What is the main motif in The Notebook?

There are many motifs in Nicholas Sparks’s The Notebook but I will explain one significant motif to help you get started reflecting on this idea.

A motif is an idea or a symbol that recurs throughout a text in order to convey an important message. The oak tree is a powerful motif in The Notebook. Almost every time the oak tree is mentioned it recalls the memories and the intensity of Allie and Noah’s love. Consider how Allie looks at the tree in the beginning of the novel. Immediately memories of her summer with Noah come rushing back and she recalls sitting with Noah under the tree that had been the “moment that she’d first fallen in love.” Once this memory is established at the start of the book, it becomes clear to the reader that the tree will symbolize their love for the rest of the story.

The oak tree is referenced many more times, such as when Allie asks Noah to talk to her like he did long ago under that tree. This request shows that the couple associates that tree with the earliest and purest expressions of their mutual affection. Another significant example of this motif is when Allie gives Noah the drawing she made of him. In the scene where Noah takes in the picture’s detail, Sparks describes that it looked as if Allie “had sketched it while sitting beneath the oak tree.” Her choice of scene represents that even after fourteen years she still has the same feelings for Noah that she had when they first fell in love.

It is also interesting to reflect on the particular symbolism of the tree. A tree grows with age, and yet typically remains sturdy. The tree in this text is also initially described as having “thick” branches which implies that it has stood the test of time. In a way, the strength of the oak tree also symbolizes Noah and Allie’s enduring love.

What are the main themes in The Notebook?

One of the most dominant themes in the redemptive power of love.  Sparks shows love to be a force that can conquer class discrimination and social repression.  Allie's love for Noah transcends the wishes of her parents, driven by materialism and social standing.  This love is also shown to be able to redeem individuals from making mistakes that they can later regret.  The love that Allie and Noah share is filled with tempestuous moments, but these do not preclude or overwhelm the basic emotion of devotion that each feels towards the other.  This theme of love is also to be able to challenge the knowledge of medical science.  Sparks is well aware that the medical community is limited against the degenerative power of Alzheimer's Disease.  The doctors in the book readily admit that they have no answer for the condition.  They discredit Noah's reading of the notebook to her in the idea that nothing will change Allie's contraction of the disease.  Yet, Sparks' thematic development of love is one that can momentarily halt the disease and one that is demonstrative in its abilities to redeem Allie from a crippling condition.  In these instances, the theme of love and its power of redemption from both social and medical conditions is where Sparks spends most of the narrative's energies. 

The theme of maturation is another element developed in the course of the narrative.  Sparks shows love as only being possible when individuals are willing to mature and grow old with one another.  Allie and Noah believe in their love, so much so that they are willing to put all other elements of their life on hold for it.  He does not "move on" with his life, though others tell him to do so.  She does not marry for convenience, though it is the easy thing to do.  Both Allie and Noah demonstrate the theme that maturation in terms of being willing to cradle the love one has for another over a prolonged period of time.  Even when Alzheimer's threatens to take over their love, the notebook itself is a testament to how love grows over time and its prolonged strength can reclaim anyone who might be lost.  Noah does not leave Allie in the nursing home, remaining with her.  This shows how maturation is the necessary ingredient for love to develop and for its powers of redemption to be most visible.