The Accidental Billionaires (1-54)

Summary

Ben Mezrich's novel, The Accidental Billionaires, starts off with a young man called Eduardo who appears to be heavily drunk (he had three drinks). The room which he is in presently is intimidating to it because it has a crystal chandelier handing from the ceiling, a very red carpet, nice staircases throughout the many floors, and lovely windowpanes. It is intimidating to him because although he is not a poor kid, he has never been exposed to this type of wealth in his life. Most of his life, he grew up in a standard middle-class structure both in Brazil and Miami before relocating to Boston - to attend Harvard University. At this point, Eduardo is reminiscing the first time he came to Harvard University wondering what he was doing here and if he will fit in with everyone. Now, he is also questioning what he is doing in this room and how he could possibly belong here. He is looking around the room where there are about two hundred males dressed similarly. They are all dressed in dark blazers and slacks.They are all sophomores but there was something similar about them all. They all had a smile full of confidence and they weren't used to proving themselves, unlike Eduardo. He realizes that he's at a party. There, he meets four young men. He takes interest in one of them because of his tie. Based on one's tie, one can find out everything he or she may need to know. The guy he meets is called Darron. Darron is part of Phoenix-S K which is a club that is hosting the event. Eduardo then tells Darron that his last name is "Saverin". Based on his last name, Darron asks if he's the one with a hedge fund. He then says yes, although it isn't true, he had previously made money investing with his brother during the summer. 

However, he continues on with the story in order to impress this Phoenix-S K member before his eyes.

Eduardo then gives a description about what it means to be a Phoenix member - instant connections, access to parties, reputation, etc. Soon after he goes on describing about the hedge fund, he realizes that he only reason why he is at the party and Darron is talking to him is because he has a reputation of being a businessman. Eduardo goes into detail about the process of becoming a Phoenix member. They give two hundred young men of Harvard University an invitation to be a member of their club. There, they send out another invitation to a little less people and so forth. To him, being granted the opportunity to be a member would be life changing and as thrilling as getting into Harvard. 

At the party, Eduardo recognizes a kid with very curly hair in the corner of the room, isolated. When he first saw the kid, he feels bad for him because he seems awkward and is very sure that the kid won't get into Phoenix. Now, Eduardo is spending time thinking about ways to chase his dreams rather than thinking about the kid with the curly hair in the corner. At this period, he has no idea that the kid with the curly hair would one day design one of the biggest social networks ever or change his life forever.

Eduardo then attends another event. There are less people at this event with about three girls. He then breaks into a smaller group and begins talking to four different guys in the group. Although they are all different builds and height, they are all geeks and lanky in the group. One of the guys he meets in the group is Mark Zuckerbeg who had grown up as a upper-middle class child. He had attended Phillips Exeter school where he was seen as a master genius because he very much knew how to hack. At Harvard, he also had a good reputation as a guy studying computer science living in the Eliot House and who designed a software program. There was a rumour in school that Microsoft offered Mark two million to work for them which he turned down. Eduardo states that he knows very little about computers but someone turning down over a million dollars is extremely fascinating to him. Eduardo then observes Mark's personality. He realizes that something was very different about him. He was very smart, didn't fit in among his own kind - geeks who had the same interests as him and who would make algorithms on Friday nights. The two get to know each other more and even leave the event to go to a different party. They have small talk there then Eduardo talks about the after-party for Phoenix. He will have to bring a date to it (the invitation said so). He had heard from an outside source that the prettier the girl he brings, the likelihood of him getting into the club increases because they will judge the females. He asks the most attractive female he knows, a female named Marsha and she, to his surprise, accepts.

The next chapter talks about a rowing meet in Charles River featuring the six foot five identical twins, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. The two are very talented rowers, rowing for Harvard, maintaining good grades and aspiring to make it unto the Olympics team. Currently, they are inventing something secret from the rest of Harvard. They have been inventing this for the past two years. They created the idea with their friend, Divya but before the plan can be well executed, they need a programmer. They plan on creating a website called the Harvard Connection which would change everyone'e life on campus. First, they would need someone to write the computer code. They plan on having two sections on the website: dating and connecting. Since the two twins are always so busy, they thought of the website to enable them to keep up with the females on campus during their spare time. They saw the website as progressing further into other Ivy Leagues.

The following days in class, Eduardo attends a class where he spots Mark there. However, when he sees Mark, Mark is sleeping. He grins from ear to ear since Mark and he have gotten close in the recent weeks. Soon, Mark wakes up and sees the chicken Eduardo has been carrying. Eduardo is required to carry the chicken with him everywhere as part of the club's initiations. His task is to keep the chicken alive. Eduardo feeds the chicken some chicken, assuming that the chicken would be hungry. Later on he sees Harvard Crimson, the newspaper, stating that Eduardo had fed the chicken chicken. 

One day, Mark goes back to his dorm angry and drunk because a girl had rejected him. He goes on a blog where he starts swearing and becoming made because of the girl. He then decides to create a website called FaceMash. He would get girls from all over the campus, put their faces next to each other and guys would vote to see which one was prettier. Although he is drunk, he manages to design the website, knowing that it would end up being a huge success.

Quote

"Sophomores, mostly; a mix of races, but there was something very similar about all the faces-the smiles that seems so much easier than Eduardo's, the confidence in those two hundred pairs of eyes-these kids weren't used to having to prove themselves. They belonged. For most of them, this party-this place-was just a formality." (Mezrich 6)

Reaction
When I was reading this quote, I found it a bit amusing. I thought that Harvard would be a school where it would be packed with nerds who all get very good grades and who really do nothing else each Friday night than reading/studying. However, this quote proved me wrong. I realized that Harvard is also similar to high school where there are all sorts of people and cliques, in a way. Some people are nerds and receive exceptional grades in school. Others, however, flunk and don't do so well...(how did they get in anyways if that is the case?) At Harvard, there are also jocks who excel in sports, similar to high school. The only difference is that the jocks are Harvard usually are intelligent and get good grades. At Harvard, where stereotypically, everyone is assumed to be smart, there are cliques. There are outcasts, for one, like Eduardo. At the party, Eduardo looked around everywhere and saw everyone. It all seemed like they belonged and he was the newbie so he was sort-of the odd one out. All the kids had confidence, had money, and it was all like a regular thing to them. He, however, has to go out of his way to prove himself to the members of Phoenix and to everyone else who aspires to be a member of the club. Similarly, in high school, new kids usually try to fit in and aspire to fit in. At the moment, they are the outcasts, however, eventually they will turn to assimilate to be like everyone else. Then, there will be another new kid and so forth.

