" You're a wonderful person, Jamie.You're beautiful, you're kind, you're gentle ... you're everything I'd like to be. "
Jamie Sullivan
- Landon on Jamie
Jamie Sullivan is the daughter of the Beaufort church minister Hegbert Sullivan and is the main female character of A Walk To Rememeber. She is also the love interest of Landon Carter . Her mother died shortly after giving birth to her and her father raised her all by himself.
Biography[]
Jamie is very religious, sweet, and kind. At the age of 17, she fell in love with a boy having totally an opposite personality named Landon Carter, who had been studying with her at the school from kindergerten. Later, it was revealed that she'd got leukemia and despite knowing this, Landon married her and she died soon after.
Early Life[]
Jamie Sullivan was born in 1941 in North Carolina, which is located on the coast near Morehead City. Her mother had gone through 6 miscarriages before she succeeded to give her first child (Jamie) birth but died shortly after. Mrs Sullivan read the bible that she had got from her wedding all day and she even had it with her in the hospital when Jamie was born. When Jamie's father, Hegbert Sullivan found out that his wife had died, he carried the bible and her out of the hospital at the same time. She loved to read Bible, help the orphans and the critters. She was also a very much attentive student and her grades are always one of the highest in the class. But she surprised Landon by telling that she didn't want to get admitted to a college and her only ambition is to getting married in the charch where her parents got married.
High School Life[]
Jamie Sullivan carrying her Bible with her
Jamie carried her Bible wherever she went and read it during lunch break at school. She didn't spend any time 'hanging out at Cecil's Diner' or going to 'slumber parties' with other girls. She volunteered at the orphanage in Morehead City and always in charge of one fund raiser or another, helping everyone fro the Boy Scouts to the Indian Princess. If she ever came across a wounded animal, for instance, she'd try to help it, too. She was asked by Landon, the student body president, to attend the school dance as his date and accepted it. A few days later, Jamie asked Landon to participate in the school's production of The Christmas Angel. While Landon was not very enthusiastic about participating, he agreed to it anyway. Jamie, on the other hand, could not be happier about her new cast mate. Landon knew that if his friends learned about his role in the play, he would be teased
Mandy Moore - Only Hope (A Walk To Remember) no goofy intro
relentlessly. One day at rehearsal, Jamie asked if Landon would walk her home, after which it becomes routine. A couple of days later, Eric mocked the couple during their walk home and Landon became truly embarrassed to be with Jamie. Meanwhile, Landon continued to learn about all the people and organizations Jamie spent her time helping, including an orphanage. Landon and Jamie visited the orphanage one day to discuss a possible showing of The Christmas Angel, but their proposal was quickly rejected by Mr. Jenkins. When Jamie and Landon were waiting to meet Mr. Jenkins, she told Landon that all she wanted in the future is to get married in a church full of people and to had her father walk her down the aisle. While Landon thought this is a strange wish, he accepts it. In truth, he was beginning to enjoy his time with her. One day, while they are walking home, Landon yelled at Jamie and he told her that he was not friends with her. Thenext day at the first show of The Christmas Angel, Jamie entered the stage dressed as the angel, making Landon simply utter his line, "You're beautiful," meaning it for the first time. Following that, Jamie asked Landon if he would go around town and retrieve the jars containing money collected for the orphans' Christmas presents. When Landon collected the jars, there is only $55.73, but when he gave the money to Jamie, there was $247. Jamie bought gifts for the orphanage, and Landon and Jamie spent Christmas Eve there. Jamie's Christmas gift to Landon is her deceased mother's Bible. As they got in the car to go home, Landon realized his true feelings for her. "All I could do is wonder how I'd ever fallen in love with a girl like Jamie Sullivan." He invited her to his house for Christmas dinner. The next day Landon visited Jamie at her house, where they shared their first kiss on her porch. Afterward, Landon asked Hegbert if they can go to Flavin's, a local restaurant, on New Year's Eve. While Hegbert initially refused, after Landon had declared his love for Jamie, Hegbert allowed it.
Jamie and Landon on their first date
On New Year's Jamie and Landon went to dinner, where they shared their first dance. A couple of weeks later, Landon told Jamie that he is in love with her. To his surprise, Jamie replies by insisting that he cannot be. In response, Landon demanded an explanation, and Jamie reveals that she is dying of leukemia.
The following Sunday, Hegbert announced to his congregation that his daughter is dying. Jamie did not return to school the following Monday and that it was eventually learned that she was too ill and would never return to school. While they were having dinner at Landon's house, Jamie told Landon, "I love you, too," for the first time. A couple weeks later, Eric and Margaret visited Jamie's house, where they apologized for ever being rude to her. Eric gave Jamie the $400 that he collected for the orphanage. Jamie refused to stay at the hospital, because she wanted to die at home. In turn, Landon's father helped to provide Jamie the best equipment and doctors so she could spend the rest of her life at home. This gesture helped to mend the gap between father and son. One day, while sitting next to Jamie while she slept, Landon came up with an idea. He ran to the church to find Hegbert and asked him for permission to marry Jamie. While Hegbert is reluctant, his refusal to deny Landon's request is seen by Landon as approval. Landon ran back to Jamie's side and asks, "Will you marry me?"
