Freedom In the novel,The Giver,by Lois Lowry, the protagonist lives in a futuristic utopian society. Jonas is selected to be the community's Receiver of memory,the only person who knows about color and the past. Jonas and the giver are the only people in the community who can see colors and has memories of the past so he’s free to see when every memory of color and he's the only kid with that power. Lowry's characterization of Jonas reveals the importance of freedom through her development of communities rules, release, and his final escape. One way that Lowry shows freedom through Jonas is through the community’s rules. In this part of the story, Jonas is getting ready for the Ceremony of 12’s and his friends were talking and teasing Jonas took gabriel because he didn't want his dad to release gabriel because of how much he loved
“Critics and censors all agree that Jonas's situation in The Giver is horrifying. Through a series of shocking events, he discovers that...his people literally have limited vision and can not make decisions without the Giver's help” (Lord, Elyse). Being able to see different colors, Jonas thinks it would be nice if everyone could choose, which color shirt to wear in the morning. Jonas saw the importance of decision making when realizing it is essential to happiness. He notices, his people does not have the option of choice. They cannot see the red apple, the green grass, or the blue sky. There is only this sameness of black and white. Each year Jonas’s people follows the same concepts and routines, without any questions being asked. The option of choice was taken away from them hoping to build a utopian society. Jonas understands that having a choice helps to think for ourselves. Without it, in some ways life can be meaningless. In some ways the community as well as the chief elders, sees the Giver/receiver as a God. Reason being, the citizens, are only comfortable with things that are familiar to them. When not knowing how to deal with a situation, they come to the giver for advisement. He is familiar with all things known and unknown. Knowing this, they believe only he can truly give the right
When he lies for the first time, Jonas does it to defend love. Jonas realizes that no one in the Community can be truly happy when they are ignorant to love. The dialogue between characters is very important to the development of the plot, but Lowry additionally uses Jonas’
When we look back at the modern world we live in, it is clear that
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
Jonas is made to bear the truths of the world alone and is troubled by what he should do with it. Jonas at first doesn't want the memories because after receiving several of them, all that Jonas has known is being questioned and his world turned upside down. 'He is angry and afraid after receiving his first set of memories. Angry because of what has been kept from him and afraid because now he doesn't know what to do. Jonas is uncertain whether the world he learns of is best for his community and if people can be trusted to make decisions on their own. In a conversation to "The Giver" (person passing down the memories) about whether or not it is safe to allow people to make their own choices, Jonas say, "What if they are allowed to choose their own mate? And chose wrong? . . .
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. Although as a result of his training Jonas possesses more wisdom than almost anyone else in his community, he is still very young and knows little about life in the community itself.
Loss of Freedom in The Giver The Giver, a book written by Lois Lowry, questioned my ideas, thoughts and beliefs. The novel describes an ideal society, in which everything is supposed to be perfect, with all life’s problems solved. It is all about being happy with what the people have and not questioning their lifestyles because they did not know the difference between good and bad. The people are denied of their preferable way of life without their knowledge of how the real world is supposed to be. In the I can. However, the citizens of this society are not able to control their life; for example their choice of clothing, choice of loving and having feelings, or choice of family members. From all existing creatures, we humans differ because we are able to use our brain to make decisions. In the novel, the people of the given society have authority figures that show them how to live their life. “Katya, became a Nine and removed her hair ribbons and got her bicycle” (P The rules start with small things like what age one starts to ride a bike, which age group wears certain types of jackets, the clothing one wears each day, and even what to eat. In the real world, we humans make similar decisions for ourselves without thinking about it. People need guidance in their life to the right way of living but not a book of instructions. Many of us live each day dreaming of our future family and all the happiness we may get from that. I cannot imagine how it feels not to have freedom to feel and love. “Jonas, she said with a smile, the feeling you described as wanting? It was your the opposite sex. Beginning from early age, children are controlled not to feel or appreciate his/her opposite sex. The adults are made to take the pills to annihilate their sexual desires. When the children grow up and become adults, more decisions are made for them. When one is old enough to get married, the superior power chooses a mate for the person and is wedded. This is when I question the meaning of marriage. a future together, not a partnership that you deal with like a business. Although many cultures have different say in this sacred ceremony, most have similar ideas. To many people, love is affection based on admiration or common interests and warm attachment, enthusiasm or devotion. How can one live happy in life without the experience of such feelings? These individuals in the novel did not know better, if they knew how good it is to feel love or even know a good taste when it is good, then they would not be happy with the way of life in their community. “J What if they were allowed to choose their own mate?
