The Giver 12-14

 Color and Wisdom  

These few chapters were really surprising because Jonas learn more about the memories and how the world was before the Community exist. On chapter twelve Jonas was with Fiona walking together to their assign jobs.  When they get to the House of The Old where Fiona´s assignment was Jonas see something different on her hair for a moment it change just like the way he saw the apple changing. He was surprise so he run to ask The Giver he told him that he thinks that now he is seeing what he calls to see beyond. Then The Giver tell him to call back the memory of snow and that now he needs to see the sled. What Jonas was seeing was the color red. The Giver explain him that long time ago before them everyone make the choice of Sameness that´s why no one sees with colors just in black and white. Jonas was agreed because if people start to choose the color they want then people would also starrt to choose their wifes and assignments and maybe they will commit errors with their own choices. Jonas now was starting to see more often colors but they dont last and Jonas really like them. In one memory he saw some people of dark brown sking and light skin killing an elephant.

He learned that people used to have different colors of the skin and that animals existed long time ago (OMG they dont have animals!!!). In the next day The Giver give him a memory where he was in the sled downhill but the speed was very quickly so he couldnt stop the sled in that moment he crush and broke his leg. Jonas feel the excruciating pain. Another painful memory that was given to Jonas was the memory of hunger. The Giver told him that this memories give him wisdom and without wisdom they wouldn´t fulfill the function of advising the committee about the good or bad decisions. After some days at night with his family Jonas told his parents that he can take care of Gabriel for that night his father told him that is okay. At night Gabriel was starting to cry so Jonas pass him the memory of a sail. Jonas believe that Gabriel would come when he grow up a Reciever of Memories.

Surprising Texts 

The Giver shrugged."Our people made that choice, the choice of 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." (95)

I think that in some way the Sameness can be helpful by not having social problems like the bullying because people differences. Also with this way of thinking there is no delincuence and racism that may led to other problems in the society But not always is so good to be equal because the differences are what makes people so special and unique.  Sameness is BORING!

"Anyway," he sighed, "they wont make the decision for a while. Right now we´re all prepering for a release we´ll probably have to make soon. There´s a Birth mother who´s expecting twin males next month."

"Oh, dear," Mother said, shaking her head. "If they´re identical, I hope  you´re not the one assigned-"

"I am. I´m the next on the list. I´ll have to select the one to be nurtured, and the one to be released. It´s usually not hard, though. Usually it´s just a matter of birthweight. We release the smaller of the two." (114)

After reading this passage I think that releasing a little child from his twin is not so cool because they have the right to live with a family unit and spend time with his brother until they are chosen their family units. Also why instead of releasing they dont just count the years of the birthmother like two? like this I think it would be better and not so sad and hard for the nurturers.

Conclusions and Inferences

The only think I hope is that Jonas dont get in trouble with The Giver and disapoint the Comunnity because he pass to Gabriel one of his memories. I´m just wondering if Gabriel is going to be a second reciever with Jonas because now he knows one thing about life long time ago or if Jonas is going to give him more memories. How does Gabriel will act if something like my prediction happens?

The Giver 9-11

   

The Receiver Of Memories 

In the previous chapters the Twelves were giving their assignments and Jonas was selected to be the Reciever of Memories. On the next chapters Jonas feel different and affraid of making something wrong that might disappoint his Community. After the ceremony all the Twelves were happy about their assignments and at night all of them were going to read the instructions and rules they have to follow in their jobs but for all of them it was very tired to memorized them because there were many papers in the folder to be memorized. When Jonas get home he open his folder and he was surprise because in his folder it was only one paper and normally there are many instruction that have to be memorized and followed. While reading them he was really surprised with  the last one that says "you may lie" no one in the Community lies so he was frightened but then he start questioning if everyone when they were Twelve recieve the same instruction. The next day Jonas went to the Annex to his first day of training. When he entered he saw that the doors were locked and it was rare and surprising for him because in the Community there were no locked doors. When he entered he saw the Elder sitting in his chair watching him. Then  he started to talk with him. When they were talking the Elder told Jonas that in his training he will be passing him all his memories from the world and all the things beyond all before the Community. Jonas was going to write all these memories that the elder was going to give him. First the man told him to sit down because he was going to pass him the memory of snow. He put his hand on the back of Jonas and Jonas started to feel the sensation of snow. He feel the cold air and the experience of going downhill in a sled. When he opened his eyes he want to feel again the sensation of going downhill but the Elder can only give him once a memory because everytime he give someone his memory he loose it forever. The next memory he gave him was the memory of sunshine. Jonas can feel the hotness of the sun in his skin and then he feel pain he was getting a sunburn.

