The Giver: A Short Story

Jonas was coming in for his first meeting with the Receiver of Memory. He was nervous at first, but then went inside of the first door. The secretary let Jonas in. Jonas was surprised by the locks on the door, but when the secretary explained it was to help keep the old Receiver of Memory concentrated, he felt relaxed.

Somehow, I managed to keep a smile on my face as if I had no fears. The ceremony included Bible verses and singing. I received six gifts from my aunts and uncles: a Bible, a bouquet of flowers, a ring, a bracelet, a rosary and a tiara. Each of them was blessed by the father. Each gift I received held a meaning: closeness with family and with God, and the passage to womanhood.

The lyrics of Tim Lopez of Plain White T's song, The Giving Tree, hits home for many who have been in a relationship and gave them there all without receiving it back. The song relates to many people in relationships or even friendships. The relation to the song can range from a variety of ages and sexes. Someone can only put so much into a relationship with receiving little to nothing back, until they finally break down and walk away. Tim Lopez was inspired by a children's book by Shel Silverstein, The Giving Tree, which was about a relationship between a boy and a tree. Tim Lopez wrote this song about his one-way relationship where he gave it his all with little to nothing in return.

“For the boy sake, it would be beneficial if you could explain things to him and then maybe Manyara would loosen-up.”

Jonas private talk with his parents helped him feel less apprehensive about the ceremony of twelve. His parents told him how there ceremony went and how much good can come from it from it. He was nervous about the actual ceremony.

Every move was being watched, including his partner's action at the firing end. No firing was heard from the store, so that was good. Once the stream of dead was reduced to stragglers, the weapon fired then ratcheted to the left. A line of the dead dropped to the pavement , the black mist floating in the air. The observers were all grins, as the operation repeated several times. The convict's positions were taken over by others. The jobs weren't difficult once they were shown what to do.

So there I am on my way home, I’m on the phone with my mother she’s asking me one more time to go. I say no for the final time. I get home and I see that my older sister is there, we are ten years apart but yet we are very close. But as usual I go and get the mail and when I try to go back in the

Between the ages of 10 and 16 years, only those boys and girls who had proven themselves worthy of the duty of adulthood mentally and physically are initiated. They are instructed and prepared for their roles within the ceremony and for later in life. During the ceremony they are decorated with body paint and ornaments and are often given a permanent symbol on their bodies to prove that they have moved on from childhood. They would sometimes have a tooth removed, their ears or nose pierced or their skin cut with a certain sacred marking. Other members would mourn the death of a child and later celebrate the birth of a new

“Well did you ever think that maybe you just don’t try as hard to remember things as you did before, that maybe the order in which things happen don’t really matter as much to you as they have in the past?”

Her breath shown in the cold moist air of the lake side. She quickened her pace, dashing from one underbrush to the next, twigs and branches scratching at her face as if begging for her to take them away with her from this wretched land, her breathing became increasingly vigorous. Her limbs grew heavy as more and more mud started to cling to her boots as if also wanting to go with her and the distance she had to cover seemed to become more and more. She started to think she couldn’t go on anymore, except for one reason and one reason only. The warm infant wrapped in blankets and cloth started to become heavier and heavier in her arms as she felt her body starting to fail her. But she couldn’t stop she had to get her baby to safety. As the sound of dogs barking and the hooves of horses and the screams of soldiers yelling,” She went this way!” “No this way!” The ever growing thought of are they going to find me, did I do all this just to get

“Okay class now that you know how to multiply decimals here’s a question“Mr.Smith said. “The question is what is 1.2345 multiplied by 10,000 ?” Margaret raises her hand and replied “12345.10”. Margaret got the question wrong, after that Mr.Smith asked ”are there any questions” on the question. No one had any questions because they knew the answer to the question. Ring, ring, ring alarmed the bell “Class dismissed” said Mr.Smith, everyone went running out the door. There were four people still there Margaret ,Max Tom and George and there was a reason why they were there.The reason why was because they wanted to and make fun of Margaret Max lead her out the room.Max and his friends made fun of her for getting the question wrong because it

“The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared,” Lois Lowry wrote in the book The Giver (154). The characters in this book live in a futuristic community that has eliminated everything causing suffering. For example, there are strict rules governing rudeness, so the community does not allow society members to ask any question that will make anyone feel different. The characters do not feel emotions, or love, so they never feel hurt or betrayed. Even little everyday maladies such as smashing a finger in a door do not cause the characters any torment, being they have a remedy called Relief of Pain accessible to them all the time. Also, they do not bear the haunting memories of the

Joy runs through my body as I tightly hold gabriel. I am going down the little hill to the elsewhere. I have made it Jonas thought. I am reliving my favorite memory of going down the hill in my red sled. I hear different sounds and I see new colors. This is amazing I thought. “Waaaaa” Gabriel shrieks he must be scared I don’t think he can handle this kind of travel. Unless we get him to a nursing center soon he might not be able to make it through the night. I reach my ending point my little red sled has stopped at the end of a steep slippery hill. This journey has made me very tired I don 't think I can walk, Actually I don 't think I can even stand. So, I lay there in the freezing cold snow all around me I see giant white hills, except for this one light that doesn 't look very far. I think that must be civilization. I prop gabriel on to the snow I wrap him in a soft cloth i bought for this journey. I cant see any bushes or rivers or civilization from where I am. I only have a little bit of food I don 't think me and gabriel will make it through the night. I look down at gabriel while he is asleep and think why he is soundly asleep now but could never sleep at our home. I rub his head but he doesn 't move, I shake his arms but he still won 't budge I saw his name and his eyes won 't open. Is he dead I think? I have learned about death before, but not in a calm way I have only seen gruesome death from the memories the giver has passed to me. I only have wisps of those

When asked what would make it better for him to have contact with his father, he says he doesn’t know what to say.