The Giver

            “You have been greatly honored, Jonas”…”It’s not a job, really”… “The training of you requires pain”…“There is only one Receiver” (Lowry) - These phrases kept shooting through Jonas’s mind. He had just been selected to be the Receiver of the Memories. He had no idea what it meant until later. He had been selected to be trained by a man named The Giver. The “training” was The Giver transmiting memories to Jonas by placing his hands on Jonas’s back. The memory would then be transmitted to Jonas’s brain. He would feel like he was actually in the memory, and would from then on have it with him until he transfered it to someone else. There were many happy memories, like rainbows and Christmas. Unfortunately, there were painful memories as well, such as war and extreme hunger. There must be a Reciever, for when the community needs help, the Reciever gives advice. Sometimes, Jonas feels happy about this new adventure. Other times, Jonas wants to apply for release. This is only until he finds out what “release” means. Jonas and The Giver decide to team up against the community and their strange rules in this comedy.                                                               

         

            This story could be categorized as a comedy. To begin with, Jonas is living his normal everyday life. He has good friends and family. The conflict arises, which is that Jonas is selected for the Reciever of the Memories. He doesn’t know what it is, and is afraid because people were saying, “The training requires great pain.” (Lowry) Jonas later fully realizes the conflict, which is the painful memories that are now with him, along with realizing what “release” is. He finds out that it truly means death, and that his father releases babies. Jonas knows that the child that his father has been taking care of a boy named Gabriel who is about to be realesed. Jonas and The Giver make a plan, and this results in the resolution. Jonas and Gabriel run away to a different community on a bike. They probably then live a normal life.                                                                          

          

          Jonas is very brave in this story, for he never quits his new assignment. He truly tries to understand everything that The Giver is teaching him. He is very tough during the painful memories, and joyful during the happy ones. Jonas is very caring for The Giver. An example is when Jonas walks in for his daily training, and sees The Giver in pain. He then asks The Giver to give him the memory, so that The Giver will not be in so much pain. This shows how much he loves the Giver. The word “love” was not used in the community, so it was a new word for Jonas. There were many other things that Jonas had to get used to with the training. To begin with, no one  in the community had been able to see color except for The Giver. Now Jonas was seeing things start to change, of which he could not describe. First the color of red, then more colors. Life had changed greatly for Jonas.                                                                                                                         

         

            The Giver was once selected like Jonas was. This meant he understood how Jonas felt. He was very kind to him, and tried to teach him everything he could. The Giver was also very patient with him, for he always listened. The Giver loves Jonas like a son. For example, The Giver was telling Jonas about how he loved his daughter, and he said, ”I feel it for you too.” (Lowry) Other than talking to Jonas, The Giver mainly keeps to himself in this story. He seems very independent. Jonas and The Giver are also very honest with each other, and seem to trust one another.                                                           

            

            Overall, Jonas tries his hardest to adjust to the new assignment. He has help from The Giver, but they decide it is no use. Something must be done about the memories. Jonas runs away with Gabriel, while suffering from terrible conditions, they reach a new communtity. That is, unless Jonas was hallucinating. Maybe they really did just die from cold and starvation. What do you think happened to them?