The Giver Free Essay
Freedom is a right we are born with, that cannot be taken away. We fought for our freedom so we could make our own decisions and the choices we have the right to make. In a “perfect” community though, that is not an option. Life is not about the people there, it's about sameness and safeness; and they have no freedom. In The Giver by Lois Lowry, Jonas lives in a community just like this where everything is assigned for them, and they have no freedom of choice. When Jonas turns 12, he gets assigned the job of the Giver, who holds all the memories of the past before life went to sameness. Jonas learns pain, warfare, death, and many emotions he never felt before through the memories he receives. When Jonas learns he's been lied to his whole life
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No one in the community ever got to experience emotions. No one was ever angry, sad, or jealous because everyone was supposed to be content with their lives and themselves. Once emotions were eradicated, no one can ever have the feeling of happiness, joy, or love; feelings people should always be able to feel. On one visit with the Giver, Jonas got the memory of Christmas. He experienced the feelings of joy, children hugging their relatives, love surrounding a happy family; he felt something he’d never felt before. After receiving the memory Jonas said, “ ‘I certainly liked the memory, though. I can see why it's your favorite. I couldn't quite get the word for the whole feeling of it, the feeling that was so strong in the room.’ ” (pg 125). This was the first time Jonas ever felt love. In his discussion with the Giver they shared that it was clear the community was safer without love, because then no one ever felt jealousy and other negative feelings. Jonas understood the risk but he really liked the feeling. Jonas began to question if the safety of having no feelings was worth the loss of those feelings. The more memories Jonas received, the stronger he wanted to be free of all the restraints against feelings. Emotions were a part of Jonas that the knew should not be worth giving up for
No one in the community ever got to experience emotions. No one was ever angry, sad, or jealous because everyone was supposed to be content with their lives and themselves. Once emotions were eradicated, no one can ever have the feeling of happiness, joy, or love; feelings people should always be able to feel. On one visit with the Giver, Jonas got the memory of Christmas. He experienced the feelings of joy, children hugging their relatives, love surrounding a happy family; he felt something he’d never felt before. After receiving the memory Jonas said, “ ‘I certainly liked the memory, though. I can see why it's your favorite. I couldn't quite get the word for the whole feeling of it, the feeling that was so strong in the room.’ ” (pg 125). This was the first time Jonas ever felt love. In his discussion with the Giver they shared that it was clear the community was safer without love, because then no one ever felt jealousy and other negative feelings. Jonas understood the risk but he really liked the feeling. Jonas began to question if the safety of having no feelings was worth the loss of those feelings. The more memories Jonas received, the stronger he wanted to be free of all the restraints against feelings. Emotions were a part of Jonas that the knew should not be worth giving up for