ the letter said. “You are the finest young man who ever worked for me, even if you aren’t Jewish” (p. 27).

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From the explanations above, it can be concluded that Noah is well built, tall, and strong. He has beautiful and soft eyes and calming voice. He is a loving person. He loves not only people but also the nature and animals. He is kind-hearted as well. He helps his friends and neighbours to solve their problems. Moreover, he is a hard worker.

B. The Meaning of Love as Experienced by Noah

The love discussed in this study is the romantic love of Noah and Allie. Noah always feels that his love to Allie is the best thing happens in his life, no matter what situations happen in his life. He always feels lucky to love Allie even if when they have to be separated. He writes his last letter to Allie telling how happy he is that he has fallen in love with her.

I am not bitter because of what has happened. On the contrary, I am secure in knowing that what we had was real, and I am happy we were able to come together for even a short period of time (p. 146).

According to Hauck (1983), “Love is that powerful feeling one has for persons, animals, or things, that has satisfied, is satisfying, or will satisfy our desires and needs” (p. 16). It means that love is a great feeling that can bring happiness to people who feel it. That is what Noah feel towards his love to Allie. Noah’s love for Allie always makes Noah feel that he is the luckiest man in the world. He is happy to love Allie. Noah tells how happy he is to love Allie and how much he loves her in his letter.

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I love you, Allie. I am who I am because of you. You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I’ve ever had, and no matter what happens to us in the future, every day we are together is the greatest day of my life. I will always be yours (p. 170).

Even in a hard time, Noah is still blessed for having his love. Allie, who has Alzheimer’s, cannot remember Noah and even herself. Noah’s love keeps him strong to face this truth. When he is thinking about Allie, he finds that his love makes him the luckiest man although he has to deal with Allie’s Alzheimer’s.

Sometimes, when I am standing there, I think about how lucky I am to have been married to her for almost forty-nine years (p. 150).

Their marriage and love help him face the difficulty happens in his life. Although the situation is hard for both of them, the love they share makes him strong. When Noah is with Allie, Noah thinks,

I am strong and proud, and the luckiest man alive, and I keep on feeling that way for a long time across the table (p. 183).

Noah never regrets the path he has chosen in his life. Although he gets difficult problems, his loves makes everything seem right. The problems they have are nothing compared with the great love they have.

I am a common man with common thoughts, and I’ve led a common life. there are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough (p. 2).

Love has made him feel that no one is more blessed than he is. Wybourne (2012) says that “Love is life's greatest blessing”. Noah has proved that it is true.

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Noah always reads the notebook every morning for Allie. He does it not because it is his duty. He does so because he loves Allie. He wants her to feel the love they have by listening to their story.

I have read to her this morning, as I do every morning, because it is something I must do. Not for duty-although I suppose a case could be made for this-but for another, more romantic reason (p. 149).

Noah is eighty years old when he reads the notebook for Allie in the nursing home. He has stroke and cancer. He is old and weak. His hands and fingers are painful. Once he wants to amputate them but he does not do it because he knows he still needs them. He needs them to open the page in his notebook. Besides, for a more romantic reason, he still needs them to hold Allie’s hands and he feels happy when he does it.

My hands are misshapen and grotesque now, and they throb during most of my waking hours. I look at them and want them gone, amputated, but then I would not be able to do the little things I must do. So I use my claws, as I call them sometimes, and every day I take her hands despite the pain, and I do my best to hold them because that it was she wants me to do (p. 156-157).

The sixth principle in theory of katresnanism, that is binerkahan, promotes working the best for others (Herujiyanto, 2007). People should do the best for the beloved ones to make them happy. It is what Noah always tries to do to Allie. He takes care of Allie well and puts her happiness in his priority. Even when it hurts himself, he feels happy when it can make Allie happy.

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Noah sometimes has to tell a lie to Allie in order not to hurt her. For instance, he does not tell their true names and that the story is about them. Although it hurts him, he does not want the truth to hurts Allie.

I was an encyclopedia, an object without feeling, of the whos, whats, and wheres in her life, when in reality it is the whys, the things I did not know and could not answer, that make it all worthwhile (p. 175).

Noah shows that loving means doing the best for the beloved ones. He takes care of Allie well and puts his concern in her happiness. What he always wants to do is making Allie happy. Even it sometimes hurts him, he feels happy when he knows Allie is happy with what he has done for her.

