The Lucky One
By
Nicholas
Sparks
Nicholas Sparks
 Was born Dec. 31, 1965
 Graduated from the
University of Notre
Dame in 1988
 After he got his first
check from The
Notebook he bought his
wife a new wedding ring
 Author of 5 best selling
books
Protagonist:
Logan Thibault
A U.S. Marine who
finds a picture on his
third tour in Iraq
and later goes in
search for the girl in
the picture.
Antagonist
Keith Clayton
A very ignorant man
who just so happens
to be a police officer
and whose family
runs all of town.
Favorite Character
Victor
Victor is Logan’s best
friend and is one of
the most sincere
friends one could
ever ask for. Victor is
the reason Logan
begins to search for
the girl in the
picture.
Least Favorite Character
Keith Clayton
He’s rude and tries
to control everything
even his ex-wife,
Elizabeth. He also
treats his son awful
and doesn’t treat
others with respect.
Exposition
The story starts out in a abandoned lake just off a
college campus in North Carolina. A police officer,
Keith Clayton discovers some girls skinny dipping
and decides to take some pictures before confronting
them. He later finds that a man, Logan Thibault,
and his dog, Zeus, saw him take the pictures and
stole the camera as well.
Rising Action
 Logan Thibault goes searching for the woman in the
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picture, with his dog Zeus, after Victor tells her to go
find her.
He goes searching for her and later finds her, Elizabeth,
and her son, Ben, but decides to keep the picture a
secret.
Gets a job at the kennel her grandma owns and Ben
becomes very close with Zeus and Logan.
Logan and Elizabeth begin dating and Keith becomes
very jealous and tries to break them up.
Logan ends up telling her about the picture.
She explains that it belonged to her brother and he had
passed away after he had lost the picture.
Climax
 Keith can no longer take that Logan and Elizabeth are
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together and begins to lash out on Elizabeth
Ben over hears them and becomes angry so he runs to his
tree house that is over a river
Keith and Elizabeth go looking for Ben.
They soon find Ben with the tree house collapsed and
him just barely hanging on against the river.
Keith dives in just to be carried away by the river as
Logan and Zeus show up.
Logan also dives in and tries to save Keith as Zeus pulls
Ben out of the water.
Falling Action
 The falling action begins with Elizabeth, Ben and
Zeus going to a cemetery to visit the brave person
who dived in to the river.
 She talks highly of him but you don’t figure out who
it is till the last page.
Resolution
 Ben keeps Zeus and ends up with the picture of his
mom.
 Elizabeth is happy.
Setting
 Time period : Present
- This is important because in the story the fact that
Logan walked half way across the country is weird.
If it was taken place in a time where walking
everywhere was the norm it wouldn’t be weird and
have the same effect.
 Place : North Carolina, U.S.A.
- This place has everything a good love story could
need. A small town, a lake, and the atmosphere
where two people can fall in love.
Theme
 Love
- The love of a father to a son. In this book Keith and Ben
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don’t have the best relationship but in the end Keith
risked his life for his son.
Suspicion
The suspicion that Victor has of Logan’s picture is what
this story is all about. It’s what fuels Logan to give the
picture to Ben in the end also.
Jealousy
The jealousy felt in this book in immense. Keith can not
stand Logan. He took everything he wanted back, his
wife, his son, his life and Keith reacted in the worst way
possible.
Rating
I give The Lucky One a eight. This book had a good
plot and had many stories inside the story. It made
you think about what really is important and not to
take things for granted.
The Effect of Divorce on Children
 Divorce is something
that not only effects the
man and the woman
getting the divorce but
the children involved
also.
http://www.youtube.com/watch#p
laynext=1&playnext_from=TL&vid
eos=HH-3fuQ_6Xc&v=EBrbBKrF64
Statistics
 41% of first marriages end in divorce (Divorce Rate)
 The highest divorce rates for both men and women
are the ages between 20-24 (Divorce Rate)
 As of 2000, 24,835,505 of married people divorce
with children under the age of 18 (Divorce Rate)
 34% of people that get a divorce have children
(Divorce Rate)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld9TNx3ig1w
On the Upside
 According to discovery channel, couples with
children have a slightly lower rate of divorce than
childless couples. (Discovery Channel)
 Sociologists believe that childlessness is also a
common cause of divorce. The absence of children
leads to loneliness and weariness.(About Divorce)
 Although it’s a better chance to not get a divorce if
you have a child, you should never have a child to
stop a divorce.
Short after Divorce
 A study in 1980 found that
less than 10% of children
had support from adults
other than relatives during
the acute phase of the
divorce. (About Divorce)
 With no support they
develop a sense of
vulnerability, grief, intense
anger, and strong feelings
of powerlessness. (About
Divorce)
 Parents often end up
leaning on the children for
support and comfort.
(About Divorce)
Long- term Effects
 The children of divorced parents are prone to
divorcing 4 times more than the children of couples
who are not divorced. (Child Advocate)
 66% of women in a survey whose parents were
divorced within ten years from then had a resurgence
of anxiety, fear, guilt, and anger when they started
thinking about marriage. (Child Advocate)
 Feelings of loneliness, abandonment, and guilt could
be a long lasting problem if not addressed early.
(Child Advocate)
In Closing
 Not all divorce has to effect children for the rest of
their lives.
 Long term studies suggest that a person’s overall
social adjustment will be determined on their
relationship with both of their parents after the
divorce. If both parents continue to be involved and
have a healthy relationship with the child, the child
is more likely to be well- adjusted. (Labor of Love)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAtKBwJJmlQ
Websites
 http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/tiger
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woods-divorce.htm
http://www.divorcerate.org/
http://www.aboutdivorce.org/us_divorce_rates.htm
l
http://www.childadvocate.net/divorce_effects_on_c
hildren.htm
http://www.thelaboroflove.com/articles/long-termeffects-of-divorce-on-children/