Throughout The Notebook, writing—particularly poetry and letters—symbolizes memory’s power to enrich, enliven, and transform one’s life in times of pain and sadness. At the start of the novel, writing and poetry are most important to Noah: in spite of his working-class background and lack of higher education, he’s well-versed in Transcendentalist poetry that he learned from his now-deceased father, who taught Noah to read and recite poetry in order to help him overcome a childhood stutter. As an adult, Noah lives alone in a house he has renovated top-to-bottom in order to distract himself from the trauma of World War II and the pain of missing his first love, Allie. He uses poetry to calm himself and to remind himself of his childhood—in this way, poetry symbolizes the simplicity and tranquility of the past.
Writing is also an important symbol of the past within Noah and Allie’s relationship. After their short-lived relationship in the summer of 1932, Allie’s mother, Anne, hides the letters Noah writes to Allie over the years—but Anne eventually gets them back, and Allie reads them. Through Noah’s letters, Allie allows herself unfettered access to the memories of the true, pure love that she and Noah shared during their summer together. She at last allows herself to see that what she and Noah shared wasn’t merely “puppy love”—theirs was a true, enduring passion, and she decides that she cannot live a life in which she’s constantly looking back on her memories in sorrow rather than in joy. Thus, the letters represent the power of memory to transform one’s life even years after an event or a relationship is over.
Much later in life, after Noah and Allie reunite and share a life together, the elderly couple lives in a nursing home. Allie suffers from severe Alzheimer’s disease, so Noah is left to carry their shared memories for the both of them. As Noah looks over old mementos each day, Sparks makes clear how important letter-writing, poetry, storytelling, and written love notes are as tools which allow Noah—and on occasion even Allie—to retreat into the balm of memory and escape the pain of the present. The notebook Noah reads to Allie each day contains their love story—and some days, Allie is able to remember everything, allowing the two of them fleeting moments of joy, happiness, and shared joy in their memories. Between the notebook, the old letters they wrote to each other, and the poem fragments Noah leaves under Allie’s pillows and in her coat pockets, it becomes clear that both Noah and Allie, even in old age, find peace and calm through the memories that the written word allows them to access.
Writing Quotes in The Notebook
"Poets often describe love as an emotion that we can't control, one that overwhelms logic and common sense. That's what it was like for me. I didn't plan on falling in love with you, and I doubt if you planned on falling in love with me. But once we met, it was clear that neither of us could control what was happening to us. We fell in love, despite our differences, and once we did, something rare and beautiful was created.”
The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected. Maybe they always have been and will be. Maybe we've lived a thousand lives before this one and in each of them we've found each other. And maybe each time, we've been forced apart for the same reasons. That means that this goodbye is both a goodbye for the past ten thousand years and a prelude to what will come.
'What are you going to do?" her mother asked, pulling back. There was a long pause.
"I don't know," Allie finally answered. They stood together for another minute, just holding each other. […]
On her way out the door, Allie thought that she heard her mother whisper, "Follow your heart," but she couldn't be sure.
You and I were different. We came from different worlds, and yet you were the one who taught me the value of love. You showed me what it was like to care for another and I am a better man because of it. I don’t want you to ever forget that.
"I've heard it before, haven't I?"
"Yes," I say again, just as I do every time on days like these. I have learned to be patient.
She studies my face. Her eyes are as green as ocean waves.
"It makes me feel less afraid," she says.
"I know." I nod, rocking my head softly.
This is why Allie is considered a miracle, because sometimes, just sometimes, after I read to her, her condition isn't so bad. There is no explanation for this.
Writing Symbol Timeline in The Notebook
