Jonas's Memories In 'The Giver'

The Giver

How do you think the world would be without memories? The book “The Giver” takes place in a world where there are no memories, choices, or pain. Everything is chosen for you, even things such as spouses, families, and jobs. There are no memories and the world is full of Sameness, all this is done to prevent pain. The story focuses on Jonas, a boy who goes through the Ceremony of Twelve and is elected as Receiver. The main theme in “The Giver” is without memories there can be no pain, but there can also be no happiness. This theme was demonstrated in Jonas when the memories gave him the feeling of happiness. Also, the theme was shown in The Giver when the memories gave him pain. Furthermore, the theme was shown in the community because they were unfeeling.

Without memories there can be no special moments. The memories were special to Jonas and they

brought him pleasure and happiness. According to the book, “He was simply alone someplace, out of doors, lying down, and the warmth came from far above. It was not as exciting as the ride through the snowy air; but it was pleasurable and comforting.” (Page 85) The memory of sunshine brought pleasure and happiness to Jonas. Since the memory brought him comfort, then without memories there can be no feelings like happiness. The memories allowed Jonas to feel these new feelings of being truly happy.
The memories did not always bring happiness, they also brought pain. The theme was also demonstrated with The Giver since the memories brought him immense pain. For example, the book states, “The hands came, and the pain came with them and through them. Jonas braced himself and entered the memory which was torturing The Giver.” (Page 118) The memories caused The Giver such torment that he had to give Jonas some of the suffering. Since The Giver had to give unpleasant memories to Jonas, then the memories can also bring pain, not just happiness.
The memories were eliminated of to prevent pain and happiness.

This action made the community unfeeling and emotionless. The people of the community do not feel the same way Jonas and The Giver do. In the book, The Giver tells Jonas, "Listen to me, Jonas. They can't help it. They know nothing." (Page 153) The Giver told Jonas this after Jonas witnessed his father releasing a baby. The Giver explained to Jonas how the community is trained to do things like this without questioning it since they have no feelings. Without memories the people of the community are unfeeling, so having memories will make them feel things like pain and happiness.

Without memories there can be no pain, but there can also be no happiness. This theme is shown in “The Giver” through Jonas when the memories made him happy. The theme was also shown in The Giver when the memories gave him pain. Additionally, the theme was shown in the community when they got rid of memories and became unfeeling. Ultimately, this is significant because without the ability to remember or make new memories, there can be no pain or

happiness.