Today in the Giver what I will be writing is the end of the book. Throughout Jonas's training, he has received memories of great joy, everlasting pain, and what it feels like to be alone. When Jonas had received his first memory of pain, it came in the form of a sunburn. Jonas thought that this was the pain that was unimaginable and how now he understood. It was only until later that he realized what real pain was. Loss, hunger, abandonment are all things that cause us pain, real pain. Jonas had experienced physical pain during his training and didn't like it at all. One day, the Giver had given Jonas a memory of war. He showed Jonas what it felt like to lose someone right before your eyes. Jonas didn't want to go back. He didn't want the honor, the pain, the wisdom, the memories. He didn't want any of it but he knew that the choice wasn't his and he always returned to the Annex room. He always asked the Giver why the memories cannot be shared with everyone and only with the Recievers. The Giver had told them that the Reciever before him had applied for release and the memories she had were released back to the people. During that time the Community was in chaos. The previous Reciever had only been training for a few weeks and didn't have a lot of memories like Jonas. If Jonas were to leave the community all of his memories would go back to the people in the Community and he could never go back. When Jonas found out that being released meant being killed, he couldn't dare himself to go back. That night, he and the Giver had made a plan for Jonas to leave the community in a few weeks and if he succeeded the memories would come back to the people. The original plan was that they wouldn't proceed until the Giver had given memories of strength and courage. Jonas would slip away at night before the Ceremony and leave a note that in the morning his parents would find telling them he had taken a bike ride along the river. He would escape and everyone would be so busy with the Ceremonies that no one would notice him. Since he was a Twelve and in training, he wouldn't have to sit with his age group. His friends would think he's sitting with his parents or the Giver and his parents would think he was sitting with his friends or the Giver. The Giver would order a vehicle to visit other communities as he does frequently. He would send the driver on a brief errand and help Jonas in the storage area with food he had been collecting. By midday, it would be obvious Jonas was missing but they wouldn't disrupt the Ceremony. Instead they would send searchers out to look. When the Giver returns, he would find the Community in a state of panic and say that Jonas had been lost in the river. He would then immediately begin the Ceremony of release. By then Jonas would be on his journey to find the Elswhere and release the memories. This was the orignal plan but things turned out a little different. One evening, his family was eating dinner and Jonas's father had said that this was Gabriel's last night as visitor. Gabriel is a new child they were taking care of as he was progressing in his life. However the progression wasn't fast enough and they were going to release him tomorrow morning. Gabriel had the ability to recieve and Jonas would always give soothing memories to him when he slept in his room. That night, Jonas had taken Gabriel from the Nurturing center, grabbed his father's bicycle, and rode off. He felt no regret leaving the community but had a very deep sadness when he knew he was leaving his best friend behind. The journey to Elswhere was hard. Drones were set out to look for him and Gabriel. The drones could detect people due to thermal activity so Jonas had give Gabriel memories of snow and coldness to keep him cold. One day the drones stopped and the wildlife began to appear. Jonas saw above his head birds flying and soon he saw deer in the road, a fox running away. Jonas had never felt such happiness in his life. But now he had fears. The biggest fear being they would starve. They left the fields behind and it was almost impossible to find food. Jonas wept at the thought that he couldn't save Gabriel. He no longer cared for himself. The weather was not kind for the two. It rained for two days. Jonas had felt that their desiptinatiom was not far ahead but had little hope that they would reach. When he looked at Gabriel, he saw hos cold and weak he was. He opened his clothing and tied Gabriel to his bare chest to keep him warm. Dimly, Jonas recalled what the whiteness surrounding them was. "It's called snow, Gabe," Jonas whispered. "Snowflakes. They fall down from the sky, and they're very beautiful." (Pg 220) They snow made it impossible for Jonas to continue on bike. He dismounted and let it fall to the side. He knew how easy it would be to just fall in the snow like the bike but he had to keep going. The memories were behind them and Jonas wondered if he still had any left. He placed his hand on Gabriel's back and tried to remember sunshine. It was there, and the coldness seem to relax in his body. For a moment, Jonas wanted to keep it for himself but then have got an urge to share it with somebody he loved. The two kept on going and with every step Jonas knew they weren't far. Jonas trudged uphill nad fell. He tried to get a wisp of a warm memory and succeeded but it left leaving him colder than ever. As he approached the summit of the hill, he began to feel happy. He recalled all of the happy times at the community he experienced and that had pushed him further. He reached the top and told Gabriel that he remembered this place. He knew this was a memory if his own. Using his final strength Jonas found the sled waiting for him. He hugged Gabriel close and started down. They went faster and faster and Jonas was aware that up ahead they were waiting for him and Gabriel. For the first time, Jonas heard something he knew to be music. He heard people singing. However he questioned himself, thinking it was only an echo.