So far, I am enjoying reading this book. I had previously assumed that since it is a history book, I will fall asleep from reading it because it isn't fiction which is a type of book that I usually enjoy reading. However, quotes like this draw me in to having further interest in what Eduardo is going through. The fact is that everyone at the party is just like high school for me in the sense that everyone is similar and share a lot of commonalities. I am also like Eduardo in the sense that I haven't been at this high school for too long and I'm not necessarily a part of everyone because I haven't yet conformed to a lot of the trends of people at school. I also like the fact that the quote reminded me of what my mother tells me frequently. She tells me that I am in America for education and opportunities, not necessarily to become an American. She tells me that I don't need to conform to the ideas of everyone else and I don't need to be accepted. Yes, I may frequently want to go out of my way to fit in but the reality is it's not going to work out well. For everyone at school, for example, wearing sneakers and such is a trend and it is what everyone pretty much does. Myself, on the other hand, is not used to that trend and has not assimilated to it yet. Perhaps I may eventually and perhaps Eduardo will fit in and become acquainted with attending parties with everyone else and becoming one of them.  In addition, this quote also reminds me of something my father told me. He told me that in life, the outcasts or people who don't particularly belong to whatever society in question are usually the people who stand out and who go on to doing greater things in life. The quote also reminds be of reading Night by Eliezer Wiesel because I remember the class discussion of talking about Us versus Them. In this case, it is just Eduardo solitary against everyone at the party because he is so different.

Questions
*Eduardo wants to fit in with everyone else. Is he going to be himself in the process or actually go out of his way to become like them?
*Was he ever ashamed to be around Mark? Whether it was when they first started talking (everyone thinks of Mark as the nerd) to the period where Mark is accused of stealing an idea?
*What is the benefit of Mezrich writing in third person rather than first? Wouldn't it be more powerful to write in the first tense? It might engage the readers more about certain events that take place.
Or....if the book had been written in first person, wouldn't that mean that Eduardo or Mark would need to write it themselves/the book will become fiction because the "I" that would be representing Mark/Eduardo can't be told through the writing of Mezrich?

The Accidental Billionaires (50-108)

Summary
As Mark is creating FaceMash, he is trying to convince himself that what he is doing is not wrong. After all, compared to what he really is capable of doing, it really is nothing at all. In his mind, he is convinced that he is doing the greater good for everyone because information and pictures are meant to be shared amongst people. Three days later, Mark began to notice the effect of what he had already done. Many reporters show up to his school asking him questions about the website he created. He also notices that his laptop had frozen because it is serving as a server for the site. He had previously forwarded the website to his friends but his friends had also obviously forwarded it to other people, making it a sensation, and causing his computer to freeze. People from different clubs and backgrounds at Harvard are interested in his website because they can vote between two girls to see who is prettier. Within a matter of thirty minutes, three hundred kids had signed up for FaceMash. He hadn't intended for it to be this way - he only wanted to show it to his friends and they could give their suggestions and feedback about how it could be made better. Mark then realizes that he could be in big trouble because of the ingrowing- popularity of FaceSmash so he decides to take down the website.

Tyler and Cameron hear about the website from their friend Divya. They become very interested in Mark because he could potentially help them with their own idea about the Harvard Connection. They are in great need of a highly skilled programmer which Mark obviously is. Mark gets called to the ad-board meeting to decide what his punishment would be for posting some of the websites. On his way to the meeting, a lot of girls are being judgmental of him because he hurt their feelings because of the rankings on the website. This is discussed in the meeting where they give Mark a probation rather than an expulsion. They tell him to stay out of trouble for the next two years or "or else".Because he is comparing girls to other girls and was considering comparing girls to farm animals, it did flair up the interest of a lot of people. It pissed off girls, feminist groups, and so many different types of other organizations.

Soon after the ad-board meeting, he receives an email from the twins and Divya. The email says that they are in need of a programmer because of a new project they are working on. Eduardo advices Mark to forget about it but in Mark's opinion, it could be interesting. Therefore, he decides to pursue it. He meets up with the twins who present to him their idea. Mark is apparently very excited about it but is also curious about what would be his benefits. They say that he would be a part business owner, make money out of it, and would have the opportunity of clearing his name. Mark then sees it as an easy task because the twins had already done most of the work. The next day, Mark meets up with Eduardo at an Italian Restaurant. Eduardo tells Mark that he has been initiated into Phoenix after the hard work he has put in so far. Mark then tells Eduardo about a website he is thinking of. It is going to be a social network site where people can invite their friends, put up a profile with pictures, connect, and it would be like their social circle similar to the ones they have in real life.Eduardo, after hearing the idea, thinks it's a pretty good one. He notices that Mark must have planned everything in his mind and must have even combined his ideas with the previous programming work he had already done in the past. He will call the website "The Facebook". Eduardo tells Mark that he wants to be a part of the project. Mark tells him he will need his help - financial wise, as well as advice. He would be made the CFO and would be the one who makes the business decisions since that is his major anyways. They both then agree to split it up 70-30. Mark will obtain 70% if the profit while Eduardo gets 30%.

