The Giver By Lois Lowry: Character Analysis
“He [Jonas] felt surprisingly, no fear, nor any regret at leaving the community behind. But he felt a very deep sadness that he had left his closest friend behind.” (page 153). If Jonas’ community was a utopian society, why would he have left?
In the novel The Giver, by Lois Lowry, Jonas lives in a world without color, love, individuality, memories, and pain. As captivating as it sounds, a world without these qualities seems flavorless to me. Restricted to the extent that they isolate a single person to bear all the memories of the past, including the gruesome ones. This selected person is called the Receiver of Memory. In due course, after Jonas (the main protagonist in The Giver) becomes the Receiver of Memory, his eyes are opened to the opportunities he could have with these aspects as
…show more content…
The community that Jonas lives in has limited choice, freedom, individuality, and knowledge. While some may argue that limiting these qualities benefit order and peace, I believe that these qualities are necessary for a community to flourish.
My first evidential piece are choice and freedom. In The Giver, the community restricts freedom, which paramount life choices. Lois Lowry discovers freedom in her Newbery Award Acceptance speech. “I have a bicycle. Again and again… I ride my bicycle out the gate that surrounds our comfortable, familiar, safe American community. I ride down a hill because I am curious and I enter, riding down that hill, an unfamiliar, slightly uncomfortable perhaps even unsafe… area of Tokyo that throbs with life.” (page 172). Lowry lived in Tokyo with her family for several years in an American community. She asked her mom, why they had lived in the American community instead of the Japanese community. Her mother stated “we lived where we did because it was comfortable. It was familiar. It was safe.” (page 172). Jonas has a similar expierence in the Giver. He is traveling to Elsewhere, and sees a sled on the top of a hill. It is
Summary Of Obasan Joy Kogawa
1467 Words | 6 PagesHowever, Aya’s attempts to cover up the house’s dejected color of grey with “an oilcloth with a bold orange design and tiny daisies and blue flowers” are futile, since Stephen remains focused on how “brambles and vines are clinging to his pant leg” (Kogawa 145). Aya’s attempt to create a brighter environment cannot assuage Stephen. His negativity consumes him to the point of physical and mental injury, as he walks around with a limp, “cracked and surly” (Kogawa 136). Obasan’s endeavours exemplify how it is possible to create the illusion of peace to the outside world despite underlying discrimination. Kogawa uses Naomi’s near-drowning experience to say that Japanese-Canadian citizens “must leap” as Naomi does (Kogawa 175).
Diversity In The Giver
779 Words | 4 PagesOne example to support this answer would be “He put out his tongue again, and caught one of the dots of cold upon it. It disappeared from his awareness instantly; but he caught another and another. The sensation made him smile.” pg.81 Having the memories would have made the Giver community more positive because if everyone had the memory of snow than everyone would be happier because snow is fun to play with and even made Jonas smile.
The Giver Critical Lens Essay
1015 Words | 5 PagesThe Giver looked down at him, his face contorted with suffering. ‘Please’ he gasped, take some of the pain.” (Lowry 149). This excerpt shows that even an assured brave man like the Giver suffers greatly when forced to bear a weight this colossal alone. Jonas is the one person that the Givers trusts and confides in, the one person that he uses to lean on in these kinds of times.
Essay On Farewell To Manzanar
1395 Words | 6 PagesThe author, Jeanne Wakatsuki, presents a meaningful story filled with experiences that shaped not only her life, but shaped the lives of thousands of Japanese families living in America. The book’s foreword gives us a starting point in which the reader can start to identify why the book was written. “We a told a New York writer friend about the idea. He said: ‘It’s a dead issue. These days you can hardly get people to read about a live issue.
Jonas 'Accepting Differences In The Giver'
728 Words | 3 PagesJONAS BECOMES MORE INDIVIDUALISTIC Throughout the giver Jonas outwardly conforms while inwardly questioning his society. This affects the work by presenting Jonas with a choice. The choice of becoming an
Critical Lens Essay On The Giver
671 Words | 3 PagesHowever, The Giver has a memory of the past, color, and emotions. The Giver transmits these memories to Jonas, and the two of them are the only people in their community with this knowledge. In the novel, The Giver by Lois Lowry, the author proves that knowledge has the power to change a person's opinions, likes, and dislikes through the memories that The Giver bestowes upon Jonas. Once The Giver had given Jonas memories of the community's past, Jonas's opinions of how everyday life in the community should be changed. After The Giver had transmitted the memory of hills, sleds, and snow, Jonas immediately wanted to be able to get rid of Sameness.
Dialectical Journal For The Giver
466 Words | 2 PagesLea Vilna-Santos Mrs. English, 7th September 1st, 2015 The Giver, by: Lois Lowry Log Entry 5: Chapters 9-10: Question 7: In chapters 9-10, Jonas realizes from reading the last rule in his list that allows him to lie, that what if what people say isn’t the truth, despite what everyone in his community learns about the importance of telling the truth. He was even chastised when he exaggerated as a Four. He said that he was starving, but he was only hungry. His teachers made sure he understood that even though it was an unintentional lie, it was still a lie because as long as he lives in their community he will never be starving so they didn’t want him to ever say anything like that again.
