Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The giver analysis
A summary about the giver
The giver essay summary
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Memories are one of the most important parts of life; there is no true happiness without the reminiscence of pain or love. This concept is portrayed in "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. The story tells of a 12 year old Jonas who lives in a “utopian” society, in which civilization coexist peacefully, and possess ideal lifestyles where all bad memories are destroyed to avoid the feeling of pain. Jonas becomes the receiver, someone who receives good and bad memories, and he is transmitted memories of pain and pleasure from The Giver and is taught to keep the secret to himself. The author shows one should cherish memories, whether it be good or bad, as they are all of what is left of the past, and we should learn from it as to better ourselves in the …show more content…
Jonas hates how his society decides to keep memories a secret from everyone. Jonas says: “The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It’s the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared” (Lowry 154). Jonas feels that memories, whether it be good or bad, should be shared with everyone. Furthermore, memories allow the community to gain wisdom from remembering experiences of the past. As for The Giver, The Giver disagrees with how the community runs things. He believes that memories should be experienced by everyone as well, because life is meaningless without memories. The Giver says: “There are so many things I could tell them; things I wish they would change. But they don’t want change. Life here is so orderly, so predictable–so painless. It’s what they’ve chosen [...] It’s just that… without memories, it’s all meaningless. They gave that burden to me” (Lowry 103). The Giver is burdened with the responsibility to not share memories even though that is what he feels the community deserves. In addition, he believes the community lives a very monotonous life where nothing ever changes. Everything is meaningless without memories because the community does not know what it is like to be human without feelings. Overall, Jonas and The Giver’s outlooks on their “utopian” society change as they realize that without …show more content…
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
Jonas, the protagonist, is assigned the job of holding memories for the community. This is so that not everyone has to experience sad or painful memories. The Giver's job is to transmit these memories to Jonas and, in doing so, reveals the wonders of love, and family, and pain, and sorrow to this young boy. Jonas begins to resent the rules of sameness and wants to share these joys with his community. After receiving his first memory, Jonas says, "I wish we had those things, still." (p. 84)
What are memories to you? In the book The Giver, by Lois Lowry. There is a boy his name is Jonas. He is the Receiver of Memories. Jonas experiences the memories over the course of the book. Memories help us understand there are consequences to your actions. Although some readers may believe that memories are not important. The memories Jonas had helped him with the journey at the end of the book.
Without memories, nobody can make the right decision, which will lead to a bad choice. Without memories, one cannot shape his or her future. In addition, when Jonas describes the pain he feel when experiencing a sunburn when, “‘It hurts a lot,’ Jonas said, ‘but I’m glad you gave it to me. It was interesting,”(Lowry 86). This quote show that Jonas does not understand
Finally, when he knew that he could bear it no longer and would welcome death itself, he opened his eyes and was once again on the bed,” (Lowry 120). Jonas has lived his life in a Community that does not learn about the past memories. Due to this ignorance that the Community instilled in him, it is harder for him to deal with the memory of war. Moreover, the Community uses ignorance as a temporary solution so that the residents feel a false sense of happiness. Jonas can only now see that this is a temporary fix by experiencing the memories through his training.
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.
So all the memories everyone had from the past has now created a world that is today, enjoyable. “Call me the Giver.” (Lowry 110). Quoted by the only old man who holds all the memories from years and years of the past to give to the new Receiver, which is Jonas. It is not just the happiness of past memories holding on throughout lives. But pain is the biggest part of memory that anyone will have to endure. It is not just the mental pain we suffer through, it also could have a pain in the physical body and mind that the elderly man had to be tortured with throughout his life. Lois Lowry is a powerful writer inflicting and teaching in the minds of all and how most important and delicate memory is in the novel, The Giver, and how it must not be forgotten or fade away as it will determine your future and fill the gaps of mistakes individuals have
I liked the feeling of love... I wish we still had that... Of course...I can see that it was a dangerous way to live'" (126). Jonas greatly enjoys the emotions that accompany life Elsewhere, although he recognizes their inherent risks. Using the knowledge he has accumulated from the Giver's memories, Jonas wisely concludes that the hurt and pain are worthwhile because of the good that also emerges when life is lived
In a utopia where the inhabitants thrive on the simple idea of sameness, the truth of the unspoken of past, was entrusted in the unexpecting young mind of a boy named Jonas. The Giver, by Lois Lowry, created an entire community which carries out each day full of bliss while completely ignorant about what they are lacking. When Jonas was selected to carry out the heavy and draining job of receiving the memories of things such as colors, feelings, and music, he was finally able to comprehend that a utopia without these, is not a utopia at all.