The twins are raged with fury that Mark has not been working with them. Each time they agree to meet up, Mark makes up some excuse that he has a paper to do or some school work to work on. Over time, Mark begins to make up other excuses like the faults of their website. He starts off by saying that the server isn't properly working and the website isn't functioning properly. Later on, the tells them that the website itself is just simply boring. The twins, however, hate the fact that they're waiting for Mark to finish up. The rest of the website will need about ten hours to complete but he keeps on stalling. They then decide to leave him alone for a few weeks, hoping that he will be back to his regular self. Soon, Divya shows up with the Crimson newsletter which features a story about "The Facebook" and an interview with Mark. As soon as they all see this, they are very stunned and raged because the idea is their's and although there are some differences, the concept of having a website where only Harvard students can connect through is the same. This causes the twin to call their multi-millionaire father who understands their perspective. They then come to the conclusion that they will need a lawyer - a good lawyer to make things right and get everything back to order.

Quote
"Every time Tyler glanced toward them, and saw that blue-bordered screen, his cheeks heated up, and fire sparked behind his eyes. This wasn't right, damn it. This wasn't fair." (Mezrich 107)

Reaction
This quote makes me question a lot of things. It makes me question, for one, if business men who have been successful in their endeavours are actually geniuses or they simply took the idea of someone else and renovated it. To me, it seems as if Mark so enjoyed the idea and knew it would get him profit that he decided to pursue the idea. That explains why he previously avoided them and created excuses to avoid interacting with them. Besides that, I like the way Mezrich describes the emotion going through Tyler's mind. I like the fact that he uses "blue-bordered screen" to describe Facebook. That's actually cool and better than just saying "Every time Tyler glanced toward them, and say that website, his cheeks heated up..." It shows the success of Facebook because by writing "blue-bordered screen", I automatically knew what he meant. Therefore, he makes use of common knowledge. With the description, I can feel the intensity of Tyler's emotion with his use of language. He says that his cheeks heated up and fire also heated up behind his eyes meaning that his eyes have a lot of emotions behind them, he is, of course, clearly angered by what he witnessing before his eyes.

I can understand Tyler when he feels as if it isn't fair and it isn't right. With this instance, he probably learns the lesson that life isn't fair and although there might be a killer idea someone thinks of, the person who enforces the idea will end up being the successful one. It also teaches Tyler and the reader also that this is a world of competition. It really is the survival of the fittest. If you have an idea, you must act upon it otherwise someone is going to steal the idea and make it their own. I do appreciate the fact, however, that Tyler is stepping up and making sure Mark is reprimanded for stealing what clearly is his. The only mistake that I think Tyler made was to not work create Facebook between himself, his brother, or Divya or at least work with someone he knows really well. Since his father is a very prosperous and wealthy guy, he must have some great connections.

This quote helped me learn that if I have a killer idea that I know is going to change the world, I definitely should act upon it and very quickly. It's also not morally right to take someone else's work and claim it as your own - I, personally, have to avoid that with essays that I have to do frequently. In conclusion, although Mark may be some kind of "genius", doing this to the brothers and their friend was very wrong and demonstrated in this quote, Tyler's anger is very much understandable. I don't blame him. I, too, would be very angry if I had an idea worth over a billion dollars and the kid who stole the idea is making all the money.

Questions:
*Would they make more money if they sue him or if they decided to partner up with him (only having a small percentage of the company's profit)?
*Without the idea of the twin, could Mark have made his way to opening Facebook anyways since he created FaceMash and other websites?
*How much really is an idea worth? Is it possible to get a large chuck of money for suggesting what the name of a website/company will be?

Reaction to movie review & MLA Citation

After watching the movie, I read the film review by  journalist A.O. Scott, of New York Times. I was so fascinated and moved by the movie so before reading the film review I assumed that the journalist would LOVE the film like I did. Little did I know that most of the journalist's opinions differed from mine. For example, he says, "I was sentenced to spend 97 minutes in the wholesome purgatory that is ''A Walk to Remember." (Scott). I didn't find watching the movie purgatory at all, it was fun not punishment! To me, the movie was exciting from the beginning to the end. I don't believe that it ever had a boring part in it. When the movie first begins, you see a couple of drunk teenagers getting ready to prank a newbie so he can be accepted into their group. That doesn't seem boring because there is laughter amongst them, jokes are told between them, and there is action going on, something to anticipate/look forward to.


The only downward the film had was that it was fairly predictable from the first scene until the last scene. It possibly could be because I read the book but the movie was predictable because most of the events that happened, I've seen it in other romance/high school/chick flick movies. The popular guy falling in love with an outcast or socially unaccepted girl is nothing new. I've seen it in Not Another Teen Movie, 10 Things I Hate about You, She's All That, etc. I agree with the journalist on that aspect but just because it shares similarities with other high school movies does not make it bad to watch. After all, they're all movies that set place in high school so of course, there are going to be some similarities. I've watched all of those films and I do notice their similarities but I still enjoyed it as if it was an unprecedented plot to me. Therefore, I do not believe it was appropriate for him to criticize the movie's predictability. It is an adaptation so it is based on the novel. The plot is the same as the novel so I guess he must be criticizing the novel too?


In his review, he did use a lot of sarcasm to get his point across. One example was when he stated, "I wish I could say that the experience left me a better person, or that, in the favored idiom of studio publicity copy, it ''changed my life forever,'' but by the end I was tempted to go off in search of some industrial scaffolding and a shallow river of my own." (Scott). I personally know very few movies that can leave a person a better person. Most movies are created for one to be entertained, not necessarily for it to be a life changing experience in one's life. The only thing I can say in this movie and most other movies out there is that there most likely is one lesson or two we, the audience, can pick up from them. If the lesson is life changing then so be it but in general, one watches a movie to get a good laugh, to keep up with the action/violence, or to explore the journey of terror and mystery. Also, often people watch movies that reflects upon their life. For example, if one is in a good mood, he/she might watch a comedic movie. Or if one is in love or so in high school, they might watch A Walk to Remember and see how the couple explored their love. Thus typically, movies aren't meant to be life changing, they are just meant to solidify one's taste at a given moment.


