The Giver Memory Theme

One of the themes portrayed is that of memory. Jonas’s people do not have memory, because some time ago, memory was eliminated as a result of the pain and regret that memories are associated with. As a part of the community’s “utopia” plan, memories had to be ousted from the community (Lit Charts). Memory is also eliminated because the community wanted to stop people from making bad choices.

Jonas goes through a lot while receiving the memories from The Giver. He first gets happy memories such as the sled, but then The Giver has to give him painful memories. He first receives the memory of physical pain from sunburn (Lowry 86). The pain is minimal compared to the memory of a broken leg (Lowry 109) and an injured arm during a war. During the war memory, he sees death (Lowry 119, 121). He experiences grief when he receives the memory the shot elephant (Lowry 100). Most haunting of all are the memories of the release of old and the part his father plays in the release of new born (Lowry 150). These trials at first horrify Jonas but he learns to deal with the

Jonas begins to receive painful memories from the giver and he finally understands why the community would want to avoid such painful experiences. If people had these memories it would create choices, which can lead to many mistakes (Lowry 98). People could choose the wrong mate, the wrong job, and people could get angry which can lead to war. The elders, from a time long ago, did not want to worry about incidences like those happening; therefore they created a community with no memories or choices. So they gave all of their collective memories to a receiver of memory. Jonas, after a year of training

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

With Jonas’s job as being The Giver, truth is a very important aspect. Being The Giver, he learns about the real, and whole truth. The Giver is the one who keeps all of the memories of truth. Without it there would be no reason to have a Giver. Another way that the truth works in the role Jonas was given would be that if Jonas leaves the community, all of the memories that he had received would be then distributed to the people of the community. When The Giver and Jonas come up with the idea that everyone not knowing the truth is wrong, they send Jonas away so that everyone receives the memories. There are many ways in which the truth works in the role that Jonas receives, such as when the Chief Elders ask The Giver for advice when they are in times of trouble. Here is a great example of what I mean, “And when I am called to The Committee of Elders, I appear before them, to give them counsel and advice”(Lowry 130) The truth is used in many other ways in Jonas’s job as well, and these are only a

Starting the story, Jonas receives his assignment at the Ceremony of 12. He was chosen to be the receiver of memory. Jumping forward to his training, an old man named,¨The Giver¨ transmits memories for Jonas to cherish. He was told he will experience joy, happiness, loneliness and most importantly, pain. Beginning his training, Jonas lays on a couch for The Giver to lay his hand on his back to transmit Jonas´s first memory. It was very joyful. As an

If the citizens in the community were to hold their own memories, it would make The Giver and Jonas receive less stress. They would not have to worry about keeping the pain, joy, melancholy, memories that they get to experience each day a secret. The Giver and Jonas would be able to share what they learn and they would be able to teach others as well. “ The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It’s the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.” (p.193). The Giver and Jonas would not be the only ones who get to see color and feel love and emotions. They would be able to talk to people about what they discovered or what had happened in their memories. The Giver and Jonas would not be alone.

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.

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

Jonas is not able to share the memories with any friends or unit family members and he has to deal with the fact that his friends and his family unit always ask him and he has t lie to them tellings them that they just walk all the time and he learns new

Being the receiver of memory was a very important job in the community, however the citizens have no idea what the receiver actually does. While citizens have a very simple life with nothing to worry about, the receiver and giver of memory take on a very emotional life filled with pain. They have so much knowledge from memories that they can’t share with anyone, and this can be painful in itself. The Giver tell Jonas, “The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared” (Lowry 33). This pain comes from living a meaningful life, so it can be considered beautiful compared to others in the dystopia who feel nothing, nevertheless it still hurts as shown by the

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

Jonas is selected as the Receiver of Memories, he has the responsibility to recall memories of society and is mentored

From there he goes to see the Receiver of Memory to get the memories from him. Some memories are about love and peace but others are about pain and sadness. Therefore Jonas is the true giver, because he gives many people memories.