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.