"Directed by Adam Shankman from Nicholas Sparks's inspirational novel, ''A Walk to Remember'' proves that a movie about goodness is not the same thing as a good movie." (Scott) is one line in the film review that I found to be a bit amusing.  I'm not a big fan of the way Scott worded the sentence. What does a movie about goodness have to do with it being a good movie...? Those are two different things. I honestly don't know what more he wants from this movie. Yes this is not an Oscar winning movie but that doesn't make it a bad movie. The fact that he said a movie about goodness is different from a good movie was random but I do respect it because it is his opinion. I'm very curious to find out what he considers a good movie and how he would improve this movie in order for it to be a better movie. I also want to know what genre of movies he generally likes (action, comedy, drama, horror, etc) because that could slightly influence his opinion.


Overall, I disagreed with Scott's opinion. I thought the movie was fun, inviting, and there are lessons I learned such as, miracles do happen, always have faith in both yourself and in others, and to never doubt the power of love. The fact that I got those lessons out from a movie all alone made it a good movie to me. Scott, on the other hand, well I'll just have to simply do one thing: research and discover what is a good movie to him. The Notebook, hopefully? Maybe the Last Song? Or does he have a thing against Nicholas Sparks movies...


Scott, A. O. "Movie Review - A Walk to Remember - FILM IN REVIEW; 'A Walk to Remember-NYTimes.com." Movie Reviews, Showtimes and Trailers - Movies - New York Times - The New York Times. 25 Jan. 2002. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. <http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9402E0DB163AF936A15752C0A9649C8B63>.

A Walk to Remember Movie

The movie begins with heavy, metal music that indicates something troublesome is about to happen. Unlike many movies, the movie doesn't begin with an establishing or long shot. Rather, it begins with the camera zoomed into a black sports car that one of the teenagers is driving. There appears to be low-key lighting used to set that the scene is suppose to be happening in the evening time. In addition, the camera's movement of pan is used to quickly highlight the close-ups of the few teenagers that are present in the scene. A few minutes after the teenagers arrive, another car pulls up which appears to be another one in their crew. When he is driving the car towards them, there is a track/dolly used for the camera because the camera is moving backwards while the car is moving forward. When the guy steps out from the car, there is a medium shot used which not only shows his facial expressions but also shows the type of clothing he is wearing to give the audience of the type of character he may be.

The crew is planning a prank on the new guy to make him jump into a pool in a no-go area in the junkyard. When the guy is walking up the ladder to jump into the pool, the camera is at a high angle shot not only to indicate he is walking up but to also show he is vulnerable because he is very nervous at the time. The newbie jumps into the pool but stays for a while down there because he's drowning. The crew's reaction is shown using close-ups to show their expressions that they are frightened because this guy may be dead. Then, a police car arrives and the gang all hop into their gang except Landon who stayed behind to sort-of help him out. However, soon Landon jumps into his car and drives off. While he is driving in circles trying to figure out his way out of the junkyard, the camera is at a long shot that shows the car which happens to be very miniature finding its way through cuts and corners. When Landon is then driving, attempting to escape from the police, a close-up is also used which is very relevant because he is severely sweating. The police does catch him eventually and when he does, it is shown in a point of view shot (the police's p.o.v.) as he looks at Landon who appears vulnerable and busted. As the scene transitions, there is no dissolve or fade. Rather, it shows a random person on a boat at night.

The next scene is set up with an establishing shot that shows Landon's house. There is a tree that is close to the camera, one that isn't too far away from it, and one that is far. It also shows 1/8 of a car and the garden. The mother and Landon begin to have a conversation about his recent behaviour. As they are conversing,  their conversation is shown in a eyeline match to show the continuity of their conversation. For example, Landon would talk looking at the camera although the viewers know he is actually looking at the mother. Vice versa, the mother would be looking at Landon's direction but it's actually at the camera. The benefit of doing that is because it shows the proximity because the audience is able to see the mother's face or Landon's face alone while they are individually talking rather than having them in the same frame.

Towards the next scene, a bell rings to show the transition. It then shows the Reverend speaking at Mass. Then, Jamie is introduced by she singing a soft song as part of the choir. That was particularly nice because the song reflects Jamie's personality which is angelic, a characteristic of the song. A medium shot is used to give the audience a sense of what kind of character she is. After the mass scene, there is a jump cut placed in which the scene is now at the high school the characters attend. A technique I found really cool is when Landon was in the principal's office and the principal sets 4 beers in front of him. It was kind-of an over-the-shoulder shot because the camera is behind the beers and peeking through the spaces between them and still manages to show Landon's face.

On the bus, Jamie sits next to Landon as they are coming home from a tutoring center which is where Landon has to go for his punishment. As Jamie begins to speak about a subject that doesn't appeal to Landon, a reaction shot is placed because Landon fires back/yells at Jamie and she reacts to the outburst. At another day, Landon's friend drops him off at the school to go to the school play rehearsal, another of Landon's punishments. As they are conversing, there is an over-the-shoulder shot featuring the friend's face over the shoulders of Landon. Then, there is a jump cut where the drama teacher is talking and her face is shown in an extreme close-up from her eyebrows to slightly below her mouth to show her excitement over the school play.

One evening, Jamie goes to the cemetery with her telescope to look at the stars. Landon sees her while driving and stops the car then follows her. She tells him to take a look and when he's looking inside, a point of view shot is used because as he's looking, the audience is seeing the stars as his own image. Therefore, we're invited into his head/eyes. Landon embarrasses Jamie in public in front of his friends to look "cool". When he goes to Jamie's house for play rehearsals, Jamie steps outside of the house and it becomes an over-the shoulder shot to allow the audience to focus on Landon's words then Jamie's reaction as he apologizes and reasons with her.