The strength you would need to survive a journey like this is unbelievable. Not only does Jonas have himself to take care of but also an infant. Complete honesty, I did not like the ending of the book. I wish that the author could have come up with something more creative. I feel like ending in Jonas visiting a place he saw in a memory isn't the best way to end the book. The rest of the book was amazing but the ending just kind of dimmed its greatness a bit. Sure it would be difficult to come up with something that would fit the story and be creative but if you can it would make the book ten times better. Personally, the ending to me wasn't enough to live up to a book like this, simple as that.
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So last week I ended with Jonas getting assigned his job for the rest of his life. Today, I'm going to be talking about his first lesson and how I would feel if I were him. After he was assigned his job, people treated him differently. Every time someone talked to him there was some sort of hesitation. Jonas noticed but didn't take much thought to it. When you are assigned you are given a folder filled with notes and instructions. Jonas's folder contained only eight rules. Most of the pertained to Jonas going to his house after school and not to discuss his training with anyone. There was also one that said that he can't take any medication involving his training. The biggest rule that bewildered Jonas was the last one that allowed him to lie. Jonas had never told a lie before in his life because that was what he was grown up to believe. This allowed him to lie and that led him to wonder if every adult was allowed to lie once they reached his age. Jonas took this under much consideration. He wondered if he should ask an adult but he wouldn't know if they were telling the truth or not. The next day was Jonas's first day of training. The room was behind the House of the Old called the Annex, a small wing attached to it. He was going to open the heavy handles but then realized that there was a buzzer so he buzzed instead. A voice came from above the buzzer replying yes but as a question. He said that he was Jonas and the door immediatelt unlocked. A person greeted him from the inside saying, "Welcome, Reciever of Memory." (Pg 92) She said this in a respectful tone and Jonas told her that she could call him by his first name. She told him to go straight through a door and that he would be waiting. When he got inside he noticed that the walls were covered with books. Stacks and stacks of books. This surprised Jonas so much because he grew up knowing only three books: book of rules, book of all the jobs, and the dictionary. Here, the walls were covered with books. Finally Jonas saw the elder man who greeted him the same way the girl greeted him. Jonas apologized for his lack of understanding and waited a few seconds for him to accept his apologize. He didn't and Jonas continued. He said he thought that the man was the Reciever and he was only selected and not anything at all yet. The Reciever waited and told Jonas at from this day forward, Jonas is the new Reciever of Memory. The man said that he had been a Reciever for a long time and hotshot you could tell how much the job has aged him. After the previous failure, his energy is starting got diminish. He gestured Jonas to sit down and told him how that when he was Jonas's age, he was as scared and frightened as Jons was now. Then he explained to Jonas what his job was. He told him that his job is to transmit to Jonas all of the memories he has within him. Memories of the past. Jonas said that he would be very interested to hear memories of the old man's past and then after apologized for interrupting. The man told Jonas to not apologize for anything. Jonas went back to the topic of discussing the man's memory. He asked why the job was so important and that he could take an ordinary job and come listen to the man's childhood after. The man shook his head and explained that he would not transmit his own memories, but the memories of everything from the world. The Reciever said that there had been memories of the world before Jonas, him and generations back. Jonas didn't understand and said at maybe he wasn't smart enough. The Reciever told him that there is much more and how he re-experiences them again and again. However he told Jonas that that is how wisdom comes. Then the Reciever told Jonas that he feels so weighted with all the memories. He then made an analogy to riding down a hill on a sled. At first it's exhilarating but then you have to push to keep going. The Reciever realized that Jonas had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. He asked Jonas if he ever heard what a sled was or snow but Jonas just shook his head. The Reciever then told him that that is where ey were going to start. He told Jonas to take of his tunic and lay flat on his belly on the bed. He turned off the speaker which allowed the Commity of Elders to listen and placed his hands on Jonss's back. He told Jonas that it would not be painful. He was about to give Jonas the memory of snow.
