The Giver Essay
Have you ever felt like starting all over again? Many people would like to have the opportunity to make a new beginning. In the book, The Giver, by Lois Lowry, Jonas is making a new beginning by making an end.
Jonas is making an end by leaving the community. He leaves with Gabriel because he wants to experience true things outside the community. He was very hurt in the community because he could not share his feelings. He wanted to be able to share and experience his feelings with other people. He feels the community does many things that are bad or wrong.
Jonas doesn’t seem to like what happens to people when they are released. He wants to change many ways people in the community are treated. Jonas makes a great a choice by leaving the community. Jonas opens up many opportunities and choices when he leaves the community. “Jonas sobbed and shouted and pounded the bed with his fist” (Lois Lowry pg 152). Jonas is obviously angry in the situation he is in and with the choices he is given. He wants to have the privilege to make his own choices which he will be able to do outside the community. He can now find peace since he was able to leave and make his own choices . The choices will give Jonas a chance to find a job and other things that are important to his life. Jonas would finally be able to be happy with himself and what he has. It is good for Jonas to be able to have opportunities and choices. Jonas is making a beginning outside of the community. “Soon there were many birds along the way, soaring overhead calling” (Lois Lowry pg 172). Jonas can finally make his own decisions. Jonas could have all the privileges the community took away.
In the end, Jonas, with the help of The Giver, escapes from the community with an infant new-child at risk of being killed (released) and seeks out a life full of feeling and love. While he does get away, we don't know exactly w...
Jonas decides to leave and change the lives of his people so that they can experience the truth. “The Giver rubbed Jonas’s hunched shoulders… We’ll make a plan” (155). Their plan involves leaving sameness and heading to Elsewhere, where Jonas knows the memories can be released to the people. He has a connection with Gabe, a special child who has experienced the memories, unlike the rest of the community. Jonas has a strong love for Gabe, and he longs to give him a better life. “We’re almost there, Gabriel” (178). Even with a sprained ankle, Jonas keeps pushing forward because he wants everyone to experience what The Giver has given him. He wants them to have a life where the truth is exposed. His determination allows him to make a change for a greater future in his community. This proves that Jonas has the strength to change his community for the
He starts to believe that a world of sameness where no one can decide or make choices for themselves is boring. Lois Lowry is warning readers that living in a world of sameness is not something to create as it is boring and dull, but if the world follows conformity and does not value diversity and difference enough, society could become that of Jonas’s. When he turns twelve, his job for the rest of his life is decided as the Receiver. His job is to receive all the memories the previous Receiver has held on to. While this is beneficial for Jonas as he is able to leave the society and his job of the Receiver behind and get freedom, the community is left without someone to take the memories from The Giver.
It states in chapter 13 that “my role is now to escape the community.” This relates to the topic the theme importance of memory because once jonas has the importance of memory Jonas knows the right decisions and choices to make. Such as running away from the Community to have freedom. Sure Jonas may have escaped due to the Giver telling him to but if he didn’t have the memeriors he needed it would have said no and stayed in the community because he would have classified it as breaking the rules.
All the people in Jonas’s community feel that Jonas’s selection is a great honor. Despite what the community thinks, Jonas thinks of it as more of a punishment. Being the Receiver is a punishment for the following reasons, the Receiver will lose contact with the outside world, he is also filled with pain and sorrow, plus he can’t quit.
Once Jonas begins his training with the Giver, however, the tendencies he showed in his earlier life—his sensitivity, his heightened perceptual powers, his kindness to and interest in people, his curiosity about new experiences, his honesty, and his high intelligence—make him extremely absorbed in the memories the Giver has to transmit. In turn, the memories, with their rich sensory and emotional experiences, enhance all of Jonas’s unusual qualities. Within a year of training, he becomes extremely sensitive to beauty, pleasure, and suffering, deeply loving toward his family and the Giver, and fiercely passionate about his new beliefs and feelings. Things about the community that used to be mildly perplexing or troubling are now intensely frustrating or depressing, and Jonas’s inherent concern for others and desire for justice makes him yearn to make changes in the community, both to awaken other people to the richness of life and to stop the casual cruelty that is practiced in the community. Jonas is also very determined, committing to a task fully when he believes in it and willing to risk his own life for the sake of the people he loves.
As December approaches Jonas feels apprehensive because this year his group will be given their assignments (Lowry 9). He is chosen as the receiver of memory. While this position holds high honor it is also a painful load to hold. Jonas will hold all memories of the past. Receiving memories is not like watching a movie, as Jonas soon expe...
