Memories

Days passed by; Jonas now had learned many colors and started identifying them in the community. The Giver and Jonas spent many training hours discussing about the unfairness of the government and its decisions. The Giver passed on Jonas awesome memories like birthday parties, museums, animals, grandfathers, Christmas and a feeling that Jonas was looking forward to learn, love. The Giver needed to give Jonas awful memories as well because sooner or later, Jonas needed to learn these memories to make sure they don’t happen again, Jonas appeared in the middle of a war with many people agonizing. Jonas was very interest in the feeling called “love” so he decided not to take the pill the next morning.

 What really took my attention is the part when Jonas thought about the pain, 

“They have never known pain, he thought. The realization made him feel desperately lonely, and he rubbed his throbbing leg. He eventually slept. Again and again he dreamed of the anguish and the isolation on the forsaken hill. ” (Lowry, 110)

The author is trying to communicate us the importance of mistakes. Lowry, want us to know that even that pain hurts, it shows us important things in live, we are able to take precautions for the next time. Pain is an experience very important because we learn from it many things. For example, we are able to difference the good and the bad things of going in a bike, and knowing the bad things we are able to find a way to not get hurt. We need to be strong enough and have enough courage to overcome fear and fight against it.

Throughout the book, Lois Lowry is trying to communicate us that it is important to value what we have. Now we live in a world with abundant species and life, color and scenery. Maybe in a future, just like in the book, there will be no such thing as color or animals. Lois Lowry is trying to communicate that it is important for us to treasure what we have now and give thanks for it. 

Extreme Experience

The salon was luxurious, with many objects that obtained unnumbered details. Jonas found a man seating on a chair, The Giver. They started working, laying down on a bed; the Giver gave Jonas memories that weren’t real in the time he lived. Jonas felt it was wonderful seeing a substance called snow, a sled, mountains, and cold, it was something he had never seen and felt in his life. Afterwards, he saw sunshine and felt heat; he was shocked that such wonderful things were taken away with a giant damage that the human had caused. Instantly, Jonas had so many questions, he was angry that the humans had taken away this extraordinary nature’s miracle. For the first time, Jonas felt physical pain he felt sunburn, even though it hurt he was glad that he was selected for being transmitted this remarkable experiences. Soon, Jonas started seen the color red, he was developing the ability to see the beyond, the Giver was glad this happened to Jonas because he was learning fast, so he decided to give Jonas the memory of the Rainbow.

Sometimes we make decisions that at the end might not be the correct ones. After the Giver showed Jonas the feeling of cold, snow, hot, sunshine and sunburn he commented to the Receiver…

The Giver shrugged. “Our people made that choice, the choice to go to Sameness. Before my time, before the previous time, back and back and back. We relinquished color when we relinquished sunshine and did away with differences.” He thought for a moment. “We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others.” “We shouldn’t have!” Jonas said fiercely. (Lowry 95)

I think, at that time when people decided to relinquished the sunshine and the color they did not measure the impact that it will represent, and nowadays that is only a memory that could not be manage by everyone but only by one person, the receiver. In the other hand, sometimes when we make decisions, we don’t have the time to make enough reasoning, but I do believe that at that time, to decide about the sunshine and color might be a really important decision. Also we have to remind that whenever we make a decision, right or wrong, we have to deal with the consequences. Once I made a wrong decision and it was really hard to deal with the consequences; but at the end I learned about it, and I got the chance to fixed it and not doing it again. It must be really hard that when you made a bad decision and there is no way back, how you can fix it, you have to live with that your whole live. Maybe this is happening in the book, there is no going back. 

Mr. Heath show us in the video  "Making Choices"  that we should try to make the correct decision, since every decision has its consequence.  

As simple as in the video, to choose between one pair of shoes or another, or choose a huge decision, life is like that full of choices; the thing is to pick the good one, thinking about the consequences, about others, about you. Jonas community decided long time ago about these necessary and basic things; do you think they made the correct decision? Are you willing to sacrifice such wonder because of a little discomfort? I don’t think so.

The Election

Jonas had a stirring dream about him and Fiona at the House of the Old, where Jonas insisted Fiona to let him wash here body, so he told about this dream to his family and his mother gave him the pill in order him to forget this prohibited feelings; Jonas didn’t want to forget about this strange but pleasant feeling but he had to take the pill thinking next time skip the pill secretly. Good news for the family was that Gabriel was given a new chance and not going to be release, but the family had to sign an agreement that they wouldn’t complain or have feelings for him at the end of the year where he is going to be given to a family unit.  Finally the day had come, the Ceremony started right on schedule; Jonas was number 11-19 (11 stands for his age and 19 the number he was born), he listened carefully every assignment; his friend Asher was assigned the job of Assistant Director of Recreation and Fiona was assigned Caretaker of the Old, but the Chief Elder who was announcing the jobs skipped his number and from 18 she jumped to 20; Jonas couldn’t 

believe what was happening; he was shocked, dizzy, disappointed and sick. The Chief Elder ended the ceremony apologizing to the community and with Jonas because of the anxiety she caused to them by skipping him and then she asked Jonas to come to the stage. Jonas felt he was dying and the Chief Elder said that Jonas was not “assigned” but he was “selected” to be the “Receiver of Memory”, the most honorable and unique job in the community; this job was given to him because he had the qualities the “Receiver” had to have, intelligence, courage, integrity, wisdom and most important of all, the capacity to see beyond. The community was very glad that Jonas was the receiver because finally after ten years they failed choosing the receiver and Jonas was promising to be the one but this job represents a lot sacrifice from the beginning; Jonas wasn’t allowed to see anyone while he is in training; and involves physical pain.

Despite the limits and controlling of the Committee of Elders each person was unique and had its personality, for example Asher, being funny and a good talker; Jonas as a very smart person who with his way of being he respects his individuality and the others in the community and not only the community but the Committee of Elder were aware of this, “Intelligence,” she said. “We are all aware that Jonas has been a top student throughout his school days. “Integrity,” she said next. “Jonas has, like all of us, committed minor transgressions.” She smiled…”Courage,” she went on…” (Lowry 62).  This made me think that beside any situation or any place you might be, we have to be authentic, be ourselves because people have to respect you and accept you the way you are; the same in the other way, you have to respect and accept the people the way they are, in this way we are unique respecting the individualities of each others. People who think like this will accept the other as they are, making the other ones happy and proud of what they are, same the other way around.

In these last chapters we can feel in some way how the children felt before the big day, where they were told what they will be doing for the rest of their lives. Twelve years old is a short age to have a huge responsibility; and as this is happening, they will be adults and not children anymore. We can imagine how Jonas and his friends were passing through just to know that they were losing, childhood, freedom, sharing with people they like, having friends or just do what they want to do, of course within the limits; but now as they were going to be adults, all of this is gone, they have new responsibilities and no sharing with friends that they like anymore. Moreover, something really important to mention is the fact that besides all the pressure and laws and restrictions these people has to live with, each of them trying to keep their individuality; as we can see with Asher, for example, when the Chief Elder was announcing the jobs, she remind everyone when Asher was a little boy at language acquisition days, the difference between “snack” and “smack”;  (Lowry 54) Asher was always how he was; authentic, unique. We can say the same for Jonas that his behavior demonstrates how he was so people value and respect that so in this case Jonas was selected to be the receiver.