A walk to remember - Wedding-0
Landon and Jamie were married in a church full of people with Hegbert walking Jamie down the aisle. When they reached the front of the church, Hegbert said, "I can no more give Jamie away than I can give away my heart. But what I can do is let another share in the joy that she has always given me." Hegbert had had to experience so much pain in his life, first losing his wife, now knowing his only child will soon be gone, too. The book ended with Landon 40 years later at age 57. He still loves Jamie and wears her ring. He finishes the story by saying, "I now believe, by the way, that miracles can happen."
In the movie, when a prank on fellow high-school student Clay Gephardt goes wrong, popular but rebellious Landon Carter (Shane West) is threatened with expulsion. His punishment is mandatory participation in various after-school activities, such as the drama club, where he is forced to interact with quiet, kind and bookish Jamie Sullivan (Mandy Moore), a girl he has known for many years but to whom he has rarely ever spoken. Their differing social statures leave them worlds apart, despite their close physical proximity.
Landon asking Jamie's help
When Landon has trouble learning his lines he asks Jamie for help. They begin practicing together at her house after school. At first Landon is only using Jamie for her help with the play, and treats her coldly when his other friends are around. But as he spends more and more time with her, he is surprised to find that she is far from the person he thought she was, and begins to question who he really wants to impress. During the play, Jamie astounds Landon and the entire audience with her beauty and voice, and Landon kisses her on the stage. Afterwards, he tries to get closer to her, but she repeatedly rejects him. Soon thereafter, however, Landon's friends publicly humiliate Jamie by altering a photograph of her and placing her head on the body of a scantily clad woman. Landon angrily confronts his former friend, punching him and publicly siding with Jamie. Afterwards, Landon and Jamie begin a relationship in which Landon dedicates most of his time to her. He discovers that she has a wish list, and sets out to make all her ambitions come true, such as taking her to a state border so that she can stand on either side of the line and, thus, be in two places at once.In the final stretch of the movie, Jamie confesses to Landon that she is afflicted by terminal leukemia and has stopped responding to treatments. Landon gets upset at first, and Jamie tells him the reason she did not tell him is that she was moving on with her life and using the time she had left but then Landon happened and she fell in love with him.
Jamie singing on the play
Jamie's cancer gets worse, her father rushes her to the hospital where he meets Landon. Landon doesn't leave Jamie's side until her father practically has to pry him away. Jamie's father sits with Jamie and tells her that "If I've kept you too close, it's because I want to keep you longer."
Soon, word gets out about Jamie's illness. Eric, Landon's best friend, comes and tells him how sorry he is and that he did not understand. Other friends come and apologize too.
Later, Jamie gives Landon a book that was her mother's filled with quotes. Landon reads 1 Coriathians:4-8 along
with her. Jamie then tells Landon that she believes that God sent him to her to help her through her illness and that he is her angel. He later learns that his estranged father is going to pay for private home care for Jamie. Landon shows up at his father's door and thanks him before breaking down in tears as his father hugs him.
Landon continues to fulfill various wishes on Jamie's list, such as building her a telescope so she can see a comet. Through this process, Landon and Jamie learn more about the nature of love. Landon is finally able to grant Jamie's top wish by marrying her in the same chapel her parents got married in. Landon narrates that they had a perfect summer together with more love than anybody could possibly know and that she died soon after. Landon himself becomes a better person through Jamie's memory, achieving the goals that he set out to do, like she did.
Physical Appearance[]
Jamie Sullivan with her Telescope
Jamie is described as being thin, with honey blond hair and soft blue eyes. Most of the time she looked sort of plain. She'd always worn her hair in a tight bun, almost like a spinster, without a stitch of makeup on her face. She usually wore brown cardigan and plaid skirt. During the play, she let her long hair hang, which reached below her shoulder blades and had a trace of glitter.
Personality[]
Jamie was a very religious girl, carrying her Bible around with her everywhere, and always talking about “the Lord’s plan.” She is happy and cheerful and sees the best in everyone and in every situation, always ready to help those in distress. There is an innocence about her. However, Jamie is not popular at school, because she is not “cool” like Margaret Hays or Angela Clark. She appears to have no friends. She and Landon have known each other since second grade, but they barely talk to each other. Landon joins in with his friends in poking fun at her, and he takes her to the homecoming dance only because there is no one else available. She was not a 'dimwit' and could dance very well.
Jamie driving the Car
Relationships[]
Jamie Sullivan Carter was a daughter of Reverend Hegbert Sullivan and Mrs Sullivan. She was also the wife of Landon Carter and the daughter-
Jamie with her father and Landon
in-law of Cynthia Carter and Worth Carter.
Film Portrayal[]
Mandy Moore potrays Jamie Sullivan in the movie A Walk To Remember. The director of the film, Adam Shan
Mandy Moore
kman
said of Mandy Moore that she "has the voice and the face of an angel" and added that she is luminous. Moore explained that she was moved by the book: "I had such a visceral reaction to it that I remember not being able to read because I was almost hyperventilating while I was crying." Commenting on the film, she said: "It was my first movie and I know people say it may be cliche and it's a tearjerker or it's cheesy, but for me, it's the thing I'm most proud of."