Prompt: How does the main character start to develop throughout the story? Explain.
The Best of Dawson (Identification of Each Character) Direct and Indirect
When I was reading The Best of Me I noticed that the plot sort of connected to the requirements of a traditional character arc. There were some parts of the novel that involved the antagonist (Ted Cole and Abee Cole) chasing the protagonist (Dawson) or vice versa. The author Nicholas Sparks uses his words of knowledge in order to make the reader, like the good guy and hate the bad guy. During the reunion between Dawson and his high school love Amanda he says "marriage is a partnership not a democracy." The quote is showing how he has compassion towards any kind of love most importantly family love. The passion that Dawson has towards family love shows how he transitioned from a heart-broken maniac to a hero to others. Since he is known as the "good guy" of the story which makes him like able then what makes the antagonist Ted hateful. Although he doesn't have a lot of dialogue in the story, but based on his actions I could infer that he will do a lot of damage to the other characters. The direct characterization is that the author explains Dawson's physical and mental issues. He mentions that he is extremely strong even at age 42 and that he has a large capacity of love in his heart. Throughout the story he includes phrases which show his concerns about David's family and his thoughts regarding Amanda. The quotes that show his direct characterization are shown above. The indirect part of his personality is the theme he is trying to create throughout the story. Although Sparks doesn't say it in the story but he is trying to show that Dawson truly cares about family love. He includes bits of the theme when he says after David's death Dawson started to send money to his family. This is shown when he says "I am nothing special, of this I am sure. 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."
Dawson's Transition and What Makes Ted "Hateful"
I mentioned before that what makes Ted Cole hateful is his action towards Dawson. In the story he beats up Dawson during his early childhood and eventually tries to shot him (in which he succeeds). The other antagonist Abee believes seems a bit less crazy than Ted but he has a lot of mental issues towards his girlfriend Candy. Let's get back on topic the protagonist Dawson Cole starts to change after his accident with one of the only doctors of his small hometown. In his early teenage years he started dating a girl named Amanda in which they feel deeply in love. The beginning of this relationship seemed a bit like a Shakespeare play in which they were denied to be together. We start to see his development through his dialogue in which says "the past can be escaped only by embracing something better." This is showing that he wants to have a future with Amanda even after twenty-three years without seeing each other.
The New Version of Dawson and His Early Flaws
Guilt. That word and feeling was one of Dawson's earliest weaknesses after what he did to poor doctor David. The teenage relationship between these two lovebirds didn't end well which drove Dawson into a long depression. He started to feel remorse in which he believed that love wasn't that important in life more like a distraction. We get to see this through his actions in which he refuses to love anyone else and decides to live the rest of his life alone. I also see it in his dialogue when he says "you might not understand, but I gave you the best of me, and after you left, nothing was ever the same." The transition begins when Dawson decides to get drunk after Amanda leaves in which he loses control of the wheel. After the car accident he learns that he because of him a young doctor named David was killed. The horror of seeing his family suffer and his kids growing up without a father eventually changed Dawson's personality. That is when he decides to take stand by fighting his cousins in order to protect Alan (David's son) in order to show his change of heart. The risk of helping Alan caused his life but showed that "love is the most powerful magic of all". -Once Upon a Time.
This tree is symbolizing family love in which it grows from generation to generation. I put this picture to show the main reason why Dawson changed and how it impacted the lives of other characters. He used to think that love wasn't that important but after seeing how much David's family suffered, he realized that that's all you ever need in life.
This week I will comment on Athziry, Autumn, and Steven's Blogs.
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