In the movie, The Giver, the main character, Jonas, believes his society a “utopia”, until he becomes Receiver of Memory. After receiving memories, Jonas realizes all the things both he and his society have lived without, like love and dreaming.
In the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry, a pronounced theme is truth drives determination.
Jonas and the giver are the only ones allowed in the community to experience these memories; “I received all of those, when I was selected. ”(Lowry 78). All other citizens are hidden from them because they reveal the dark side of reality. By hiding them from their own mistakes, the community successfully creates the illusion of a perfect utopia. Legend’s illusion of a utopia is more dehumanizing because they tricked citizens into fighting for the right to be controlled.
As Jonas receives these memories, he ponders how their community would be different if they could make more choices. For example, after the Giver transmits Jonas a memory of family, Jonas thinks how crazy it is that they have generations and he says about his community, “‘What if they were allowed to choose their own mate?’”...”’Or what if’”...”’they could choose their own jobs?’” (124). Jonas then thinks if people should make these choices, and things that could go wrong if they did. For instance, while he is thinking about how crazy these choices are, he says, “‘I can’t even imagine it. We really have to protect people from wrong choices’”(124). People in his Community don’t choose their own spouse, the Community leaders assign them a spouse and children if they want. Jonas’s Community is brain-washed into not having opinions or choices. Although they have no divorce and wrong choices, Jonas would rather have choices and a real
Imagine, not having any knowledge of the past and having no feelings for one another. Someone would just be living in a fake life and someone’s parents wouldn’t even love them. A world where someone takes a pill to have no feelings, too many rules, and if someone did something that they were not suppose to do, someone would have to be on a speaker and tell everyone what they have done. To have no free will and do everything that the Elders tell you, but exactly what you want, which would to be free. No freedom seems a little off to me, in spite that it does help the society from all the pain. There is no, war, music, love, color or suffering. Except for the 11, soon to be 12 year old boy, Jonas since he is the one with the memories. Jonas and the Giver were chosen because they are strong people who can take all the memories in, no matter how bad it is. It must be hard to have one person keep all the memories for themselves and not be allowed to tell anyone, but it is his job though, so he can’t or he will be released because the Elders control everything. Someone must be able to live life the way they want it, knowing memories, and history. Which brings attention to my next point.
In Chapter 8, when Jonas was announced he would be the “Receiver of Memory” many people said he could not handle it. Later on in the book, Jonas is given many painful, excruciating memories of warfare, blood, loneliness, and death, but on many occasions the giver does not have the ability to transmit memories because the pain of the past overcomes him and he is put in deep despair. Another reason being the new receiver could be a punishment is because he could be lonely, although he can apply to have a family he would not be able to share the pain. Eventually, Jonas leaves the community for good because he feels that “The Receiver” should not keep the secrets from his community and he wants to give them
But the Giver argues and asks “Do you know what is means to love someone? Possibility of love? With it comes hope, faith and a beautiful feeling. “ But the commander says that people are weak, selfish and when people have the freedom to choose, they choose wrong. Giver believes that in this community “people are living the life of shadows, of faint, distant whispers of what once made us real.” People are living in the shadow, because their right to choose is taken away. The movie does not show what happens after Jonas crosses the boundary of memory, but we can hope that after everyone got memories back they found the real