The Giver By Lois Lowry: Character Analysis

Set in a community with no climate, emotions, choices, or memories Lois Lowry tells the tale of Jonas in The Giver. Jonas is selected to be the receiver of memory, which means the memories of generations past, before the community was created, will all be transferred to him to hold. As Jonas receives memories his concept of the world around him drastically changes. Jonas starts out as twelve-year-old boy with perceptions different from those around him, he then begins to see the community for what it really is, and he makes a plan to change it.

Through life, people grow. They feel, learn from their mistakes, though In a boy named Jonas’ community, they do not. Without emotions such as happiness, sadness, fear, and no originality. In Lois Lowry’s The Giver, Jonas is chosen to become the next receiver of memory, he is required to take the burden of memories from his community. This helped him grow into a dynamic character throughout the novel.

Jonas learns things he has never known.For example, on page 115 in The Giver, “By now Jonas had experienced countless bits of happiness, things he hadn’t known before.” Not a lot of people in the community show or experience practical happiness. Therefore, he knows more memories of happiness and emotions than the community

“’Memories are forever”’ (Lowry). People make new memories every day without even realizing it. Some good some bad, that’s just the way of life, but in The Giver nobody knows what happened before them. People barley remember what their childhood was like, they don’t understand the importance of memory and that memories are forever. Aspects of life, rules, and prosperities between our world and Jonas’ world are very different yet have some similarities. Things that are crucial to the characters in The Giver are not as meaningful to the people in our world.

Imagine a world with no feelings, no color, no choice; a world where individuality and freedom are exchanged for security and sameness. This type of world is a reality for Jonas, the protagonist in Lois Lowry’s The Giver. After being assigned the next Receiver of Memories in the community, where he has the capacity to see beyond. As he begins his works, he gains wisdom and through that wisdom, learned that protecting the community from the memories, their lives lacked understanding and feelings. Jonas goes on an archetypal hero’s journey and chooses to risk everything to restore memories and wisdom to everyone in the community. Throughout this novel, Jonas is represented as a hero considering he demonstrates integrity despite living in a

In the novel “The Giver,” written by Lois Lowry, Jonas is a boy who follows the rules, spends time with friends and family, goes to school, and at the Twelves Ceremony is given the job as the Receiver of Memory. At the end of the novel, Jonas learns information that makes him leave the community to save the people he loves. As Jonas becomes older, he acknowledges that he is different from his family and the people surrounded by him. Once Jonas got his assignment as the Receiver of Memory, his maturity became inconsistent throughout the novel.

In the story, the wise old man is the Giver. The Giver’s mind is filled with good and bad memories. He is in charge of holding the memories from the community to avoid pain or suffering. He is the only one that is allowed to break certain rules. His power cannot be “given” to anyone except for a special person selected by the Elders. Jonas is that special person, he is the “receiver of memory”. So, the giver’s mission is to “give” Jonas the power of receiving all the memories. Also, he must share all his knowledge with Jonas so he can become the new “giver” in the community.

The Giver, by Lois Lowry, is a dystopian narrative about a boy who lives in a “utopia” where there is order and, everything is controlled. He alone must contain memories of the past. Unfortunately, many of these memories are traumatic and disturbing. Jonas can do nothing beyond withstanding the pain. Because that is how it had always been in the community. As often paraphrased by the Giver, who is the one giving Jonas the memories, "And back and back and back.”(62) This quote shows how there is nothing that The Giver or Jonas can do apart from accept tradition.

Throughout the novel The Giver, by Lois Lowry Jonas goes through some challenges. When Jonas got selected to be the Receiver of Memory his whole life had changed because there wasn’t many things he could do now. “Do not discuss your training with any other member of the community including parents and Elders.”(68) This shows that when the Elders selected Jonas to be the Receiver

As Jonas receives memories from the Giver, he realizes that knowledge is useless without them. For example, the Giver explains his role with the Committee of Elders, “‘...when they are

In, The Giver, by Lois Lowry, Jonas arrives at Elsewhere. Jonas has a sudden surge coursing through his body providing warmth and hope as he gets to safety. In the book, the Giver gives a memory of love to Jonas. This memory makes Jonas want grandparents. When Jonas sees all the lights and laughter, Jonas perceives that this place is waiting in expectation for him and Gabriel. Jonas has hope which gives him enough strength to get to a home and ask for food, warm clothes, shelter, etc. Which is on page 179-180: “Suddenly he was aware with certainty and joy that below, ahead, they were waiting for him; and that they were waiting, too, for the baby.” Secondly, Jonas experiences hope and confidence, giving Jonas the strength to sled down the hill

Connecting the Dots by:McKinley Munk “It would work. They could make it work, Jonas told himself again and again throughout the day”(Lowry 204). In The Giver by Lois Lowry, a boy named Jonas is picked as the next Receiver of Memory. During his training, he is given memories from the past. With those memories he sees frightening and rejoicing times.

Imagine a world with no memories. In the novel, The Giver, memory is a critical theme. The characters in the story have no memory of the past. However, one person is responsible to carry memory; he is referred to as The Giver. This responsibility is eventually given to a child.

For instance, during his training, Jonas receives painful memories so the community doesn't have to bear with the pain of them all. He helps them and goes through pain and suffering to receive the memories to the community doesn't have to. “ ‘It was chaos’ he said. ‘They really suffered for a while. Finally it subsided as the memories were assimilated.

In the novel, The Giver by Lois Lowry, the author makes it clear through the main character Jonas that freedom and safety need to find an equal balance. Lowry shows the importance of deep emotions and family through Jonas. Jonas becomes the new receiver of memory and learns about the past. He also learned about the way it was when people knew what love was. Jonas’ father releases newborn children because they don’t weight the correct amount of weight or they don’t sleep well through the night. Release is a nice way of saying kill; the people of the community don’t know what kill means. They don’t have the freedom to expand their vocabulary. Lois Lowry makes it clear that safety has a negative side and you need that you need freedom to