I can't imagine what Jonas must be feeling. Firstly, he was skipped during the Ceremony of Twelve and was mortified. Then he was told that he had been selected to be the next Reciever of Memory, the most important job there is. He was told that he had to be kept separate from others and that he would experience pain beyond he could imagine. After that, everyone treats him differently. At his first lesson, he's told that he would receive the memories from the entire world. I don't think that I could survive. You would need exceptional strength to last this journey that he's on. If I were Jonas, I don't think that I could be as strong as he is right now. I don't think that I would be able to do a decent job. Everyone is relying on the Reciever to be wise and intelligent. I don't think that I would be able to deal with all that pressure. It would take immense bravery, talent, intelligence and strength to be selected for this assignment. So today on the Giver I will be talking about Jonas learning about colors. In their community, Jonas and everybody else except the Giver (previous Reciever) only saw in black and white. When Jonas was selected, the Chief Elder said, "Finally, the Reciever must have one more quality, and it is one which I can only name, but not describe... the current Reciever has told us that Jonas already has this quality. He calls it the Capacity to See Beyond." Jonas had seen colors before but he wasn't sure what he was actually looking at. When he asked Giver what he was seeing, the Giver didn't tell him right away. He gave him a memory and told him to look around. When the memory was finished, Jonas had announced that he had seen it again. The Giver gave him one more test and told him to look on the bookshelf. When Jonas obeyed, he again saw the color. Jonas said that he had saw it in the books too and Giver told him that he was begininning to see the color red. He explained to Jonas that a long time ago, all things had a shape and volume, but also another quality called color. He told Jonas that he himself saw all the colors and that Jonas will too. Jonas said that he saw red a bunch of times: the apple, Fiona's hair, and on the people's faces at the Ceremony. The Giver explained that flesh isn't red but the red he saw was a red tone. He said that colors went away when the community went to Sameness. How the communtiy gained control of a lot of things but had to let go of others. Jonas had exclaimed that it wasn't fair. The Giver told him that it took him many years and that maybe Jonas's wisdom will come much quicker. The Giver told Jonas to lay down. He was going to give Jonas the memory of a rainbow.
Can you imagine a world without color? Everything would be so bland and dull. Color is one of the most important qualities that we as human beings have. Imagine waking up in the morning, looking outside your window, and seeing a full grey sky. Color is something that I don't think I could live without. It makes everything ten times more beautiful. It makes the world around us more real. A world without color would be terrible and I am so glad that we live in a world where we can cherish such amazing qualities like color. This week on the Giver, I will be talking about the job that Jonas is assigned. Last time, I left off with Jonas about to Be assigned his new assignment for his whole life. He was really skeptical because he knew that the Commity of Leders studies everybody and decides everybody's jobs, but he didn't really know what he would be assigned. They usually look at the places you volunteer for and what you do in your free time however Jonas doesn't know what he really likes. He didn't know what he would be assigned when his number was called. So, the class entered and the ceremony began. Jonas was number 19 to be called up. His friends were to go up before him and he payed attention when his best friend, Asher, was assigned his role of Assisten Director of recreation. His other friend, Fiona, was number 18 and while she was assigned her role, Jonas was starting to get ready. When Fiona was given her assignment, Jonas was ready to walk up to the stage however the person who was calling the names had skipped him. They continued through the whole ceremony acting as if nothing had happened. Jonas sat there, stunned, asking himself, " What did I do wrong?" (Pg 73) When everyone was assigned, the Chief Elder addressed the situation with Jonas. She said that they have selected Jonas to be the next Reciever of Memory. when she announced this, the crowd gasped in shock. They failed with their last one ten years ago and they could not fail again. The current Reciever has the power to what they call "the Capacity to See Beyond." They considered Jonas to be a Reciever for many years and he has proven himself to have the qualities a Reciever must have. The Reciever of Memory must be alone and apart while he is being trained. The Cheif Elder said that Jonas will experience pain that others could only imagine. She said the decision this big had to be voted by the Commity of Elders unanimously. Jonas will be trained by the current Reciever of Memory who was sitting with the Commity of Elders. The Chief Elder turned to Jonas and thanked him for his childhood.
