The Giver

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Imagine living in a society with no pain and no loss. Imagine feeling completely safe but having no love or happiness. In The Giver written by Lois Lowry, the characters all believe they live in an utopian society and there is no better place or way to live. The main character, Jonas, believes that there must be another way to live with love and happiness. On the day of turning twelve, Jonas is assigned the job of Receiver of Memory. Through his journey, he learns memories of the past and how it used to be with love and joy but also pain and suffering.

At the beginning of The Giver, Jonas is apprehensive, but as he gains more memories he becomes brave. Jonas starts out as an everyday citizen of the community. He feels very worried …show more content…

In the beginning, Jonas is obedient, but towards the end of the book, he starts to become rebellious. Jonas is like every other citizen in the community. He obeys all the rules and policies in the community. When he is told daily to share his dreams with his family, he does. Jonas goes straight to the Annex room after school just as he is instructed. “‘Tell us.’ ‘The details aren't clear really,’ Jonas explained trying to recreate the odd dream in his mind… ‘I was trying to convince her that she should get into the tub of water.’” 35 & 36. Jonas is sharing his dream with his family. He does not want to share his dream with his family, but he obediently shares them anyway. Although Jonas is obedient at the beginning of the book, towards the end and middle of the book, he becomes rebellious. As he learns about the memories of how things used to be, he changes his behavior. He wants to be able to feel love and he wants other people in the community to feel love, hope, and happiness like what he had felt in the memories given to him from The Giver.. “The next morning for the first time Jonas had not taken his pill” pg. 129. Jonas stops taking his stirring pills so he can have feelings of love. Jonas transfers happy memories to Gabe so other people besides himself and the Giver can feel the happiness. He tries to give Asher memories by putting his hands on Ashers

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