Emotions In The Giver

Without memory, the daily life of people in Jonas’s community is extremely different from the life of a person in a normal world. For example, unlike this world, death is not tragic because life in this community is not really experienced and embraced. Also, what would be some of most cherished moments in a normal person’s life such as birth, new career, marriage, graduation, and birthdays are just treated as if they were absolutely nothing at all. They are just normal everyday activities in Jonas’s world.

Jonas is the protagonist of the novel and a third-person narrator tells the entire story from Jonas perception of things. He is intelligent, curious, caring, and his thought process is very mature for being 11-13 years old. A good quote portraying both his matureness and his intellect is “If everything's the same, then there aren't any choices! I want to wake up in the morning and decide things”(97). This is also one of the first signs that he is displeased with the community. Another quote showing his courage and curiosity is "It hurt a lot," Jonas said, "but I'm glad you gave it to me. It was interesting. And now I understand better. What it meant, that there would be

Jonas’ community appears to be a utopia, but, in reality, it is a dystopia. The people seem perfectly content to live in an isolated wreck—in a government run by a select few—in which a group of Elders enforces the rules. In Jonas’ community, there is no poverty, starvation, unemployment, lack of housing, or discrimination; everything is perfectly planned to eliminate any problems. However, as the book progresses and Jonas gains insight into what the people have willingly given up—their freedoms and individualities—for the so-called common good of the community, it becomes more and more obvious that the community is a horrible place in which to live. You as a reader can relate to the disbelief and horror that Jonas feels when he realizes

Jonas was walking out of the auditorium and people were looking at him gruesomely and avoiding him and he was thinking, “ Jonas felt separate, different. He remembered what the Chief Elder had said: that his training would be alone and apart. But his training has not yet begun and already, upon leaving the Auditorium, he felt the apartness.” (62) Therefore, when he got his assignment, he felt separate from all of the other kids who got regular jobs and not the most important job of the whole community and he felt apart from the other kids and even his family. When Jonas had a day off because of a holiday, he went to the park and he saw the kids playing a game of war, and when he confronted Ashur, Ashur said, “ Whatever. You can’t say what we play, even if you are going to be the new Receiver.” Ashur looked warily at him. “ I apologize for not paying you the respect you deserve.” (127) Therefore, Jonas feels separate from his peers, because they don’t know what actually happened and what that game used to be. When he confronted them, they made fun of him for being the Receiver and that he can’t just stop their game just because he is going to be in the highest job in the community. In his directions that he got, because he got the assignment to become the Receiver of Memory, the directions say this, “ Do not discuss your training with any members of the community, including

Imagine living your life with no feelings, no choices, and no individuality; that is what it is like living in Jonas’ community. Visualize being only one of a few that knows what the world used to be like with joy, excitement, sadness, and fear; but you cannot change anything. All you can do is receive more memories of freedom, love, war, and happiness. Would that not haunt you? You can just watch the people of the community and know moat of humanity has been stropped of them like a band aid on a cut after it has healed, and only a scar is left; but the skin will never be the same.

Jonas discovers what is really beyond his community, beyond all the rules and policies they have to follow; he decides to leave and give all of his memories to the rest of the community so they would know about what they have not seen or experienced before. Jonas discovers that the community has decided too many things for everyone. He realizes Sameness is not right, that it cannot last any longer. He thinks of all the what-ifs. What if the Elders choose a wrong spouse? What if the Elders choose the wrong job for someone?

Jonas has to learn more about death and pain than he already has. Death was something that wasn’t talked about in the community. The community “releases” members when they are old or if there is a set of twins or something wrong with a baby. Release is something celebrated within the community. Jonas had no idea that what release really means is to murder someone. He watches the release of a baby boy who was part of a set of twins born into the community. His father is the one performing this release because his father is a nurturer. This knowledge left Jonas devastated and in shock that his father could do something so terrible. He leaves the Giver’s and tells him that he can no longer continue receiving the memories. He takes a few days and collects himself. Fiona, his childhood friend talks him into to going back. Love is another emotion new to Jonas. He falls in love with Fiona. Falling in love is a big step that usually happens in adulthood. Another thing Jonas does that proves his progression in maturity is he decides to leave the community. When you grow up, you leave your mom and dad’s house which is how I connected this part of Jonas’ life with that of a real life

