Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Independent Reading Assignments Week 2

Key traits of John Tyree, Dear John:
- fustrated: we see this when he discusses his up-bringing with his girlfriend, blaming his father for the lack of a childhood- what the character thinks or says.
It's also displayed when John's father is meant to accompany him and his girlfriend to a social gathering, but due to his mental disability, he feels he's unable to do so-actions.
- loyal: we see this when John is away in theatre, his girlfriend thousands of miles away, yet still writes to her and thinks of no one else but her-actions.
- bravery: we see this when John is shot twice on his shoulder, yet once fully recovered is determined to serve in the very place he was injured once more to fight for his country-actions.
- sympathetic: we see this when John returns from service to his strayed girlfriend, yet once he's informed about the situation and given the reasons for which she married someone else, John is calm and agrees to visit his old, terminally ill friend-actions.
- pretentious: we see this when John's girlfriend says she isn't scared of him, no matter how he acts with others-what other characters say about this character.
This trait is also displayed as we see John caring for his girlfriend and treating her well, yet around strangers he'll act bolshy and initiate fights-actions, what this characters thinks or says.
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Gentlemanly: we see this when his soon-to-be girlfriend's bag is accidently pushed over the pier and he jumps in to save it, seeing that no one is volunteering to retrieve it quickly for her-actions.
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Humble/Introverted: we see this when he's thanked for retrieving the bag for the girl, John simply states it was nothing and walks away, then to be invited for dinner-actions, what the character says or thinks.
This trait is also displayed when congratulated or questioned about being in the Special Forces of the military, he answers the questions without sounding boastful about himself or the importance of his work-actions, what the character says or thinks.
- Repressed: we see this when John's father passes away, he keeps all his feelings bottled up inside of him until confronted with his ex-girlfriend, at which point all the feelings come pouring out about his father and their relationship-actions.
- Obstinant: we see this when John's placed before his commanders, refusing to return home after recovering from his gunshot wounds, adamant not to stop serving his country he vows to extend his tour once again- actions, what the character says or thinks.
- Remorseful: we see this when John's father passes away, he hates himself for treating him the way he did, blissfully or choosing to be unaware of his father's mental disability-actions.

John Tyree, our protagonist is a round character, but stays true to what he believes throughout the book. As a disturbed adolescent with a isolated childhood, John turns to what he deems to be the only option ; the military. During leave, he meets his dream girl, Savannah. Thinking of someone other than himself is a foreign concept to John, one he adapts to fairly quickly. Trust, so hard to build yet so easy to break; the one person he's confided in, leaves him whilst he's serving on an extended tour of duty. Slinking back into his repressed ways, John suffers a great loss, leaving him with a huge burden of guilt and regret.

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