Herujiyanto (2007) says that having a positive thinking is an attitude of katresnanism. Positive thinking makes people able to understand that giving means receiving. When people give something to others, at the same time, they receive something as well. Even, people sometimes receive more than what they give. Noah has proved that this theory is true. When he makes Allie happy, at the same time he gets the happiness as well.

Once Allie stops painting since her father thinks that is not a good work for her. It makes her feel that she is not good in painting. However, Noah, who knows that painting is her passion, always supports and encourages her to start painting. Noah said,

“You can still do it, Allie. I know you can. You have a talent that comes from inside you, from your heart, not from your fingers. What you have

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can’t ever go away. It’s what other people can only dream about. You’re an artist, Allie” (p. 64).

Noah’s support makes Allie confident to start painting again. Even, she becomes a famous artist. Her paintings are in museums and private collections. Allie realizes that she can do it with the support of Noah and she feels blessed with it. Noah understands her and her passion in paintings. Noah gives her time to paint. He encourages Allie when she gets frustrated. In her letter, Allie tells him how it all means so much to her.

You have taught me as well, and inspired me, and supported me in my painting, and you will never know how much it has meant to me. My works hang in museums and private collections now, and though there have been times when I was frazzled and distracted because of shows and critics, you were always there with kind words, encouraging me. You understand my need for my own studio, my own space, and saw beyond the paint of my clothes and in my hair and sometimes on the furniture (p. 199-200).

According to Herujiyanto (2007), the twentieth principle, that is nyumangga, “celebrates promoting others respectfully”. It means that people should support and encourage the beloved ones respectfully. From what Noah does to Allie, it is seen that love means supporting and encouraging the beloved ones so they can do the best for their lives. The support given by loving people means so much to the beloved ones. It encourages them to do great things they think they cannot do.

When Noah and Allie face hard time in their lives, Noah also gives her support and care. It happens when one of their children passed away. Noah writes

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a letter to Allie. He says that they will face it together and that Noah is always beside her.

In times of grief and sorrow, I will hold you and rock you, and take your grief and make it my own. When you cry, I cry, and when you hurt, I hurt. And together we will try to hold back the floods of tears and despair and make it through the pothole streets of life (p. 166).

Noah shows that love can unite their heart and mind. He feels what Allie feels. What becomes Allie’s own becomes Noah’s own. Samanunggal, the twenty-second principle, “celebrates creating an energy and spirit of the so-called united mind and heart–you and me” (Herujiyanto, 2007). Love makes people able to feel what other feels. They are not two, but one. People say that God is love and God is one. Love makes things become one. Noah shows that love can unite two different people become one. Their hearts and minds can unite into one when there is love.

From the discussion above, it is found out that Noah is a loving and kind-hearted person. He loves not only human, but also animals and nature. He has kindness that makes him a peaceful and forgiving man. He is a hard worker. He only demands the pay role for the things he has done. Noah has light brown hair, calming voice, and soft dark eyes.

Noah shows that love is a blessing that happens in someone’s life. People will feel lucky when they love someone. Loving someone means doing the best for the beloved ones. Love will make people put the beloved ones’ happiness in their priority. When they give happiness to others, at the same time, they will get

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happiness as well. Love also means supporting him/her to do the best. Love can also unite two different people into one. Two people can be in one unity when they love each other.

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CHAPTER III

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This final paper is set to see the meanings of love as experienced by Noah Taylor Calhoun in Nicholas Sparks’ novel The Notebook. First, the character of Noah is discussed to help the readers understand what kind of person he is. When the readers can understand him, they will understand his love experience more easily. Second, the study discusses the meanings of love as experienced by Noah. As the next section, the following are the conclusions and recommendations.

A.Conclusions

The character of Noah can clearly be known in this study. Noah is handsome, tall, and strong. He looks more mature than he really is. He has light-brown hair, soft eyes, and calming voice. Noah is described as a loving person. He loves not only human being, but also the nature and animals. He considers nature as one of the important parts of his life. He likes spending his time to get close to the nature. He also loves animals and considers them as his friends.