At the play, there is a part where Jamie begins singing. To show how beautiful she now is outwardly, the filming technique is an arc because the camera spins in a 360 degrees around her as she is singing. In addition, a matched cut is used in the scene because it will show her singing then all of a sudden there is a slight dissolve and it shows her face close-up to show continuity. Back at school, Jamie is publicly embarrassed in front of the entire school. As her heart is pumping and her mind is racing, there is music in the background that demonstrates that her mind is racing. Also, the camera zooms in on her face so that it is an extreme close-up and a reaction shot.

After the two fall in love and admit their love for each other, Jamie admits that she has leukemia and that she is dying. Landon then drives to the other side of town to his dad's house, the doctor to see if he can treat Jamie. The dad says it's not possible immediately because he's a cardiologist and would have to review her cases & talk to her doctor. The frustrated and angry Landon gets in his car and drives back home. As he is driving, his face is shown as a close-up to show how angry and sad he is feeling for not having a cure for his loved one. Soon, Landon overcomes his fears a little bit and start doing things that would make Jamie happy while she is still alive. For example, he asks his mother to teach him how to dance. When he learns how to dance, they are dancing in Jamie's balcony and the camera is at a low angle shot to signify that it is important and significant to the couple.

Jamie soon becomes very sick and is taken to the hospital. There is a scene in the hospital where Landon lies down on the bed besides Jamie and mise-en-scene is used because the entire room is dark but there is lighting around Jamie's face and Landon's face and the camera focuses on that. It establishes that the atmosphere is warm and there really is love between the two.

Differences:
In the movie, it's not told from an extended flashback. It's more of a high school story and the action happening at the time. It never has the older Landon's voice stepping in to narrate or tell what lesson he has learned thus far. Also, the plot has some differences that are quite noticeable. For example, Landon's character and crowd/friends is more incorporated. Another difference is the way that Jamie and Landon got to know each other. In the book, Landon asked her to the dance as a last resort after being elected Student Council President. In the movie, his family history of politics is never mentioned (his father is a politician in the book gone 9 months of the year...in the movie, the parents are divorced and the father is a doctor) and Jamie and Landon got connected through the school play. There is also no cases of collecting jars or orphanage in the movie. Rather, Landon shows that he is changing by visiting the hospital which the newbie was sent to after being injured in the prank. He also shows change by the music he listens to. Instead of listening to the rap/hip-hop he used to listen to, he began listening to Jamie's kind of music like country. Another thing Landon has done for Jamie in the movie is making all her dreams come true : naming a star after her, allowing her to be in two places at once, giving her a dream wedding at the church her mum was married in, and giving her a tattoo.

Other differences I observed is the ending. In the book, the ending leaves more mystery to allow the readers to infer what the "miracle" was...if she survived or the miracle is changing Landon for the better. In the movie, she clearly dies and when she does, Landon is now 22, has gotten into medical school and is getting on with his life.
The title "A Walk to Remember" is more reflected in the novel than in the movie. In the book, it is more significant because Jamie is in a wheel chair and very feeble so the fact that she is walking down the aisle slowly but strong leaves everyone in the church fascinated. In the movie, when Jamie dies, he simply says he'll never forget the way she looked at him as she walked down the aisle so it isn't as significant.

Overall thought:

I thought the movie was awesome. It was an adaptation film so there are differences but overall the plot and sense of the theme remained the same. I'm a fan of Mandy Moore and Shane West reminds me of Zac Efron so it made it more exciting to watch. The cast was well cast and I didn't witness any bad acting which made the film better. I definitely will watch the film many more times and it still will feel like it's the first time I'm watching it. The director, Adam Shankman, did a nice job because I noticed a lot of camera techniques and was thereby able to use to film terms.
Although the book made more "sense" than the film in the aspect that the reader was able to fully understand their love for each other and how it began, the film was also enjoyable. In the book, they spent a while together before they fell in love. However, of course the director wouldn't want to make a five hour film so we still get the point that they went through some phases before falling in love but it wasn't as clear. Regardless, I would recommend this fabulous film to anyone who is a fan of the book or Nicholas Sparks or just plainly likes chick flicks/romance movies/enjoys crying.

Sweetest line & Last line of the movie: "But her love was like the wind. I can't see it but I can feel it." :)

A Walk to Remember (160-240)

Summary

Landon realizes that Hegbert has been acting strange. Lately, Hegbert has been feeling very unhappy and overall disconnected from his usual self. Despite that, later on in the night, they openly discuss the importance of God in their lives. Landon then invites Jamie over his house for a Christmas dinner in the hopes of getting to spend more time with Jamie. She accepts the offer but during dinner, things don't go as well as Landon had planned. For one, Landon had been hoping to kiss Jamie but the time wasn't right at the time so they don't. After dinner, they take a walk in Landon's garden where they discuss Landon's grandfather and Hegbert. There, they argue for a bit about Landon's grandfather. Jamie thinks that Landon should do something to give back the wealth his grandfather gained immorally. However, Landon doesn't think it is his responsibilities to handle his grandfather's affairs. After that, they discuss Hegbert and his tremendous love and support towards Jamie which is very transparent. When Landon walks Jamie back to her house, he asks her if he could see her tomorrow and she agrees. The following day, they see each other once again and then Landon is able to have another kiss with Jamie which is what he had been seeking for a while after the first one.

Landon decides that he's far too in love with Jamie and he feels that he must date her. First, he seeks Hegbert's approval before proceeding on to taking Jamie out. Landon visits Hegbert at his office at church. After a few hesitations, he finally agrees to allow Landon to take Jamie out. However, as Landon walks out of his office, he hears a cry and realizes that Hegbert is crying. He then takes Jamie out to a nice restaurant on New Year's Eve based on his mother's suggestion. He also becomes more aware that Jamie looks far more emaciated than usual. He doesn't go more in dept about why that is so. In the following days, the two begin to demonstrate their love for each other further. Individually, they begin doing things that would please the other. For example, Jamie begins to hang out at the beach and Cecil's Diner which are the two places where Landon can be spotted frequently. Vice versa, Landon begins to spend more and more time with Jamie at the orphanage. He also attends Bible study with Jamie in order to further gain more knowledge and a sense of appreciation for God. The day after, he notices a large bruise on Jamie's finger. He doesn't say anything about it but after he hugs her, he notices that she is much thinner than she was a few days ago. He doesn't yet make an inquiry to her about what is going on. Instead, he tells her for the first time that he loves her. She then cries and tells him not to say that and she's dying.