What interest me the most is what happened with the previous Reciever of Memory. They said that she failed in her training and that no one is to speak her name. There are hundreds of things that you could imagine happened. She could've disagreed with her job and refused to train. Or while she was training she realized that this is too much to accomplish in her training and quit. However, personally I think that whatever happened with the previous Reciever will happen again with Jonas. Maybe what the Community sees as failing was something that the previous Reciever thought was right. What if Jonas fails as well? There are just so many things that aren't told at the moment and we could only infer what it means. Ok so today on The Giver, I will be talking abo the hours leading up to when Jonas is assigned his job for e rest of his life. Every December, there is always Ceremonies going from One to Twelve. Each year you are given a bit more respect and privileges that you couldn't have when you were younger. The major Ceremonies are one, nine, and twelve. In the Ceremony of the Ones, you are given you're name and assigned to a family unit. At The Ceremony of Nines, you are given your bicycle, the only way other than walking of getting around. Finally, at The Ceremony of Twelves, you are assigned your job or assignment in the community for the rest of your life. All of the Ceremonies are split into two days: One through Eight on the first day and the rest on the second day. Jonas's sister had just turned an Eight the previous day and gotten a new jacket to wear with smaller buttons and pockets that showed that she could be responsible of her own things. Jonas always got bored the first day because there wasn't anything interesting for him to do. However, the next day all he felt was curiosity. The days leading up to the Ceremony Jonas had no idea what he would be assigned. After the Ceremony of Elevens was lunch and a group of Jonas's friends told stories about former Twelves. Asher told a story about a kid who didn't like his assignment and applied for this thing called the Elsewhere where you change communities. Jonas asked Asher if he knew anyone who actually applied for the Elsewhere and he said no. But he said that his mother said it was true. Asher said, "'...But it was true, what she said, that someone did that once. She said that it was really true. Here today and gone tomorrow. Never seen again. Not even a Ceremony of Release.'" (Pg 61) Jason questioned how someone couldn't fit in. Everything was perfect. You were always a part of the community. However just then the signal was sent out and the crowd began to move towards the doors.
I feel like writing a summary and than a response would be so much easier. Everything is explained and here I could talk about anything at all about the book. So in this paragraph I'm going to be inferring or predicting what is going to happen next in the book. So they talk about how Jonas is really scared about his assignment and how he doesn't think that he would like it. Based on his talk with Asher, I'm leading to believe that he will apply for the Elswhere or not get an assignment at all. For me, this would be the best prediction that I could've come up with. BUENOS DIAS! Today on the Giver, I will be talking about the dream that Jonas had the day after he visited the House of the Old. I will also be asking questions and predicting what might happen next. So it started out with Jason, the main character, talking about this morning ritual they do every day where they talk about their dreams. Jason's dream was about him and a girl Fiona at the House of the Old in the bathing room. He couldn't remember all the details but he said that there was only one tub and that Fiona was standing beside him laughing. Jason said that he felt a little angry in the dream because she wasn't taking him seriously. He then got to the more uncomfortable part. He told his family, "I wanted her to take off her clothes and get into the tub. I wanted to bathe her. i had the sponge in my hand. But she wouldn't. She kept laughing and saying no." (Pg 45) He then described the strongest feeling he felt during the dream. He said he had a feeling of wanting. His father than said that's enough and told Lily, his daughter, to get ready for school. She helped him carry a new child named Gabriel back to the Nurturing center. Jason and his mother than had a discussion. She told him that this feeling that he had was the first of a thing they called the Stirrings. She told him that it happened to everyone, including herself and her husband. An announcement had just been, well announced at that moment. It said, "ATTENTION. A REMINDER THAT STIRRING MUST BE REPORTED IN ORDER FOR TREATMENT TO TAKE PLACE." (Pg 47) Jason asked his mom if he needed treatment but his Mom explained that the treatment was just pills. She gave him one to take and explained that he has to take it everyday, from now until he enters the House of the Old. He left and rode his bike to school. When he was riding, he thought about his dream. He then tried to grasp that feeling he felt. He wanted to feel the desire of something. Unfortunately for him, the pill worked and the dream was gone.