Through the memories Jonas receives from the Giver, he gains the ability to experience feelings, which causes him to grow out of his selfishness, and into a more compassionate and empathetic person. In fact, before Jonas receives memories, he does not even have the ability to experience true feelings, which causes him to be selfish. However, after he receives memories from the Giver about true feelings and pain, Jonas starts to become more compassionate. Jonas’ compassion also leads him to become more empathetic towards the people that he cares about. Even though feelings and emotions can sometimes bring pain, without them, the world would be a selfish place with people only caring about themselves.
Evelyn Sanchez (esanchez47@student.cccd.edu) Professor Leighton English 143, Final Essay 21 May 21, 2014 What the heck happened to Jonas? Topic #2. The Giver is actually one of my all-time favorite books, so I’ve looked into why she left the book so inconclusive in the past. The Giver is basically about a boy named Jonas who lives in a perfect society. He lives in a household with his two parents and his little sister Lilly.
“Even I (Jonas’ father) voted for release when we had the meeting.” (164). Jonas wanted the best for Gabriel, so he brought Gabe with him thinking that he will end up saving him. Jonas made his decision under pressure, a reckless decision that could kill both of them, he did think of food but he underestimated the amount needed, he wanted to save Gabe. “And he had taken Gabe, too.” (166). Jonas felt as if he would save Gabe from a pointless life, which had no real meaning in making choices or decisions. The main reason was that he didn’t want to leave Gabe to die, but to save him from it and giving Gabe a better one when they somehow get to elsewhere. Overall, Jonas took the responsibility to save Gabe but in that he also to gave him a better life, than the corrupted world they both used to live
Jonas has always been an inquisitive and curious person, even more so when he obtains the role of Receiver of Memory. One example of this important trait occurs after the Ceremony of Twelve. Jonas was still confused about his role, but he was anxious to learn about the incident involving the previous girl who was supposed to take the position of the
The people in the community have absolutely no choices what so ever. The people already have their whole life rolled out in front of you without even knowing it. The council chooses your spouse, your family unit, your job, what you do everyday and how to do everything everyday. The rules that Jonas gets restrict him from doing certain things. “1. Go immediately at the end
Jonas misses the way it was before he had memories where there was no pain or feeling, because everything was innocent. But he understands that although there was innocence nobody feels true happiness.Jonas thinks: “But he knew he couldn’t go back to that world of no feelings that he had lived in so long” (Lowry 131). Jonas wishes he could go back when everything was innocent and when he had no burden of pain, but although there was innocence the bad memories were stripped away to avoid the feeling of pain but also leaves everyone emotionless. But he knows it can never be the same again because of all the knowledge he gained from memories. He learns that memoires need to be valued, even the painful ones. Jonas feels that his community can change and things could be different. He thinks they should live in a world with memories. Jonas says: “Things could be different. I don’t know how, but there must be some way for things to be different. There could be colours [...] and everybody would have memories [...] There could be love” (Lowry 128). Jonas wishes that they could all have memories because everyone would be able to experience love. Love is one of the most important things in human life. He knows that there are bad memories, but without them, he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the good ones. Eventually, with his feelings
Love and other deep emotions are not worth giving up for safety. Jonas’ own mother doesn’t love him, she doesn’t know what love means. “Do you love me… So meaningless that it has become almost obsolete” (pg127). Jonas refused to live where your parents don’t know what the meaning of love is. So he left. He took a stand. Jonas found out that his father was going to kill his stepbrother, Gabe and he was furious. His father doesn’t even know what the word kill means. His father honestly thought he was helping Gabe by releasing him, just because he didn’t sleep soundly through the night. If he knew the emotions of love, empathy and hope he might have known that release is a bad thing. But they chose to not have feelings because they were afraid of heartbreaks,
He is determined. He has made it so far to spread the truth and greatness of memories, he cannot stop now. “For a moment he thought how easy it would be to drop beside it himself, to let himself and Gabriel slide into the softness of snow, the darkness of night, the warm comfort of sleep. But he had come this far. He must try to go on” (175). This shows that Jonas is determined to get the memories out that he will not stop at any cost. Jonas draws his strength from the memories that the Giver transmits to him during his training. He leaves the comfort of his own community and family to bring back life before sameness. He knows that if he would be caught, he would be released or as Jonas learns that release is killing someone. He decides to save Gabe, who is at risk of release. In this quote Jonas and Gabe are traveling to the border or Elsewhere, with little supplies, and warmth. They are walking through cold snow, and are struggling to stay warm. Jonas thinks how easy it would be to just drop into the snow, but they have made it so far to release the memories, they can’t quit