She explain further by saying that she has leukemia and it is the incurable form. Landon is saddened by the fact that Jamie didn't trust him enough to let him know. Jamie explains her reason stating that after her father and she discovered she did seven months ago, she wanted to live without others feeling sorry for her. For the first time in a long while, Landon cries. He then tells his mother who also cries because she knows how much her son loves Jamie. Soon after, Hegbert tells the entire congregation and many do cry. The news spread so rapidly that even at school, people began to treat Jamie much nicer and even feel sorry for her. After all that is happening surrounding him, Landon begins to fear almost everything. He fears the worst outcome which is death, he fears saying or doing something that will upset Jamie and he fears discussing about his or Jamie's future because there's a possibility they wouldn't make it together. The following days in school, Landon looks out for Jamie but hasn't yet seen her around school. He then visits Jamie only to have her tell him that she has dropped out to spend more time with her father before she dies. He then asks Jamie why she isn't scared when he is crying and everyone else is. Jamie lets him know that she too is scared but someone has to be the brave and strong one between the two of them.

Landon becomes deeply religious as he continues to attend Bible studies, read the Bible, and pray in the hopes of discovering an answer. He begins to think about what he can do for Jamie with the possibility of even saving her life. He asks his mother but she suggests to him to do what his heart deems as correct. As days go by, Jamie is getting sicker which appears in her outward appearance because she continues to get sicker and receive bruises. Soon, she is on medications which she doesn't like to take. Landon does continue to visit her and promises he will do so even at the point of her death. She then reveals to him that she loves him. Suddenly, even Hegbert changes. He begins to go to his office at church more often and while he is away, he gives Landon the permission of coming indoors for a few hours to see Jamie. One day, Eric and Margaret visit Jamie. There, Eric apologizes for his wrongdoings to Jamie and even sheds a few tears. Jamie openly hugs him and accepts the $400 cash he raised for the orphanage. She tells him that she has forgiven him and he tells her she is the kindest person he has ever known.

As Jamie's condition worsens, Landon begins to get more anxious because he is awaiting for a miracle to happen. His mother calls home his dad and tells him what's happening in their son's life. Landon's dad then pays for a full medical treatment in Jamie's home. As the father continues to do wonderful things for Jamie, Landon feels close to his father for the first time in his life. Time goes by and Jamie still is becoming weaker. Landon begins to lose his faith in God slowly and begins to question why all these things are happening to him and why is he living. He also questions why is this horrible disease happening to Jamie who is like an angel. God then reveals to him what he has to do. When he finds out, he runs to the church to tell Hegbert of his idea. Hegbert who is in utter shock approves of it and then Landon races to Jamie's house. There, he asks Jamie for one favour which she agrees. The favour is to marry him.

The final chapter begins with "When I was seventeen, my life changed forever." At their wedding, Hegbert serves as the pastor who is leading the wedding. The wedding truly is a dream wedding because the entire church is filled with guests, as Jamie had wished for her wedding to look like. Landon's father is the best man at the wedding and it appears that they've formed a strong relationship. As Jamie is getting ready to go down the aisle, with the permission of her nurse, she requests to walk down instead of on her wheelchair. As she is walking, the walk is very slow and feeble but to Landon, it truly was a walk to remember. The book ends with not Landon discussing whether he is married with children or not but instead, he says that indeed, he believes that miracles happen.

Quote

"Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited. It is never rude or selfish. It does not take offense and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins, but delights in the truth. It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes." (Sparks 214)

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The passage is from the Book of Corinthians and in the novel, Landon states that it describes Jamie perfectly. In addition to that, I think that it also describes him. When Landon first began to realize that he loved Jamie, I wasn't entirely convinced because of the type of chill, laid back guy he is. However, when he started doing things that Jamie liked such as going to Bible studies and reading the Bible, I thought okay maybe he does really love her. Then when Jamie revealed to him that she had leukemia and he cried, I absolutely believed that he cared deeply for her. He also further showed that he was in love with her by sticking with her, reaching out to God, visiting her each and every day, and lastly, making her dreams come true by marrying her in a church with an influx of people. Therefore, I believe that Landon always had hope for Jamie as he was hoping for a miracle to happen and he demonstrated perseverance through Jamie's final days. He was always patient and kind with her especially at times where she was weak. Despite the fact that at times all she did was sleep all day, he was still able to stay with her and be there for her when she awoke. While he was questioning God, one of the questions he asked was why didn't he happen to him instead after all, Jamie had been so good all this while. If he had the power to reverse all that had been happening, he would have preferred to be the one with leukemia rather than Jamie. And that, that is truly love - feeling obligated to take your love one's pain away and onto yourself if that may be the case.

Overall, throughout the novel, Landon definitely grew as a person. In the beginning, he was simply a boy who didn't care about school so much, drank and did whatever he wanted, and was simply ignorant. He then began to be more open and got to know Jamie and actually see her. He didn't see her outward appearance as a problem anymore. Rather, he cared about the fact that she was willing to do anything to help those in need. He then entrusted his complete faith in God and started performing activities that were not to his own benefits but for the benefit of others. At the end, the fifty seven year old Landon reflects that he believes in miracles. He was originally hoping from God to perform a miracle that would save Jamie's life. However, in the end, God performed the miracle on him by allowing him to change for the better and allowing him to see the light.