Noah is a kind-hearted person. He helps people around him to solve their problems. He always gives a hand to people who need it. Noah is also a hard worker. He never demands the pay role for things he has not done. His hard working pleases his boss. Besides, it also makes him a man with a well-built body.

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Through his experience, Noah shows that love is the greatest blessing in the world. Love makes people feel lucky and happy. People can get happiness by loving others. Love means doing the best thing for the beloved ones. When people give their best to someone they love, at the same time they receive something best as well. Therefore, people can get happiness by making someone they love happy. Love also means supporting the beloved ones to do the best. It can encourage the beloved ones to do something they think they cannot do. Seeing the beloved one able to do their best will make people happy as well. Besides, love can unite two different people into one. Love makes people able to feel what others feel. People’s heart and mind can be united when love exists in their hearts.

B.Recommendations

The Notebook is one of the best novels written by Nicholas Sparks. The story is interesting. The romantic love story of Noah and Allie can inspire people to do the right things to someone they love. It also contains many values of life. The readers can feel the love story in the novel. The story in the novel proves that love does exist. The Notebook is a good novel to read.

The Notebook is good to use as the object of the study. This novel is interesting to read and to analyze. Love is one of major values found in the novel. The future researchers who want to use Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook as the object of the study can analyze the meanings of love as experienced by Allie, the other main character in the novel. The future researchers may identify other meanings of love in the novel. Besides, analyzing symbols used in the novel will

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also be interesting. There are many symbols in the novel that can be analyzed such as the notebook, the love letters, and the poetry.

This novel is also worthy to be applied in English class as a material to teach reading. The students can enjoy the story in the novel. The teacher can encourage the students to understand the story, get the values of life from the novel and learn some vocabulary. This activity can be held in senior high school for the second grade students.

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REFERENCES

Anonymous. (2014). Nicholas Sparks biography. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/nicholas-sparks-562686.

Barnet, S., Bermar, M., & Bruto, W. (1988). Literarture for composition. London: Scott, Foresman, and Co.

Fromm, E. (1956). The art of loving. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers.

Hauck, P. (1983). How to love and be loved: Overcoming common problems. London: Sheldon Press.

Herujiyanto, A. (2007). Theory of katresnanism (Pious love). Retrieved September 16, 2014, from

https://antonherujiyanto.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/theory-of-katresnanism-pious-love/.

Murphy, M. J. (1972). Understanding unseen. London: George Allen and Unwin, Ltd.

Rohrberger, M., & Woods, S. H. (1997). Reading and writing about literature. New York: Random House.

Sparks, N. (1996). The notebook. New York: Warner Books.

Wybourne, C. (2012). What is love? Five theories on the greatest emotion of all. Retrieved November 11, 2014, from

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/13/what-is-love-five-theories.

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Appendix 1

The Author’s Biography

Nicholas Sparks is the author of novels The Notebook, Message in a Bottle and Nights in Rodanthe, among others.

Synopsis

Born on December 31, 1965, Nicholas Sparks wrote his first (unpublished) novel while sidelined by a sports injury. He then attended the University of Notre Dame and went into sales. Business setbacks got him writing again and in 1995 he finished The Notebook, which was a best-seller and hit movie. He followed with Message in a Bottle and Nights in Rodanthe, among others.

Early Life

Nicholas Sparks was born on December 31, 1965, in Omaha, Nebraska. The second of three children born to Patrick Sparks, a college professor, and his wife Jill, a homemaker, Nicholas spent the early part of his childhood moving around with his family as his father finished up his graduate work. They lived in Minnesota, then Los Angeles, later Grand Island, Nebraska, and finally Fair Oaks, California, where the Sparks clan found a permanent home. Nicholas went on to graduate from high school there in 1984, becoming the class valedictorian.

Those early years were also lean ones, recalls Sparks. "Because my father was a student until I was 9 years old and my mother didn't work, we weren't exactly living the high life when I was little," he writes. "I grew up on powdered milk and ate tons of potatoes, though to be honest, I never noticed how poor we really were until I was old enough to take an honest appraisal of things. Even then, it didn't matter. For the most part, I had a wonderful childhood and wouldn't change a thing."

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College brought him to Indiana and the University of Notre Dame, which had offered the athletic Sparks a full track scholarship. In 1985, during his freshman year, Sparks was part of a relay team that set a school track record that still stands. But the season did not end on a good note for the future author: An Achilles tendon injury slowed things down for Sparks, and forced him to spend the summer recuperating.

