Essay On Happiness In The Giver

714 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Giver by lois lowry simple point to remember

Sadness vs. Happiness
In Lois Lowry’s dystopian novel The Giver we learn that as human beings we need sadness and pain. Humans need it because without pain, we would no longer have joy and happiness. There is an opposite to everything, and that is what makes our life so special. People don’t like pain but it is what builds us and makes us stronger and it gives us knowledge for later on conflicts. We don’t realize it but pain is there for a reason, to conquer it and make us happy. Pain and suffering is temporary. Everyone wants to be happy but if we want to be happy we need to defeat what’s in our way, sadness.
In addition everyone’s life has a story filled with good and bad memories and that is what makes it so distinguished from Jonas …show more content…

The Giver [120] tells Jonas, “ Our people made a choice, the choice to go to sameness.” Having pain and sadness in our life is a big warning system and helps protect you but the Community throws it away like it’s nothing [137] Jonas was given a memory of sledding down a hill and breaking a bone and so he knew it was bad because it gave him warning. Pain is a great human quality and it was meant to be there right with us throughout our lives. If they don’t want pain then they don’t want happiness either. I love knowing that I have feelings like that because we know it keeps us …show more content…

Jonas [159] asked his parents if they loved him and they said, “ Jonas. You of all people. Precision of language please.”Love is a bond between people and it is what makes us human. Back on page 159 Jonas’ parents don’t say they love Jonas because the pills have taken that emotion out of them and that would mean that they don’t love each other. A lot of decisions made in our time is based on love but since the Community gave that up they only take up space and work then die. Love is a persuasion and it doesn’t always help but that is how we think on

Show More
Related

  • Dystopia In The Giver, By Lowis Lowry

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Giver let Jonas experience love at Christmas, in a memory but that was the only time Jonas ever got to enjoy the feeling. The citizens don’t even understand what the emotions are, because they just feel normal-not happy, excited, anger, or love. Jonas had just been given the memory of love from The Giver and decided to ask his dad about it. “‘Do you love me?’ There was an awkward silence for a moment. Then Father gave a little chuckle. ‘Jonas. You of all people. Precision of language, please!’” (127). Jonas’s dad got almost angry with Jonas because love isn’t supposed to be something that is in their community. Having emotions isn’t normal in The Giver. Love isn’t a natural thing someone has so his dad didn’t really understand what Jonas was talking

    Read More

  • The Giver Mood Essay

    495 Words  | 1 Pages

    Did you know that "The Giver" is set 50 years in the future? "The Giver" is a story about a boy named Jonas, who is chosen to be his community’s next Receiver of Memory. Jonas’s community revolves around the idea of sameness, and only Jonas can see the world as it truly is. The imagery in this text creates moods that have similar and different importances to the plot and story.

    Read More

  • Ignorance In The Giver By Lois Lowry

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    After feeling love through his training as the Receiver, he asks his parents about their love for him. The conversation between them says, “ Jonas asks, ‘Do you love me?’... Later, his mom responds, ‘Your father means that you used a very generalized word, so meaningless that it’s become almost obsolete’ ” (Lowry 127). The ignorance that they have grown up knowing, does not allow them to fully be happy by experiencing love.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Overcoming Adversity In The Giver, By Lois Lowry

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Essay On Conformity In The Giver

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 gets freedom, the community is left without someone to take the memories from The Giver. This is an example of conformity because a few of the Receivers before Jonas had left the community due to the things they were learning and finding out about the community, which changed the way they viewed the society. They then realized that they do not want to do this for the rest of their life, and for their job to sit around and hold memories as no one else is capable of knowing them is not something they want to do. To conclude, Jonas’s action to run away from the society follows in the footsteps of the others, and if others follow Jonas, there may never be a Receiver for the Jonas’s

    Read More

  • The Giver Should Not Be Censored

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Giver

    788 Words  | 2 Pages

    We really have to protect people from wrong choices." But, by the end of that conversation he is uncertain about his feelings and about many other things. Jonas is confused because he doesn't know what he should do about it or if he should do anything at all.

    Read More

  • The Giver by Lois Lowry

    631 Words  | 2 Pages

    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,

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Essay On The Giver

    508 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the history of the world, there has been many societies. All these societies had similar structures and ideas, but they all are different by their own special traditions and ways of life. Similarly, both our society and the society in The Giver share similar ideas, but they are different in certain areas. For example, they both celebrate birthdays and have family units, but they have their own way of doing so. Based on the celebration of birthdays and the formation of family units, our society is better than the society in The Giver by Lois Lowry.

    Read More

  • Happiness And Happiness Essay: The Pursuit Of Happiness

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    They say if you love something, let it go. Yeah, I had a hard time believing those few words, for almost five years now.I met the first guy I fell in love with and whom I believed I was destined to spend my whole life with. I remember reading a quote or something like that by Plato, saying, “According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves.” And I had sworn that I was sure he was my other half, that it was meant to be. Sucks though, when reality hits

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Memories In The Giver By Lois Lowry

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Happiness Essay

    638 Words  | 2 Pages

    In life, it certainly seems that for most people, happiness is the end goal. People do what they do for many reasons, but quite often their motives are simply fueled by their desire to be happy. However, happiness is attained in many different ways. As Aristotle points out, happiness is achieved through goodness, which is also very complicated. After all, life is not black and white, and our actions are not just good or bad. Rather, our actions can have ends that are intrinsically good or instrumentally good. If they are instrumentally good, then they will allow us to attain something that we can "trade" for something else that will bring us happiness. For example, if we win tickets at an arcade, they would be considered instrumentally good because although they don't bring us happiness, we can trade them in for a prize that does. On the other hand, some things are intrinsically good. We want these things simply because we want them; they bring us pleasure or security. When we obtain these things, we are satisfied with them and we experience happiness.

    Read More

  • The Paradoxical Connection Between Suffering And Happiness

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    The paradoxical connection between suffering and happiness is one that leaves room for various interpretations of the relationship. To suffer is to experience a feeling contrary to happiness, but one must suffer in order to know what happiness truly is. Suffering allows people to develop certain qualities that will ultimately make them happier. People who have suffered have been subjected to circumstances that are otherwise unfathomable, such as: witnessing the stark contrast between pleasure and pain, and facing circumstances that they cannot simply escape from, both of which allow them to develop qualities that make them happier in the long run.

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Giver Book by Lois Lowry

    1492 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...s us to celebrate our differences. We also realise that we live with the same kind of memories that Jonas struggles to carry, every day of our lives. Although the fact that the memories are new to him makes it harder for Jonas to bear the pain, it also makes it easier for him to appreciate the beauty of the little things. We, on the other hand, being familiar with the sensations, do not cherish them as much as we should. None of us savors the warmth of sunshine or the beauty of snow the way Jonas does. Perhaps we need the darkness of the night to appreciate the brightness of the moon.

    Read More

  • The Giver Book Report

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jonas always tells his dreams. He always was there for chastisement. He always shared his feelings at the evening meal. He also always took his pill every morning. “Now he swallowed the pill his mother handed him.”(Page 38). By the end of the book Jonas is rebellious. He stops taking pills for emotions that he is supposed to take everyday. Jonas stays at the Giver’s house when he sees his father kill a baby. Jonas also tries to escape from the community when Giver creates a plan to escape from the community which Jonas barely follows because of Gabe’s release. “But your role now is to escape.” (Page 162). This means that Jonas has to escape and the Giver must stay to help the community after he is gone.

    Read More

More about Essay On Happiness In The Giver

Open Document