-Most, if not all, of Mr. Spark's novels are told from extended flashbacks. His novels all have similar plots/themes. Usually, it begins with a person reflecting on the past which often involves romance. The romance then somehow causes the protagonist to change for the better. Then, a traumatic event occurs which often leads to the death or downfall of a significant other/a person the protagonist cares about  and the protagonist learns a life lesson which has served him/her a long way in his/her life. So, Nicholas Sparks often tells his novels from extended flashbacks to demonstrate that the protagonist changed and learned a life lesson.

-I suppose that Jamie didn't necessarily actually "show" her inner beauty to Landon. Throughout her time living, she really was herself. It was Landon who changed and who opened his eyes to realize that Jamie is practically an angel. She rarely actually dressed up so soon after Landon accepted that fact, he focused on her personality and her humaneness. Therefore, Jamie remained herself and tried to make Landon a better person. But, really, it was more of Landon waking up and smelling the coffee.

      

*Did he only marry her in order to make her wishes come true only or had he always hoped to marry her when he fell in love with her?

*Jamie lived vs Jamie died

-It was never explicitly expressed in the novel that Jamie died. Therefore, Sparks sort-of left the readers to implicitly decide the ending. I'm sitting on the fence right now because it seems like either could have happened. For the argument that Jamie lived, there is a motif of miracle throughout the novel because Landon stated only a miracle could save Jamie, they both prayed for a miracle, and at the end, he believed that miracles can happen. In addition, he says that he still loves her and he never has taken off his wedding ring. If Jamie did die, he most likely would have gotten re-married and of course, wouldn't be wearing the same wedding ring as from his former wife...

*It might also be that Jamie did die but the reason why he didn't take off his wedding ring could have been because she still resides in his heart and for the ring to symbolize that Jamie was everywhere he went. After all, maybe he didn't remarry. If she didn't die, she would have been mentioned from the beginning and the novel wouldn't have made as much sense as a flashback if she survived. Plus, Landon says that he never felt the desire to take off the ring. If she did live, why would he feel the need to take it off...

I suppose Nicholas Sparks's intention is to leave the readers wondering about the true ending. It could have been either ending: the miracle that they both found love and Landon changed vs. the miracle that Jamie Sullivan surpassed the incurable leukemia.

A Walk to Remember (80-160)

Summary


Landon begins practicing for the role of Tom Thornton in the play. However, he is yet to master his lines and he has all but three weeks to do so. He then starts to spend more and more time with Jamie which leads to his frustration because his friends bully him when they catch him with her. One day when Eric sees Landon with Jamie, he starts making comments about her being his girlfriend and being overall a sarcastic idiot. Eric then suggests in a sarcastic tone that they should perform in front of the orphans at the orphanage. Jamie doesn't catch the sarcasm and rather sees it as a brilliant idea.

The next day, she goes to Landon's house so they can go to the orphanage to ask the director about their plan. When Jamie walks into Landon's house, she is amazed at the huge size of it and the beauty within it. Landon doesn't really see anything special with his house but acknowledges that it is one of the biggest houses in town. In the car, they discuss what they aspire to be in life. Landon says he's not sure yet but he wants to go to University of North Carolina then pick it up from there. Jamie then says her goal is to be a wife and have lots of people in the town attend her wedding. Seeing that the is an honours student, Landon is surprised that she doesn't have bigger plans for herself. She and Landon then go to the orphanage to discuss their plans but the director of the orphanage doesn't agree with them performing because of the plot of the play. He doesn't think that the plot of the play would make the orphans very happy. Jamie then realizes her mistake and becomes a bit saddened. The two of them then decide to just go visit the orphans. When they do, the orphans all surround Jamie because of their appreciation for her.

As the anticipation for the play increases, Landon starts to feel more stressed because he has to study for his exams before Christmas and fill out his college application. At the same time, his friends continue to poke fun at him for hanging out with Jamie. His anger then builds up and it causes him to yell at Jamie, an innocent girl. He then says he doesn't know why he agreed to do the play with her and it annoys the heck out of him that he has to walk a mile out of his way just to walk her home then walk the opposite side of town to his own house. The rest of the way, he does walk her home without talking to her but he walked about five feet in front of her. When they reached to his house, she gave thanked him for walking her home. At that point, Landon sees her as unusual because he doesn't know anyone else who would have thanked him after he blasts off at them.

At the day of the play, Jamie looks completely different. Her hair is down instead of in a bun and she is wearing a dress which almost makes her look, beautiful. During the rehearsals, Landon hasn't been able to deliver the line, "You are beautiful" believably because of the plain way Jamie always looks. However, during the play and seeing the way that she talked and acted, he delivered the line and said it with meaning. After the play, everyone was happy and even Eric tells Landon that he really has grown up. Afterwards, everyone is shocked at how Jamie transformed in terms of looks and personality.

The next day in school, everything goes back to normal in terms of Jamie's personality and people's hostility towards her. At school, she asks Landon to help her with something because she put up cans at stores to raise money for a charity. She asks him to collect all the cans and count the money people donated. At the end of the day, Landon counts up $55 but feels that it's too small after all the hard work Jamie has done. He then puts in $200 of his own money and when Jamie sees that people "donated" over $200, she is ecstatic. Jamie then gives Landon the gift of her Bible that she always carries around. The Bible was her late mother's. Seeing her happy puts a smile on his face and he then realizes that he has falling in love with Jamie. Then he has his first kiss with Jamie and he realizes that Jamie Sullivan has made him a better person. Thus his life changes forever...

