The Notebook

The Notebook , a movie based off of a Nicholas Sparks book, seems to be one big satire. In the film, an elderly man, Noah, reads a diary to Allie, a woman in a nursing home. While he reads his "story" to her, the movie switches to two young lovers who go through life together, also by the names of Allie and Noah. As the story goes on, it becomes evident that Allie is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in her later years, leaving Noah to try and trigger her memory by telling her details about her life. At this point, Allie is the only one unaware of the fact that she and Noah are the characters in his diary. This dramatic irony really helps with the emotional effect the movie has. The watcher is drawn in, hoping that Allie will realize that the man in front of her is not just a stranger, but her lifelong lover and husband to her children, who she also does not remember.

There is a scene in which Allie momentarily connects the diary to her life, realizing who Noah really is. The two dance together in the nursing home, making Noah very happy and proving Allie's doctors wrong, who said that it was impossible to trigger any memories in her. This section of the movie ends in a heartbreaking way, when Allie's Alzheimer's takes over and she is left to think that she is dancing with a stranger which freaks her out. Throughout the majority of the movie, the watcher and Noah are the only ones who know everything about Noah and Allie's lives together. It is only in the end where Allie remembers again, saying that she never wants to forget her life with Noah. The extreme use of dramatic irony is the only way that Nicholas Sparks and the producers of the film are able to achieve the heart throb that the watchers feel for Noah as he tries to save the love of his life.