A Walk to Remember: Metaphor Analysis

The Bible

Jamie Sullivan’s old copy of the Bible serves as a recurring motif that not only characterizes Jamie but also suggests one of the underlying themes of the novel, faith in God. Jamie is always seen with her Bible in hand. She interprets everything that happens to her and to others in terms of her understanding of God. It is part of the reason the other students mock her. When Jamie gives her Bible, which used to belong to her mother, as a Christmas gift to Landon, it is a significant moment: the symbol of religiosity and faith passes to Landon, and he will then start to read the Bible with great dedication.

The Graveyard

The graveyard is a favorite place for Landon and his friends to hang out late at night. They sit on the tombstones, eat boiled peanuts and talk. Being there does not stimulate them to any deep thoughts or reflections about life and death. When Landon is getting to know Jamie she asks him what he and his friends do when they go there. She says that if she were to go there she would just sit quietly and appreciate nature. Landon wonders why she asks him about the graveyard. In fact, it has a significance that Landon is unaware of. Jamie knows she is fatally sick, but Landon does not, which is why he can hang out at the graveyard without thinking a serious thought. He knows nothing of death. The presence of the graveyard, then, foreshadows the theme of death that is shortly to be introduced.

Collection Tins

The collection tins serve as a symbol of the best of Jamie and of the transformation of Landon. Jamie places the tins at businesses, restaurants and other places around town to collect money for the orphans. This shows her selfless nature. Landon and his friends, on the other hand, treat the tins as a joke, putting paper clips and slugs into them and laughing when they think of Jamie’s reaction when she finds them. But later Landon regrets his actions. He does Jamie a favor by collecting the money from the tins himself. When he finds that very little money has been collected he adds some from his personal savings.