Dear John
Summary
Dear John is about a boy, John, that lives in North Carolina. After
high school John enlistes in the army. While home on a leave, John
meets Savannah who is in North Carolina doing mission work. Their
attraction is mutual and they quickly fall in love. John has to leave
two weeks after they met to go back to the army. Savannah agreed that
she would wait for him to finish his tour of duty. They write letters
to eachother and picked up where they left off when he comes back on
another leave. However they start to drift apart when 9-11 occurs and
John is forced to re-enlist in the army. They begin to grow apart and
eventually Savannah sends him a letter that says she is in love with
someone else. John was heartbroken and stops communicating with her. A
little while later, John's father died and left John all the coins from
his coin collection that is worth a lot of money. While John is home
for his fathers funeral, he decides to go visit Savannah. It turns out
she married her best friend she grew up with,Tim, who John became
friends with when he met Savannah. Tim has Melanoma and there is
nothing the doctors can do anymore. Savannah wants to send him to a
better hospital that can run experiments and tests on him but she can't
afford it. Before John leaves to go back to Iraq, he donates all the
money his father's coin collection was worth to Tim's fund. He never
spoke to Savannah again and goes on living his life in the army.
Quiz: (novel)
Discussion Questions
- Did you think John and Savannah's love story was believable? Why or why not?
- What do you think Savannah saw in John that made her fall for him?
- Why do you think their relationship fell apart? Do you think John made the right decision when he reenlisted after 9/11?
- How did Savannah's diagnosis of John's dad change how John related to his father? Do you think she did the right thing in telling John? Do you think he was justified in being angry with her?
- Were you surprised to learn that Savannah had married Tim? Do you believe she truly loved him? How was her relationship with Tim different from her relationship with John?
- Do you think John did the right thing in selling his father's coins?
- Have you ever been in a relationship like John and Savannah's? Discuss (for whoever is comfortable)
- In the first sentence of the prologue, John asks: "What does it mean to truly love another?" How does John’s answer to this question change over the course of the novel? How would you answer this question?
- Savannah and John meet when John is on a furlough from the military and they fall deeply in love after only a few days. Is their love believable? Do you think it is possible to have such an intense connection with someone you’ve only just met?
- Trying to explain her interest in John’s dad’s coin collection, Savannah says, "The saddest people I’ve ever met in life are the ones who don’t care deeply about anything at all. Passion and satisfaction go hand in hand." Do you agree with Savannah? Do you think John’s father is a satisfied man?
- Why does John get so angry when Savannah suggests what she does about his father and how, in the end, does this revelation change John’s life and his relationship with his father?
- Savannah is described by both herself and Tim as being somewhat naïve. Do you think Savannah is naïve? Why or why not?
- When John goes back to Germany after his furlough, he and Savannah vow to stay in touch and to marry when he returns. Do you think it’s possible to stay in love with someone without seeing them for months or years at a time? How does being apart affect Savannah and John’s relationship?
- John eagerly awaits his discharge from the military so he can begin a life with Savannah, but John also has a deep sense of duty and loyalty to his country and fellow soldiers. After September 11, John makes a decision that will change his life and Savannah’s life forever. Do you think John made the right decision? Does Savannah think he made the right decision? Given the outcome, do you think John regrets his decision?
- Do you think Savannah should have waited for John to come home or do you think it was understandable that she moved on with her life?
- After fighting in the war in Iraq, John has a hard time telling people about his experience there. Instead, when asked what it was like, he responds with a harmless anecdote about the sand because doing so “kept the war at a safe distance” for other people. What does John mean by this? In what ways does the Iraq War change John and what are his feelings about his role in the war?
- After John’s father dies, he goes to visit Savannah. How has their relationship changed at this point? Is Savannah different from who she was in the beginning of the novel? Do you think Savannah is still in love with John?
- How do you think John views Tim, and how do his perceptions change by the end of the novel?
- What do you make of John’s actions at the very end of the novel? Would you have done what he did if you were in his position?
- How do you interpret the novel’s ending? How do you imagine John’s future?
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