Quote


"Being in love with a girl like Jamie Sullivan was without a doubt the strangest thing I'd ever been through. Not only was she a girl that I'd never thought about before this year-even though we'd grown up together-but there was something different in the whole way my feelings for her hand unfolded. This wasn't like being with Angela, whom I'd kissed the first I was ever alone with her. I still hadn't kissed Jamie. I hadn't even hugged her or taken her to Cecil's Diner or even to a movie. I hadn't done any of the things I normally did with girls, yet somehow I'd fallen in love." (Sparks 166)

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At this point in time, the readers see and even  feel a new Landon. This Landon does not care about the jokes his friends make about him or the materialistic things he use to care about. This Landon realizes why he just impetuously do things that would make Jamie happy even if it's a difficult task. With this quote, I realized that this is a turning point in the life of Landon Carter. He's not the same guy he was a few days ago. He falls in love with Jamie for her inner personality which eliminates the outward appearance and that is something that makes him grow up. One time when I was chatting with a Jehovah's Witness woman who is about 24-years-old and she told me that when people get older/more mature, they start caring more about the inner personality. She also said that appearance can only serve one so far. This quote reminded me of that encounter I had with the Jehovah's Witness woman. Basically, the superficial things like kissing/hugging a person before you love them is not important. Jamie clearly means a lot to him and he doesn't need to treat her like he treats the other girl to know that she's the one for him.

A Walk to Remember (1-80)

Summary


A Walk to Remember is written in the retrospect of a 57-year-old man, Landon Carter, who is remembering the biggest events that occurred in his life when he was 17 years of age. The events that happened in his life were very eye opening which resulted in his life changing forever. Prior to reading the actual first chapter of the book, the readers are warned that in some parts of the book, we will smile. However, in other parts, we will cry. Thus the first chapter of the book commences.

Landon is a 17-year-old senior in high school in a small town in North Carolina known as Beaufort. His family and he attend a church called the Southern Baptist church, which produces a play each year. The plays are always written by the pastor of the church, Hegbert Sullivan. The play which he writes this year is called "The Christmas Angel". The play is basically an autobiographical play of his life because it features a minister whose wife dies while giving birth to their first child. Mr. Sullivan's wife died while giving birth to their daughter, Jamie Sullivan. Landon then goes on to talk about his father, Worth Carter, who is a Congressman. Landon doesn't get to see his father often because the father lives in Washington, D.C. for nine months of the year. Both his father and Mr. Sullivan dislike each other because of an archaic terrible history Mr. Sullivan had with Mr. Carter's father during the Great Depression.

While Landon goes on to narrate the story, he brings up Jamie Sullivan who is the daughter of minister Hegbert Sullivan. Jamie, like himself, is also a senior in high school. Because the town is such a small town, everyone in the high school has pretty much known each other since kindergarten. Likewise, Landon has known Jamie almost his entire life and he never paid any particular attention to her. She is a sweet, loving, enthusiastic, devoted Christian with morals and she's not exactly within his "clique". All the adults in the town love her because she tries as much as possible to aid everyone around her in the best way she can. In addition, Jamie is cast in the play to play the lead role of the angel.

Since Landon is a senior in high school, he is thinking about college. His family wishes for him to attend an ivy league university. However, he doesn't think he has the grades for it so he hopes on getting an admission into the University of North Carolina, which was where his father attended. His father then tries to boost up his college resume by ensuring that Landon runs for school body president. Landon is best friends with Eric who is not only a football player but also the most popular guy in school. With all his back ups and popular votes, he is able to win the election. Now that he is the school president, there is a homecoming dance very soon which he is mandated to attend. Recently, his girlfriend broke up with him for an older guy so he begins panicking because he has no one to go with. He begins reviewing all his options but everyone else is already taken. He then searches the yearbook for the girls that are left. He doesn't find any of the ones left very attractive but his dateless position results to "desperate times calls for desperate measures". He takes interest in asking Jamie Sullivan to the dance, which she accepts after consulting her father first.

At the dance, Jamie ditches her usual, a long dress/skirt with a sweater. She wears a nice blue dress although it doesn't compare still to the other chicks. Landon and Jamie dance  at the dance which Landon is surprised because he never knew she could dance...decently. His ex-girlfriend Angela is also at the dance with her 20-year-old boyfriend. Her boyfriend Lew and Landon become involved in a little dispute which Jamie ended with her gentle personality. Later on in the dance, Angela becomes drunk and throws up in the ladies' washroom. Jamie helps her get cleaned up which is a bit unusual because it's not necessarily something most girls at a school dance would do. Landon and she then take Angela home and Landon is grateful that Jamie did him the favour of taking her to the dance and cleaning up Angela.

A few days after the dance, Landon return to his usual habits of leaving the house late at night and getting into trouble with his friends. Surprisingly, a few days after the dance, Landon receives a call. Initially, he cannot perceive whose voice it is but assumes that it is Angela thanking him for all he did. Soon he discovers that it is only Jamie and becomes a bit disappointed. Jamie calls him to request for a favour. Landon fabricates excuses but knows that he cannot escape from it especially since she did a nice thing for him. She requests for him to star in the play as the male lead. He accepts and their journey together begins.

Quote


"You have to promise that you won't fall in love with me." (Sparks 48)

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Jamie says the above quote after Landon asks her to the dance and she accepts on the condition of him not falling in love with her. I feel like it's interesting because most people in the world would not give that condition...they would either accept or deny. Therefore, I feel like maybe Nicholas Sparks put that quote in as foreshadowing sort-of, or at least hinting to the readers although Landon says it won't be so, it will happen anyways. Although the quote is not necessarily a powerful one, it does strike out and builds up the momentum. In addition, it also builds up the character of Jamie because she's kind of an odd girl who is not popular, dresses archaic-like compared to her peers and very innocent. That being said, why would she just randomly give that condition? It's not everyday that a popular boy falls in love with a girl who is not so popular. It just goes to add that not only is she sweet and kind but she also is very blunt and daring when it comes to her limits and her morals.

-Did Jamie say that because she doesn't want a guy like Landon to fall in love with her or she never wants anyone to fall in love with her?
-Does she know that you can't prevent yourself from falling in love...it's simply something that just happens?
-By saying that, is Jamie protecting herself from Landon or protecting Landon from herself?