Due to the loss of individual liberty, human emotions are also eliminated. To the rest of his society, emotions are the definitions that they learn about in class, however, Jonas discovers that true emotions cannot be explained but must be felt, such as love or loss. In many cases, Jonas finds himself at odds between his own emotions he is feeling due to the effects of receiving the memories and his own knowledge he has accumulated from his society. He often finds his emotions are found as being wrong, such as when he tries to convince the Giver that love is a dangerous emotion to feel. Yet, Jonas chooses love in saving Gabriel, and by the end, he chooses to embraced all emotions, the good and the bad. In contrast, the other citizens of the community do not allow their emotio
One literary element that is cleverly written into the novel is irony. Jonas’ life is supposedly perfect, in an environment with everyone’s life controlled and documented by the Elders. The weather, the marriages, the child selection, the population, and the education are decided by the Elders. Even the career is provided for them; each December at the Ceremony of 12, the new recruits receive the career that they will continue with for the rest of their working adult life’s’. The job Jonas receives is the most difficult one, the Receiver, who has the duty of containing all of the intense experiences of life. Ironically, Jonas doesn’t enjoy this; he instead feels that the job is too painful for him. Yet the Elders’ decisions, although chosen w...
We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others” (97). In the book The Giver by Lois Lowry, no one has seen a rainbow after a storm, no one knew what colors were; what choosing was; what it meant to be an individual. Everyone lived in complete Sameness, and never learned what it meant to be an individual. By eliminating as much self expression as possible in Sameness and society, Jonas's community has rejected the individuality of a society where people are free to move society forward. In The Giver individuality is represented by colors, memories, and pale eyes.
Jonas knew that he had to get out and leave his society. There were many complications to Jonas leaving. Jonas did not want to leave Gabe so he had to find a way to bring him with. Once Jonas was ready to go he got himself and gabe already to go. Then they were gone and they found elsewhere.
Is family important? Is it important to you? In chapter 16, Jonas was experiencing his first memory of love and family. After the memory, Jonas loved the feeling of how happy everyone in the family was during the memory. He learned about grandparents, and family love, and he wanted something like that. He wanted a real family. "He was in a room filled with people, and it was warm with fire-light glowing on a hearth. He could see through a window that outside it was night, and snowing. There were colored lights: red, green, and yellow, twinkling from a tree which was, oddly, inside the room. On a table, lighted candles stood in a polished golden holder and cast a soft, flickering glow. He could smell things cooking, and he heard laughter." Furthermore, Lowry is approaching the memory of family as very good and warm, it makes Jonas want a real family.
Nobody in the community knows what feelings or real, deep emotion is. They can’t live with music or color. They live in a bland community where everybody wears the same things. They live in a world of different shades of grey. They don’t have seasons, what would life be like without summer? Summers without sun wouldn’t be a problem in their community either because they have no weather. “‘What did you perceive?’ The Giver asked. ‘warmth’, Jonas replied, ‘and happiness’. ‘And--- let me think. Family. And something else--- I can’t quite get the word for it’. ‘It will come to you’. ‘Who were the old people? Why were they there?’ It had puzzled Jonas, seeing them in the room. The Old of the community did not ever leave there special place, the House of the Old, where they were so well cared for and respected. ‘They were called Grandparent.’ ‘Grand parents’” (123)? In this quote about Christmas Jonas learns more about family and being together, joyful. It’s sad that the community does not have anything special such as Christmas. Jonas learned the new concept (to him), of grandparents. He thinks grandparents are special but he doesn’t have real parents. At this point in the book Jonas understands real emotion and feeling for someone else, such as loving your family members, and he longs for that
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.