At the start of the story Jonas is feeling nervous about the ceremony of twelve's, where the children are given their assignment. This is where for the first time in the children's life, they will be doing something different then every other person in the community. Jonas is given the very special occupation, which isn’t really an occupation at all, of Receiver of Memory. He is the only one that can have memories of what life was like before sameness. The memories are given to him by The Giver, who was the current Receiver of Memory. The Giver must transmit all memories of history (the good,

Despite the fact that he could be killed if he was caught. Jonas also wanted to release the memories into the community to make it a better place. Jonas looked to The Giver for advice, and The Giver was almost like a father to him. Jonas normally followed the rules of the community for what was right and what was wrong except when he ran away. Jonas learned that the rules of the community were harsh, once he had his knowledge he got from The Giver, he kind of made his own rules. The Giver shows lots of moral courage because he helped Jonas run away despite the potential consequences of getting released. Also the Giver took the risk of giving Jonas the memories when the previous receiver ran away because the memories were too much and then those memories were lost. The Giver has all the knowledge from the previous generations so he uses that to decide what is right and

The theme conveyed through the Giver is that individuality should be valued. The story takes place in a utopian society where everything is the same. There are no choices, no color, and no love in the Community of Sameness. The novel starts out a month before the Ceremony of Twelve, where the 12 year olds each get assigned a job. Jonas gets the assignment of the Receiver of Memory, and he soon finds out that lying is permitted, and receives several memories of the past without sameness, with pain too. He has the ability to see beyond, and finds out that he and the Giver are the only people in the Community that have the ability to see, as well as hear beyond. Similar to the phenomenon of an apple changing quality and his friend Fiona’s hair doing the same

Jonas lives in a perfect society where everyone is equal and there is no war, pain, or fear. Sounds great right? But not for long. When Jonas reaches the age of 12 he recieves his assignment or career, just like everybody else. But Jonas's assignment is different. Jonas is selected to be the reciever of memories. He will recieve the memories of what life used to be from the giver. He starts out with happy memories, but soon learns about war and pain. But it is hard for the giver too, to give memories to sombody else, when he knows the pain and suffering they bring. And he is still hurt by the memories he hasn't given yet. After awhile Jonas and the giver realize that life isn't the way it's supposed to be in the society, so they plan for Jonas to escape. When he does he brings along gabriel, an infant that his family has been taking care of, and that jonas has grown to love. And together they discover the wonders and fears of the real

Another quote show Jonas feeling that say,” Jonas didn’t want the honor, he didn’t want the pain. He wanted his childhood back”(121). I believe that this quote shows the reader that Jonas never wanted to be the Receiver of Memory. Jonas never wanted to experience the moments and

With no memories, they need to choose someone to hold them all, putting all the suffrage on he or she. In this case Jonas is that receiver and he is getting memory's that are painful and hurtful. Jonas asks why hey have to keep the memories to them selves and the giver said it was to protect the people. They should not keep the memories to themselves so the past won't come back to bite them. If a past event happens to on of them they will not know what to do. They also do not get to choose their spouses. The emotions, they have inside, are called stirrings and they are taken away by a pill they have to take. Jonas started getting the stirrings for a girl named Fiona. He will never get to have a relationship with her because everything in the community is chosen for them. Sameness takes away joy and happiness from the community's lives. It's a very sad novel about how everything is chosen for you. Jonas starts to realize this when he gets multiple memories. He realizes that the community's Elders made wrong choices. This is why Jonas runs

The inability to feel emotions makes someone not fully human and in the book, Lois Lowry shows the devastating consequences of suppressing emotions. WIthout emotions and feelings, we are not so different than robots. Because of this, emotionless humans can be easily led and controlled by the command of someone with a higher position. Consequently, the Elders can order around the citizens without any objections. After all, it only takes a certain amount of anger to revolt. Not only they are deprived of the opportunity to be unhappy, but also the opportunity to be happy. They do not experience envy or jealousy, but they also don’t experience love or sexual desire. The only exception is when the Giver shares memories of love and pain does Jonas understand what he and the community has been missing. Somehow, the community doesn’t understand that it’s not possible to experience positive emotions without negative emotions. Even negative emotions can lead towards a good result, such as leaving a bad relationship or overthrowing a tyrant. But the people in the community cannot make their own choices because they cannot feel anything. After I read the book, I realized that to feel is to be

The story is about a boy that finds his feelings. When the main character, Jonas, turns twelve he is chosen to be the receiver of memory from The Giver. Throughout the story Jonas learns, realizes, and teaches about feelings and emotions. Jonas is a young man that does not know what feelings are and does not know what being sad or happy is or even know about pain.