Jonas Relationship In The Giver

Have you ever imagined what it would be like without emotion? A colorless community, dominated by beings who keep the past out of your reach? A world without… Love? The Giver introduces us to a supposed utopia that is heavily deprived of knowledge from the past. We meet Jonas, a twelve with unusual eyes, as he faces his new task as the Receiver of Memory and realizes that the community he grew up in is far from perfect. The Giver shows us the connections and relationships that Jonas builds and shares with the community, as his relationships before his assignment change during and after his training.

Prior to the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas is depicted as an innocent, rule-following citizen in his community. During that time, he is shown
To the general community, the role of the Receiver of Memory is mysterious and well respected. However, Jonas is left confused and he starts to feel different. The only person whom Jonas can talk to is the Giver, the only person who will understand. This understanding starts to build the connection between the Giver and Jonas. Jonas's initial surprise is shown when the Giver asks how he feels after transferring the first memory to him. His reply was, "Surprised". Going further into the story, Jonas finds himself realizing that he is now different, and it "made him feel desperately lonely". He eventually asks the Giver, "Why do you and I have to hold these memories?" When Jonas was first introduced to concepts that nobody but the Reciever of Memory understands, for example, color and love, loneliness and pain, his innocence begins to fade as he does. This is when he starts to see flaws in the community that he grew up in and realizes that is actually not as perfect as he was taught to think. As stated before, the only person who has the capability to understand the situation Jonas is currently in, which strengthens the relationship between Jonas and the Giver, the only person that Jonas is able to vent