The Importance Of Memory In The Giver By Lois Lowry
1595 Words | 7 PagesI have read the novel, “The Giver”, written by the famous American writer Lois Lowry. This book was written under author’s impression after visiting her aging father in the hospital, who had lost his long term memory. The idea of the book is the importance of memory. The novel is set in a society which seems like utopian, in this society there is no hunger, sadness, or misery. However this utopian society is held from experiencing true emotions.
The Giver Dbq Analysis
994 Words | 4 PagesHave you ever wondered if there could possibly be a community where no one has any idea of normal everyday things? Well then the Giver is just one example. The Giver has a long history, and it all started with Lois Lowry’s dad and how he forgot his memory of any bad thing and Lois Lowry started thinking what a Community would be like without any painful memories and she came up with The Giver. The Giver revolves around a young boy named Jonas who was chosen to be the new Receiver of Memory which is the highest honor in his community. While Jonas is training he gets all of the memories that everyone else in the community has and then starts to think why can’t other people have these memories he then comes up with a plan to escape the community
Examples Of Conformity In The Giver By Lois Lowry
478 Words | 2 PagesIn The Giver, Lois Lowry shows her readers what it is like to live in a society with no diversity, no color, and no freedom. In this society, there is a twelve-year old boy, named Jonas, who finds the truth about life outside of his community. He does not have the option of choice, and he is stuck in a futuristic world of “sameness”. Jonas’ world is dull, and he wants to change it because it does not have the amazing features and opportunities that he learns about. In this story, Lois Lowry is warning her readers that too much conformity can lead to no freedom and no true happiness.
Jonas: Changing The Community In The Giver
517 Words | 3 PagesThe most important assignment in the community. He must receive memories from the current receiver. The chief elder made the decision to make only one person bear the burden of the memories. Everyone thinks the community is perfect, a utopia, but Jonas sees all the flaws .Jonas changes throughout The Giver and as a result, tries to change the community.
Literary Analysis: The Giver By Lois Lowry
846 Words | 4 PagesLiterary Analysis: The Giver Imagine a world where everything seems perfect but truly it is not as pleasant as it appears. In The Giver by Lois Lowry shows us a community in the future with no feelings at all. Jonas a twelve year old boy knows his life as it is and one evening he learns the truth about the community. Jonas set’s off into a adventure to change it all. Character,conflict,and symbolism makes the reader see thru the eyes of a twelve year old in a place of slavery disguised without anyone knowing it.
Analytical Essay On The Giver
771 Words | 4 PagesOne of the main themes in “The Giver” is the importance of individuality. The people in the community are not given any freedom to be individuals. They are not allowed to be different, and this creates less understanding of the world. This is why the community needs a receiver to understand these things for them.
The Importance Of Memories In The Giver By Lois Lowry
865 Words | 4 PagesMemories are one of the most important parts of life, there is no true happiness without the reminiscence of pain or love. This concept is portrayed in "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. The story tells of a 12-year old Jonas, who lives in a “utopian” society, where all bad memories are destroyed to avoid the feeling of pain. Jonas becomes the receiver, someone who receives good and bad memories, and he is transmitted memories of pain and pleasure from The Giver and is taught to keep the secret to himself. The author shows one should cherish memories, whether it be good or bad, as they are all of what is left of the past, and we should learn from it as to better ourselves in the future.
Jonas Hardships In The Giver
535 Words | 3 PagesJonas’ Hardships Lois Lowry, the author, wrote a novel titled “The Giver” which took place in a dystopian society with ideas like climate control, sameness, and precision of language. The main character, Jonas, was selected for the assignment “The Receiver of Memory” and this assignment caused him many hardships. Throughout the story, Jonas faces many hardships related to his assignment, his friends, and the community. The theme to the story is overcoming obstacles because Jonas has to conquer many hardships throughout the novel.
More about The Giver By Lois Lowry: Character Analysis
Summary Of Obasan Joy Kogawa
1467 Words | 6 PagesDiversity In The Giver
779 Words | 4 PagesThe Giver Critical Lens Essay
1015 Words | 5 PagesEssay On Farewell To Manzanar
1395 Words | 6 PagesJonas 'Accepting Differences In The Giver'
728 Words | 3 PagesCritical Lens Essay On The Giver
671 Words | 3 PagesDialectical Journal For The Giver
466 Words | 2 PagesThe Importance Of Memory In The Giver By Lois Lowry
1595 Words | 7 PagesThe Giver Dbq Analysis
994 Words | 4 PagesExamples Of Conformity In The Giver By Lois Lowry
478 Words | 2 PagesJonas: Changing The Community In The Giver
517 Words | 3 PagesLiterary Analysis: The Giver By Lois Lowry
846 Words | 4 PagesAnalytical Essay On The Giver
771 Words | 4 PagesThe Importance Of Memories In The Giver By Lois Lowry
865 Words | 4 PagesJonas Hardships In The Giver
535 Words | 3 Pages