Fight Against What Matters To You

Jonas is officially the Receiver of Memories and has new rules to follow. Now he may lie and avoid some rituals he did't like to do, including the dream-telling. The first class he had with The Giver was very astonishing to Jonas because now he can receive the memories that had been kept in secret  for years in The Giver's memory. Jonas has now a vey hard rule to follow, he may lie. Of course he may lie after finding out that seeing beyond means to see color because everyone else sees in black and white, and he also found out that the Committee of Elders controls climate because its easier to grow crops that way. Jonas received memories that teach him about snow, sunshine and sunburn which is very surprising and new to him.

The Giver
The Receiver

While reading chapter eleven of the book, I started to question myself,  what has been the most scariest or painful experience that people in that community have felt? To be released? It called my attention how much it hurt to Jonas feeling a sunburn. "He opened his eyes, wincing with discomfort. "It hurt," he told the man, "and I couldn't get the word for it." "It was sunburn," the old man told him." "It hurt a lot," Jonas said…" A simple sunburn hurt so much to him and that's why it's so easy to control people. They don't know real fear or pain, that's why it's so easy to control them. They are scared of feeling pain.  

I think that Jonas is very lucky because he is going to get to see all of the memories each Receiver has experienced. It really shocked me that no one can see colors and that the Committee controls climate! Hopefully Jonas will do something about it and change the false life everyone is believing  in. I believe people need to fight against their wills and the things they believe are right. Jonas got a very big responsibility when he accepted the to be the Receiver of Memories and now he will need a lot of courage to accomplish his work, specially in the memories that have to do with pain. 

Pills for Love

Jonas is taking volunteer hours in the House of the Old with Fiona when he started to think of her all the time. Like all the mornings, everyone in the family told their dreams, it was a ritual and Jonas told it first. Jonas was without clothes and he wanted Fiona to get into the tub without clothes but she just kept laughing even though Jonas was    talking    very    serious. 
Mother  told  Jonas that  feeling  was
named    stirrings    and  everyone 
needed to take a pill for it.

The most important day for Jonas arrived, the day when he turned twelve. An Elder    women started the ceremony but she skipped Jonas' name, everyone thought that the women had a mistake but she didn't. At the end of the ceremony the women announced that Jonas hadn't did anything wrong and it wasn't a mistake that she skipped his name, Jonas was selected for   being the next Receiver of Memories.  

While I was reading, this quote made me think that even though people, in Jonas' society, know something is normal, they try to stop it. "The feeling you describe as wanting ? Ir was your firs Stirrings. Father and I have been expecting it to happen to you. It happens to everyone. It happened to Father when he was your age. And it happened to me." "It's just the pills. You're ready for the pills, that's all. That's treatment for Stirrings." This made me wonder, why do people take pills for Stirrings even though they know they are normal? In our society we don't take pills for our feelings, we let everyone be who they want to be without anyone else telling them whats wrong and whats right. Finally, I think people can't be free.

Love makes us who we are but, how can they be themselves if they don't feel. The Committee of Elders don't let people be free. One of the most important things is love but their society wants to be perfect and they pick specific people to be together even though they don't love each other. Elders want couples to be together because of their personalities and they don't care about love, they think it's a disease. In conclusion, I think people need to be free in order to be happy.  

Jonas' Society and their Obsession with Perfection

  Jonas' society wants people to be perfect and follow all the rules exactly as they are. The Committee of Elders are getting people to do this by frightening them because they can be released. Each time they turn one year older they have special ritual to follow. For example, when people turn nine they get a bicycle for the first time, when they turn twelve people get an assigned job picked by the Committee of Elders and so on. This year Jonas turns twelve and gets to have an assigned job. This is a very important event because jobs make people life worth it or not. Jonas' society views jobs as part of who they are and they determine the social class you are in. Some jobs are better than other jobs even though the Committee of Elders wants to make everyone the same both physically and psychologically. Most of the citizens have dark eyes, this shows me that they want everyone to be the same. When Jonas' family saw Gabriel, the baby, the first thing they noticed was his eyes. Gabriel's eyes were lighter same as Jonas and everyone was amazed.

     "I think new children are so cute," Lily sighted. "I hope I get assigned to be a Birthmother." "Three years," Mother told her firmly. "Three births, and that's all. After that they are Laborers for the rest of their adult lives, until the day that they enter to the House of the Old. Is that what you want, Lily? Three lazy years, and then hard physical labor until you are old?" This quote impacted me because on their society they don't care about what each ones opinion. Their job is so important that they don't let children to have their own wills. People just care about getting their job done and accomplish all the rules, they don't have time to dream.

     I think Jonas' society is obsessed with perfection. No one can have their own opinion and the Committee of Elders have complete power over them. The Dystopia that the Committee of Elders is giving everybody is that they make them think that the Committee is not the only power but that everyone can give their own opinion.  

The Giver

I think this book will be about a world where everything is controlled. Every person has a specific role to play in their community and Jonas will make a change. When Jonas turns twelve, they assign him a very important role. He is going to be the Receiver of Memory. For this job, Jonas needs to be trained by the person who had this role before. He is called The Giver, he is the one who holds the memory of agony and the amusement of life. Now, The Giver needs to train and prepare Jonas for this, but first, they need to announce everyone about it. "You will be trained to be out next Receiver of Memory. We thank you for your childhood," they said. Everyone was happy about the new Receiver of Memory, after all, they couldn't express themselves because of the control the government had. Jonas will have no turning back of the truth. 

Lois Lowry,  in his dedication page says, "For all the children to whom we entrust the future." I think Lowry means that children are the future. Children can change the future because what they learn today they will apply it tomorrow. Children have teachings that we think are the right thing to do. We trust that kids will use those teachings on the future so that they don't commit the same errors we have done. Children are the future and are the ones who will make the change. When someone presented Jonas in front of the people, they thank him for his childhood. I think that this book will show us the importance of the roots a person has and how they apply it in the future. 

Jonas thinks he lives in a perfect world where nothing is under controlled and everyone is happy. I predict that Jonas will discover secrets so shocking that he will like to make a change. Jonas will derogate the government and will free the people. He will tell everyone what the government does and a lot of people will follow him.