Big Break

It also propelled the budding business major to take up writing. During that summer Nicholas Sparks churned out his first novel, a book that's never been published.

In 1988, Sparks graduated with honors and also met his future wife, Catherine Cote, a New Hampshire girl, while on spring break. A year later, the two were married. Six weeks later, however, tragedy struck the Sparks family when Nicholas' mother was killed in a horseback riding accident. She was only 47.

In the wake of these two life-changing events, Nicholas and Catherine moved to Sacramento, California, where Sparks continued to write (he finished a second novel, which again went unpublished) and took on a string of jobs (waiter, real estate appraiser, telemarketer) to make ends meet. Sparks eventually settled on a career that centered on the manufacturing of orthopedic goods. It wasn't exactly a thriving business, but Sparks worked doggedly to make it profitable.

More importantly, Sparks continued to write. In 1994 he got his first break when he teamed up with Billy Mills, a friend and Olympic medalist on a book called Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding, a story built around a Lakota allegory. The book sold moderately well, and was later picked up by Random House.

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But Sparks, now the father of a young son, still needed to pay the bills, and in 1992 he sold his business and ventured into the field of pharmaceutical sales. Sparks was earning a decent living, but the frustrated writer wanted more. He decided to give himself one final chance to make it as a writer. The plan: To write three more novels. If nothing got published, he'd move on to something else.

For the next six months, beginning in June 1994, Sparks began a manuscript that would become The Notebook. When he finished in early 1995, Sparks, now living in Greenville, South Carolina, found an agent, who found him a publisher. Within a shockingly short span of time, Sparks went from being a relative unknown to being a writer with a book deal and $1 million movie rights contract.

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Appendix 2

The synopsis of The Notebook

Noah begins by saying that he is eighty years old, that he does not regret any of the paths he has chosen to travel, and that the paths today are more rocky than those of years ago. He describes his day in the nursing home. He says that he picks up a notebook that he has read many times and passes many doors. The people inside - like he - have gotten accustomed to being alone with only a television for company, and that a person can get used to anything. He reaches a particular room and goes inside where he is greeted by nurses caring for a woman who is obviously upset. Noah says mornings are always difficult and she will calm down later when the nurses have gone. Noah knows the odds and science are both against him, and that he simply hopes for a miracle. Believing in prayer as he does, he takes time to pray as he opens the book, puts on glasses and picks up a magnifying glass, and prepares to read.

The notebook is the story of Noah and Allie, two who were lovers as teenagers in a summer romance, but who were then separated by Allie's parents who felt Noah wasn't the best man for her. Noah writes letters to Allie over the years, but Allie's mother withholds them and Allie assumes Noah has forgotten her. Noah works, joins the military and inherits money from a previous employer that allows him to buy a historic house and repair it. It's then that Allie comes to visit him, three weeks from her wedding date but seemingly unable to marry without seeing Noah one more time. The love between them immediately springs to life and Noah begs Allie to remain. She leaves but realizes she can't love anyone like she loves Noah and returns to him.

This is the story Noah reads to Allie and occasionally she responds to him, though the medical professionals say her response is impossible. On a particular day, Noah reads the story and Allie asks which man the woman in the story chooses. She confesses that she doesn't know Noah and doesn't know her own name. They talk for hours with Allie later saying she knows which of the two the

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woman in the story picked, though she doesn't seem yet to equate that story with herself. Noah admits that it breaks his heart that she doesn't know him, but that these days are much better than the days in which he tried to make her remember. He says that on those days, they'd both be exhausted with him answering questions and her anguish at having lost everything, including memories of her children.

Through their lives, the two have written letters to each other and these provide memories for Noah. He likens living this near Allie without ever again being able to fully possess her love to the relationship between day and night, combined at dusk but never quite touching.

