Message In A Bottle

Sparks continues to develop the dramatic irony that infuses the text with tension, darkening its mood. Garrett realizes that there is something “odd” in the way Theresa looks at him when they meet at the dock: “It was almost as if she recognized something about him that he usually kept buried deep within himself. More than that, it was as if she knew more about him than she was willing to admit” (142). Of course, readers know that Theresa knows much more about Garrett than he does about her, and his sense that she is already acquainted with some deep, usually hidden part of himself is accurate. He can’t shake the feeling that something doesn’t “sit quite right about the whole situation” (142), a clue that he will be upset—perhaps angry, hurt, or some combination of the two—when he learns what readers already know. Theresa asks him to share the worst thing he’s ever done, and when he does, she then claims to be a “good girl” who has never done anything wrong. Readers know, however, that she is keeping a huge secret from Garrett, potentially manipulating him emotionally. She may not have any malicious intent, but it is certainly dishonest. Although he knows “full well that she wasn’t telling the truth” (189), he tries to quash those feelings, choosing to ignore them because he feels so happy when he’s with her. Garrett’s intuition foreshadows a time when he learns the truth and cannot feel so blissfully happy with Theresa.

In addition, other examples of foreshadowing characterize this section of the text. Several of Garrett’s flashbacks of memories with Catherine now include references to how she was feeling “sick” and how she hadn’t “been [her]self lately” (200). She even got a little short with him when he suggested she not leave home to visit her sister while she was feeling that way. Ironically, the memory ends with her saying, “I may leave, Garrett, but you know I’ll always come back” (201). Obviously, on the day Catherine left their house and got hit by a car, she did not come back. Perhaps Garrett’s intuition—a quality Theresa immediately identifies in him—alerted him to this fact, and this could be why he felt so anxious about Catherine going away. Further, when Catherine returned from her trip, a memory from a different flashback, she complained of being “stiff” and “tired the whole time” (204) she was gone. Catherine’s physical complaints foreshadow a revelation that something else was going on with her before she died, something that caused Garrett to become more fearful of losing her or, perhaps, more protective of her. Further, because he recalls these moments just as he and Theresa discuss how to manage their impending separation, they suggest both Garrett’s fear of losing her and his sense that her leaving could lead to his losing her, too. Kevin’s questions to Theresa about where they would live if she decided to marry Garrett and her inability to “think of a good response” (255) also foreshadow that this conundrum will cause future problems for the relationship.

Sparks uses Garrett’s dreams to reveal his fears and changing emotional state. After Garrett first tells Theresa that he loves her, he dreams of a violent storm that destroys his house. In the dream, he realizes that he can hear Theresa calling to him from outside, but he feels he must save Catherine’s pictures, ring, and valentines from the deluge. This demonstrates how he is still torn between Catherine and Theresa, the past and the present, and how difficult it is for him to let go of his memories and grief, which links to the theme of The Power of Memory. As Theresa pleads with him in the dream, “he realized that if he tried to save the things from his past, he might not make it out at all” (214). Garrett recognizes that saving these things isn’t worth risking his life, but when he goes to find Theresa, “he couldn’t see her anymore” (214). This suggests that Garrett may not ever be able to let go of his past or of his love for Catherine and that this will prevent him from having a future with Theresa. On the other hand, it could suggest that Garrett may be able to let go, but it might happen too late for him to make a future with Theresa.