The Giver Essay

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THE EVOLUTION OF JONAS
Some secrets should not be revealed. In the book, The Giver, by Lois Lowry, the main protagonist, Jonas, lives in a utopian/dystopian world. He is chosen to become a Receiver of Memory, and meets The Giver, who was the past Receiver of Memory. The Giver passes on memories of the past and he learns about a world before the sameness of his world. Jonas begins to develop true feelings, something others in his community do not have. He soon learns a terrible secret: his society has been killing people and calling it “release”. He leaves the community, giving the memories of the past to the community. In The Giver by Lois Lowry, Jonas’s character becomes more rebellious, independent, and righteous after he becomes the receiver. …show more content…

He breaks many rules, one being, “...Jonas did not take his pill” (Lowry 162). This evidence shows that he is more rebellious because he did not take his pill, which is a major crime in the community. By not taking his pill, he is defying his community’s rules and values, the same community that he lives in. This action is rebellious because he is resisting the community’s authority and control over him. Additionally, before Jonas contravened his community’s rules, he made small acts of rebellion. He tries to give his friends memories of the past: “He tried. Without asking permission from The Giver, because he feared­––or knew­–– that it would be denied, he tried to give his new awareness to his friends” (Lowry 125). This evidence demonstrates that he is more rebellious because he did not ask for The Giver’s permission. By not telling The Giver about his plans, he is not accepting The Giver’s authority, showing how he is slightly rebellious to The Giver himself. After he becomes the Receiver, Jonas reveals his rebellious side, doing things like breaking …show more content…

After declaring that he wants others to have choices, Jonas realizes that it would not be such a good proposal; he claims that the idea is, “Very frightening I can’t even imagine it. We really have to protect people from wrong choices” (Lowry 124). This evidence shows that Jonas is righteous because he cares about strangers who he does not have to care about. He does not want them to make decisions that might harm themselves or others, and he cares about everyone’s well being, even if he does not need to. Secondly, he sees how the community is immoral. He learns about his society executing people: “Jonas stared at him. ’Release is always like that? For people who break the rules three times? For the old? Do they kill the Old too?’ [...] ‘What should I do? I can 't go back! I can’t!’” (Lowry 192). This evidence demonstrates that Jonas is becoming more righteous because he realizes the truth about his society and does not want to be a part of it anymore because of their cruel actions. The community gives Jonas a haven to live in, but he does not want to stay when he learns about the killing. This shows that he is righteous because he is willing to be in danger for the right thing to happen. Jonas becomes more righteous after he becomes the Receiver because he believes in doing the right

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