Then Noah suffers a stroke and for awhile it seems he might not survive. When he does return to the nursing facility where he and Allie have lived since the onset of her Alzheimer's, he wants to see her. It's their forty-ninth anniversary but it's also against the rules for him to visit her at night. After bedtime, she's typically easily frightened, never knows him and is anxious if awakened. On this particular night, he is confronted by a nurse who is touched by his love for Allie and who turns her head as he shuffles past. When he reaches her room, he vows not to wake her but does anyway. When she sees him, there's a light of recognition in her eyes as she begins to unbutton his shirt

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Appendix 3

LESSON PLAN

Subject : English Grade/Semester : XI/I

Aspects/Skills : Reading and Vocabulary Time Allotment : 2 x 45 minutes

I. Competence Standard

Understand meanings in short functional texts and simple essay in the form of report, narrative, and analytical exposition in daily life to access knowledge

II. Basic Competence

To respond meanings in short functional texts and simple essay accurately, fluently, and acceptably in daily life to access knowledge in the form of: report, narrative, and analytical exposition

III.Indicators

1. Students are able to find the main idea of the novel.

2. Students are able to find the meaning of some vocabulary in the novel. 3. Students are able to find detailed information in the novel.

IV.Learning Objectives

At the end of the course, students are able to:

1. Identify the main idea of the narrative text by answering true/false questions

2. Mention the meaning of vocabulary by writing the synonyms. 3. Identify the detail information of the text by answering essay

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V. Learning Method

- Three-phase technique

- Cooperative learning ( class discussion, individual work )

VI.Class Activities

Activities Time Allotment

Pre-activities

- Greeting students

- Check the attendance of the students - Apperception

- Explain the objectives of the lesson

Main-activities

- Students read a short narrative text

- Teacher explains the students the text briefly - Students do exercise A and B

- Students and the teacher discuss exercise A and B - Students do exercise C

- Students and teachers discuss exercise C

Post-activities

- Students and teacher summarize what they have learned - Students are given time to ask the things they have not understood 2’ 2’ 3’ 3’ 15’ 5’ 15’ 10’ 15’ 10’ 5’ 5’ VII. Source Handouts

Novel The Notebook

VIII. Evaluation

a. Technique : Responding written and oral questions b. Instrument : Oral and written question

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Appendix 4 Learning Material

A Love Letter

Dear Noah,

I write this letter by candlelight, as you lie sleeping in the bedroom we have shared since the day we were married. And though I can’t hear the soft sounds of your slumber, I know you are there, and soon I will be lying next to you again as I always have.

I love you for many things, especially your passions, for they have always been those things which are most beautiful in life. Love and poetry and fatherhood and friendship and beauty and nature. And I’m glad you have taught the children these things, for I know their lives are better for it. They tell me how special you are, and every time they do, it makes me feel like the luckiest woman alive.

You are my best friend as well as my lover, and I do not know which side of you I enjoy the most. I treasure each side, just as I have treasured our life together. So I love you so deeply, so incredibly much, that I will find a way to come back to you despite my disease, I promise you that. Please don’t be angry with me on days I do not remember you, and we both know they will come. Know that I love you, that I always will, and that no matter what happens, know I have led the greatest life possible. My life with you.

Allie

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A. Read the text above and decide whether these statements are true or false.

1. Noah is Allie’s boyfriend. ______ 2. In Allie’s opinion, passions are the most beautiful things in life. ______ 3. Allie tells her children that they are so special. ______

4. Allie is ill. ______

5. Allie is very happy with her life. ______

B. Find the synonyms of the words below in the text.

1. Gentle = __________________ 2. Sleep = __________________ 3. Happy = __________________ 4. Illness = __________________ 5. Extremely = __________________

C. Answer the questions below.

1. Where is Noah when Allie writes the letter?

_________________________________________________________ 2. What does Noah teach their children?

_________________________________________________________ 3. What do their children tell Allie?

_________________________________________________________ 4. When does Allie feel like the luckiest woman alive?

_________________________________________________________ 5. Please don’t be angry with me on days I do not remember you, and we

both know they will come (paragraph 4). What does the word ‘they’ refer to?

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Appendix 2

The synopsis of The Notebook

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herself. Noah admits that it breaks his heart that she doesn't know him, but that these days are much better than the days in which he tried to make her remember. He says that on those days, they'd both be exhausted with him answering questions and her anguish at having lost everything, including memories of her children.

