Dear John Characters: Full List & Analysis

Who drives the story

Main characters

John Tyree

A Wilmington rebel with tattoos who becomes an Army sergeant and falls for Savannah during two weeks of leave. He loses her to distance, loses his father, and finally gives away his inheritance to prove what love actually means.

Appears in:: Part 1: Two Weeks in Wilmington; Part 2: Letters Across an Ocean; Part 3: The Letter That Ends It; Part 4: What Love Costs
Themes:: Love versus duty; The fathers we don't understand; Distance and the letters that carry it; Sacrifice as the proof of love; Timing and second chances

Savannah Lynn Curtis

A college student from Lenoir who builds houses for others and loves with her whole heart. She waits for John through years of letters, then chooses a life she can actually live, and comes back to his door when it's over.

Appears in:: Part 1: Two Weeks in Wilmington; Part 2: Letters Across an Ocean; Part 3: The Letter That Ends It; Part 4: What Love Costs
Themes:: Love versus duty; The fathers we don't understand; Distance and the letters that carry it; Sacrifice as the proof of love; Timing and second chances

John's father

A silent man obsessed with coins, unable to say what he feels. His unsent letter, found after his death, reveals the pride he could never speak.

Appears in:: Part 2: Letters Across an Ocean; Part 4: What Love Costs
Themes:: Sacrifice as the proof of love

Tim

Savannah's longtime friend who loved her quietly for years and finally married her. Dying of melanoma, he has the grace to tell John that Savannah still loves him.

Appears in:: Part 1: Two Weeks in Wilmington; Part 3: The Letter That Ends It; Part 4: What Love Costs
Themes:: Love versus duty; Sacrifice as the proof of love; Timing and second chances

How they are connected

Key relationships

John Tyree Savannah Lynn Curtis
A Wilmington rebel with tattoos who becomes an Army sergeant and falls for Savannah during two weeks of leave.
Tim Savannah Lynn Curtis
Savannah's longtime friend who loved her quietly for years and finally married her.
Tim John Tyree
Dying of melanoma, he has the grace to tell John that Savannah still loves him.

Go deeper

Dear John themes & symbols

Love versus duty · The fathers we don't understand · Distance and the letters that carry it · Sacrifice as the proof of love

Themes explained

Read the full Dear John summary

The full story act by act, the ending explained and a quick quiz.

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