I never usually do this entry like this but I feel like this would be better than just shoving it all into one paragraph. Anyway back to the story. When I read this I questioned what the Stirring could be described as here. With help, I now know that it's pretty much like going through puberty. I then questioned why people would want to stop these things called the Stirrings. It is just a part of growing up. However than back to this concept of this being a utopia. No one here wants anyone to feel bad about something. With Jason, it's clear that he likes someone, but what if she doesn't like him back and he gets distraught. Or if she likes someone else and he feels jealousy. Here, nobody feels real pain. However, if you don't feel real pain, how will you ever known when you are truly happy? Welcome back to.......The Giver (cue dramatic music). Anyway this week on The Giver, I will be talking about when Jonas spends his volunteer hours at the House of the Old, which would also be pretty much a nursering home. Jonas always liked to move around when it came to his volunteer hours in the community because he could see the different varieties of jobs there. When he got to the House of the Old, Jonas saw his friend's, Asher, bike. In the community, there wasn't any cars there and everyone had to get around using bikes. He also saw a girls bike next to Asher's. The girl's name was Fiona and he knew it was her bike because they were both Elevens. Jonas liked Fiona. He said, "She is quiet, polite...but she also has a sense of fun...." When Jonas went inside he was greeted by a person who worked there. She guided him to where his friends and the other elderly people were. When he walked in he saw Asher and Fiona bathing the elderely. Jonas didn't think this was weird or anything, like this was completely normal. He walked over and helped a woman into the bath and bathed her. While he bathed her they were talking about the releasing of a friend of her's, Roberto. She described what the ceremony was like; how they showed a video of his life, he said a speech saying goodbye and left the community. Jonas asked the woman if she knew where they go after the person leaves the co,ministry and she said she didn't know. She said that the only people who know that are the Commity of Elders. Something that I hope is described more in the book is what happens after e releasing. There can be three ways a person gets released from the community. One is they break the rules twice. The second is if they are an infant and they aren't keeping up with the he other children. Finally, and the best way, is when you are old and being released is a very good thing. The thing that bothers me is what happens after you're released. Do you live your life in the wild or just die as some sort of rebirth. It will most likely be explained later in the book but for now, all you and I could do is make an inference.
Last week on The Giver, I left off on describing what type of world Jonas lives in. This week I'm going to be talking about an event and responding to it. Ok so the event that I will be talking about today is when the book tells us what the Ceremony of Twelve is and all of the other major ceremonies. Keep in mind that every ceremony takes place on the same day every December. Let's start with the Ceremonyof Ones. The Ceremony of Ones is when a child is first given its name and is assigned to a family. Some children could be crawling everywhere whereas other children could still be in blankets. The next ceremony that has some importance is the Ceremony of the Nines. At this ceremony, the children are given their bikes used to pretty much go everywhere. A rule that is almost always broken is when older siblings teach their younger siblings to ride their bikes. Even Jason's father said, "'...but that I didn't pay much attention to to the other ceremonies, except for my sister's. She became a Nine that year, and got her bicycle. I'd been teaching her to ride mine, even though technically I wasn't supposed to.'" (Pg 17) Finally, the Ceremony of Twelve takes place. This ceremony is the last ceremony any child has. Here, you are assigned your job to work for the rest of your life. The Commity of Elders are the ones who determine what job you are going to have. They do this by inspecting you during the day. Jonas's dad loved to hang around by the Ones so he was assigned Nurturer. However, think about this. At the age of twelve, you're given the job you will work for the rest of your life. Wouldn't it get boring after a while? I mean sure, it might be something that you love to do, but even that can get old. Another thing: these ceremonies all happen on the same day. There is no seperstion between any of them. The book says that children are born in groups of fifty but they all turn a certain age on the same day. You are stripped of one of the things that make you unique: your birthday. Personally this reminded me of something that no one one likes to refer to. This way of living reminds me of slavery. Being a slave, you were told what to do and didn't get to celebrate anything. Sure they are both seen in very different ways but are actually pretty similar. I just cant imagine what it must feel like to be robbed of things that make you who you are.
I have started reading The Giver by Lois Lowrey with my class. We just started the book and it is really confusing. Not much is explained in the beginning but it is one of the books where you continue to find things out as you go along. For this post I am going to be talking about the author's message. In the book, everyone lives in sort of like their own civilization. If you lived here you wouldn't have some of the rigs you have in America. You wouldn't have freedom of choice or freedom of culture. You can't even be raised by your birth mother...well maybe if you are lucky. Every time a new child is born, they spend time with Nurtures, people who make sure the babies have all of their physical and emotional needs. After that you are assigned to a family. "Two children one-one male, one female-to each family unit, It was written very clearly in the rules," thought Jonas (pg 11). However, in this civilization, we could describe it as perfect. There is no crime and pretty much everyone gets along. Although you would be stripped away of your freedom. You are judged by the actions you make and the most terrible punishment to ever receive is to be banished from this place. So it all comes down to one question: would you live in a perfect world but have no choice or have free will but the world isn't perfect? For me the answer is quite obvious. I would never give away my free will for anything. Sure the world isn't perfect but that's okay. All we could is try to make it a better place.
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January 2017
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