Sehen 1 Ashley Sehen Ms.

Caruso English 1102 3 April 2012 Final Proposal There is a famous picture named Kissing the war goodbye of a sailor and a nurse kissing in Times Square, New York. This picture was taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt right after it had been announced that Japan surrendered to the Allied forces, ending World War 2. This famous picture however has a catch; there is no background to it. The picture was a random moment captured and the two kissing did not know each other. The novel Letters from missing Hearts will instead tell of the love story that was never there but that everyone thinks exist. This novel will capture the imagination of people and put hope into their hearts that love can conquer through all and bring the strongest of lovers back to one another. The novel is set in the 1940s during World War 2 as it is based around the lives of Carter Renolds and Sarah Samson, which are the two lovers in the story representing the sailor and nurse in the picture. Carter is a twenty- one year old male in the United States Navy, while Sarah is a twenty year old young lady working at the hospital on Pearl Harbor. The two lovers met on the base Pearl Harbor since that is where Carter is stationed. As soon as the two met each other they could not stop thinking about the other and they quickly fell in love with one another. Even though the two come from completely different backgrounds they cannot wait to begin their life together. Carter is a farm boy from Oklahoma and joined the Navy as soon as he turned eighteen years old, while Sarah grew up on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii because her father is a retired Sergeant in the United States Marines. With Sarahs father once being in the Marines it was almost expected of her to marry a Marine, however Carter is the one who stole her heart. Carter didnt come from a wealthy family so he doesnt have much to offer her but his

Sehen 2 love and protection, but for Sarah thats all she needs. The two lovers knew they could make it, which is what shows that true love can conquer all The story starts out with the day that lead to everything happening, Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The main character Carter was doing his normal routine while his love Sarah was too. Carter was on the ship during duty when the attack occurred, while Sarah was at home with her family getting ready to go to church. The attack from the Japanese was a complete surprise that left everyone in shock. As soon as the planes and bombs hit, navy sailors and marines immediately tried to fight back but there was not much they could do being so surprised and taken off guard. Sarahs family rushed as far away from the base as they could, while Sarah rushed to hospital to take her place in helping aid the injured at the hospital. Smoke and fire was everywhere and the hospitals were flooded with victims covered in oil and burns. The story then progresses to President Roosevelt making the infamous speech saying December 7, 1941 is a day that will live in infamy and declaring that America would be entering the war. It is here the two lovers must be separated as Carter must go fight in the war while Sarah must stay back and tend to the injured. The two promise one another they will stay together through the war, and that they will write each other every day. After the two say goodbye two days after the attack, the novel is then told through their letters. The novel follows each characters life in the places they are. Carter in his letters to Sarah not only shares his love for her, but also the affect the war is having on him. Carter gives the outlook of the war through a soldiers eyes and what it is really like to be fighting. He tells her of the harsh conditions he is living in and how depressed the war is making him. Sarah when writing to Carter also expresses her deep love for him and constantly reminds him of how much she misses him. She explains to him that seeing all the injured soldiers everyday makes her constantly think of Carter and if he is safe. Sarah also describes what life was like for not only a female in America during the war, but

Sehen 3 also what the life of a nurse was like. She tells him how nasty some of the women are towards her calling her names accusing her of wanting to be with all the men. As the two write to one another expressing their love and conditions it adds to the historical truth in the novel, teaching the reader about the war. The letters continue to tell the story and connect the two as they are so far apart from each other over the course of the war. Along the way in the story new characters come into play such as Sarah becomes a good friend with the mail man and begins to read her letter to him every day as he listens to her talk about Carter for hours. Carter makes friends in the service who also have loved ones back in Hawaii, in which he can bond with sharing his emotions for Sarah and how much he misses her. These extra characters help give more facts about the war but through other viewpoints. As Sarah becomes friends with the mail man the perspective of the everyday citizen at the time, is learned. Also with Carter talking to his military buddies more view points and facts about being a soldier in the war is learned. The characters also help give the two lovers companionship while their loves are not with them showing the importance of outside support systems. Towards the end of letters and war Sarah is needed in New York to help with the demand of nurses in the area as military men return home. It is around the same time she is needed that just a couple months later in September Carter is able to come home. On the exact day Carters ship arrives in New York to dock is the day in which Japan signed the surrender papers to the Allied forces. Sarah rushed through Time Square to the dock where she and Carter were reunited after four long years of being separated. The moment when the two are reunited is the moment when Kissing the war goodbye was taken, thus completing the love story. The two can finally live their life together. This novel can reach a large crowd, not only women but people trying to explain the war in a different perspective can use the novel to do so. The novel offers lots of action about the war to keep

Sehen 4 men entertained while there is a lot of romance to keep women entertained and hooked. The story also offers a complete historical background of World War 2, so people can learn about the war as they read. Also the story brings hope to love ones that may be separated by the war that is going on now in Afghanistan. It can show them that if they just keep persistent they will soon be reunited and able to spend their lives together forever as the two in the novel were able to. The story differs from most romances in that it is so broad with what all it offers that almost everyone can be affected and take something positive away.