Why Cheat?

Author's Note: I wrote this piece so because one of my goals was to get a 10 in conflict and resolution. This is a new piece I decided to write. 

It’s amazing how someone can change in just like that. John- the main character in the book Dear John by Nicholas Sparks, knows exactly how it feels for someone’s personality to change out of nowhere. For someone like john, who is in the army, he never expected that he would ever find someone to love until he was out of the army. When John spends his army leave in his hometown in Willimgton, North Carolina, he meets savannah who he falls desperately in love with. When John has to go back to the army after his leave, him and Savannah keep in touch by writing letters. Soon, Savannah finds out that John has to stay out in the army for another year and then makes a terrible decision. She starts dating and soon marries another man. Once John hears of this he is absolutely heartbroken.

The fact that John has to keep making the decision to stay in the army when it needs him most is a huge conflict in the book. Not only does John feel pressure that he has to go , but it also affects the relationship between him and Savannah.  This conflict is person vs. self. The reason that I say this is because of the fact  that John had a fight with himself to decide whether he should fight for his country a little bit longer, or he should just drop out and go and be with the love of his life. Soon John just decides to go another year in the army. This conflict is resolved when John starts to get more leaves from the army to go see Savannah. Yet, when John has to go back from his leave, he gets the letter that shows him he shouldn't have chosen the army over savannah, given that she cheated on him.

Savannah being unfaithful to john  is also a major conflict in this story. This type of conflict is person vs. person.  When john was away , Savannah started falling for Tim , who was also her best friend. When John hears of this,  he completely sheds  Savannah out of his life. He stops writing to her, calling her, and he doesn’t take anymore leaves to see her. John thinks that by doing this, it will help him forget about Savannah. Eventually John realizes this and takes a leave to go and visit Savannah. When John gets there, he sees that Savannah still wants to be friends with him and eventually they are. This is the resolution to Savannah cheating on John.

Another book that shares the same conflict as Dear John is The Notebook. When Ali has to leave her summer home to go to college, her and Noah’s love is ripped apart by separation . Noah writes to Ali everyday but never gets a response This conflict is person vs. person.   Soon , Ali finds a new man who wants to marry her and they are soon engaged. When Noah finds out about the marriage, he decides to stop trying to get her back. This conflict is resolved when Ali comes to find Noah . They soon fall back in love and their relationship is resolved when Ali breaks off the engagement.