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Appendix 3

LESSON PLAN

Subject : English Grade/Semester : XI/I

Aspects/Skills : Reading and Vocabulary Time Allotment : 2 x 45 minutes

I. Competence Standard

Understand meanings in short functional texts and simple essay in the form of

report, narrative, and analytical exposition in daily life to access knowledge

II. Basic Competence

To respond meanings in short functional texts and simple essay accurately, fluently, and acceptably in daily life to access knowledge in the form of: report, narrative, and analytical exposition

III.Indicators

1. Students are able to find the main idea of the novel.

2. Students are able to find the meaning of some vocabulary in the novel. 3. Students are able to find detailed information in the novel.

IV.Learning Objectives

At the end of the course, students are able to:

1. Identify the main idea of the narrative text by answering true/false questions

2. Mention the meaning of vocabulary by writing the synonyms. 3. Identify the detail information of the text by answering essay

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- Three-phase technique

- Cooperative learning ( class discussion, individual work )

VI.Class Activities

Activities Time Allotment

Pre-activities

- Greeting students

- Check the attendance of the students - Apperception

- Explain the objectives of the lesson

Main-activities

- Students read a short narrative text

- Teacher explains the students the text briefly - Students do exercise A and B

- Students and the teacher discuss exercise A and B - Students do exercise C

- Students and teachers discuss exercise C

Post-activities

- Students and teacher summarize what they have learned - Students are given time to ask the things they have not understood

2’ 2’ 3’ 3’

15’ 5’ 15’ 10’ 15’ 10’

5’ 5’

VII. Source

Handouts

Novel The Notebook

VIII. Evaluation

a. Technique : Responding written and oral questions b. Instrument : Oral and written question

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Appendix 4 Learning Material

A Love Letter

Dear Noah,

Allie

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false.

1. Noah is Allie’s boyfriend. ______ 2. In Allie’s opinion, passions are the most beautiful things in life. ______ 3. Allie tells her children that they are so special. ______

4. Allie is ill. ______

5. Allie is very happy with her life. ______

B. Find the synonyms of the words below in the text.

1. Gentle = __________________ 2. Sleep = __________________ 3. Happy = __________________ 4. Illness = __________________ 5. Extremely = __________________

C. Answer the questions below.

1. Where is Noah when Allie writes the letter?

_________________________________________________________ 2. What does Noah teach their children?

_________________________________________________________ 3. What do their children tell Allie?

_________________________________________________________ 4. When does Allie feel like the luckiest woman alive?

_________________________________________________________ 5. Please don’t be angry with me on days I do not remember you, and we

both know they will come (paragraph 4). What does the word ‘they’ refer to?

The meanings of love as experienced by Noah Taylor Calhoun in Nicholas Sparks` The Notebook.

ABSTRACT

ABSTRAK

THE MEANINGS OF LOVE AS EXPERIENCED BY NOAH

TAYLOR CALHOUN IN NICHOLAS SPARKS’

THE NOTEBOOK

THE MEANINGS OF LOVE AS EXPERIENCED BY NOAH

TAYLOR CALHOUN IN NICHOLAS SPARKS’

THE NOTEBOOK

ABSTRACT

ABSTRAK

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF APPENDICES

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

CHAPTER III

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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The meanings of love as experienced by Noah Taylor Calhoun in Nicholas Sparks` The Notebook.

ABSTRACT

ABSTRAK

THE MEANINGS OF LOVE AS EXPERIENCED BY NOAH

TAYLOR CALHOUN IN NICHOLAS SPARKS’

THE NOTEBOOK

THE MEANINGS OF LOVE AS EXPERIENCED BY NOAH

TAYLOR CALHOUN IN NICHOLAS SPARKS’

THE NOTEBOOK

ABSTRACT

ABSTRAK

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF APPENDICES

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

CHAPTER III

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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The Analysis Of Main Characters In Nicholas Sparks’ Novel “The Notebook”

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AFFECTION REFLECTED IN THE NOTEBOOK NOVEL (1996) BY NICHOLAS SPARKS: Affection Reflected In The Notebook Novel (1996) By Nicholas Sparks: A Psychoanalytic Approach.

The description of triangle love in nicholas sparks’ novel “the notebook”

The description of triangle love in nicholas sparks’ novel “the notebook”

The description of triangle love in nicholas sparks’ novel “the notebook”

The description of triangle love in nicholas sparks’ novel “the notebook”

The description of triangle love in nicholas sparks’ novel “the notebook”

The description of triangle love in nicholas sparks’ novel “the notebook”

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