 Finally the Elder told Jonas that he can called him "The Giver" and then they said goodbye to each other.

My Reactions to Some Texts 
 

  " Before Sameness. Before Climate Control." Jonas added. 

When I read this quote I was surprise because I would never imagine that maybe in the future human could control the climate.I also think that is something CRAZY but somehow it can be helpful to be more successful. However, it could be boring without different climates because you can have fun like snow. Also my opinion of this Community is that it doesn´t exist the impossoble everything can be possible without limits.

                   "Why don´t we have snow, and sleds, and hills?" He asked"And when did we, in the past? Did my parents have sleds when they were young? Did you?"

            The old man shrugged and gave a short laugh. "No," he told Jonas. " Its a very distant memory. That´s why it was so exhausting- I had to tug it forward from many generations back. It was giving to me when I was a new Receiver, and the previous Receiver had to pull it through a long time period, too"

While reading this phrase I start to have a couple of questions. The first one was Why only one of the Elders has the power of passing someone else with his same ability all the memories they were giving by other Elders from many years ago? When did these tradition start? 

Conclusions and Inferences 

I think this book is becoming more and more interesting and exciting each time. Every chapter I learn something new and I start to questioning and imaging how living in this Community might feel.  I think that in some chapter Jonas will be giving a sad and painful memory that is not going to be like the memory when he get the feeling of a sunburn. Instead I think is going to be a memory of war, deliquence and murders. This is my prediction of what might happen with the times he is going to train.

The Giver 6-8

The New Assingments 

         December has come and everyone in the community assist to the December Ceremony the one in wich everychild passes to another age and becomes more independent throught the years. When everybody is there the kids from One to Eleven sit in their sits with their group unit. They are organize with their birth number. The ceremony that goes first is the Naming in wich the children are given to their respective family unit and given their new names. The Nurturer´s are incharge of this part. Also the children are replace if a kid was loss, the family that had experience this was given a new child with the same name as the last one. When all the ceremonies were completed was the turn of the ceremony of Twelve that was the most important because the children were given their assesment. The Chief Elder was incharge of developing this ceremony. The kids were sitting by their birth numbers, Jonas was the Nineteen but his complete number was eleven-nineteen. At first he was nervious but then he was exited to know his new assignment. His best friend Asher got the assignment of Asistant Director of Recreation Jonas feel very happy about what his friend got. When the Chief Elder got to eighteen she skip Jonas number to twenty in that moment Jonas felt embarrassed and the only thing he could think about was what did he make wrong he was worried that he could be released from the community. At the end when the Chief Elder finished with all the numbers she called Jonas. She told to the people that she didn´t make a mistake or forgot Jonas number instead she told the special Jonas was and that he was SELECTED to be the next Reciever of Memories.

          "Even the Matching of Spouses was given such weighty consideration that sometimes an adult who applied to recieve a spouse waited months or even years before a match was approved and announced. All of the factors disposition, energy level, intelligence, and interests had to correspond and interact perfectly. Jonas´s mother, for example, had higher intelligence than his father but his father had a calmer disposition. They balance each other"(48).  In this quote we can read a way in wich the people are controlled in the community. Also there is not respect and consideration to the persons because evryone is different and they can choose the person they want to marry because if you dont love the person that the Comitee choose for you it will be difficult to live a share your life with that person. So I am in total disagreement with this point of view. " The entire community had performed the Ceremony of Loss together, murmuring the name Caleb throughout the entire day, less and less frequently, softer in volume, as the long and somber day went on, so that the little Four seemed to fade away gradually from everyone´s consciousness. Now at the special Naming, the community performed the brief Murmur-of-Replacement Ceremony, repeating the name for the first time since the loss:softly and slowly at first, then faster and with greater volume, as the couple stood on the stage with the newchild sleeping in the mmother´s arms. It was as if the first Caleb was returning" (44). With this ceremony a kid that dies in the community is replace but I think that a human is not an object that can be replace as if nothing sad happens and that because is gone can revive in someone else that can be really different from the other person.

       After reading these chapters I was shocked specially because the replacement of children. Also because now I know that besides you dont choose your assignment or children, the spouses are also choose by the commitee people dont choose their wife or husband because love they are chosen because they make a balance with each other.  Moving on to another topic I predict that in chapter nine Jonas will figure it out what is to have the "Capacity to See Beyond" and why is that so especial. Finally I also predict that he will meet the Elder that will help him at his work and understand more about his selection.

The Giver 2-5

The Strage Community 

        On these chapters many interesting and strange things happen. This community is a place were the people are ruled by other ones and they dont choose what to do instead they are assign different roles in the community.  In this place people don´t talk about the differences the other ones because is seen as rude to call attention so nobody talks about it.  Also it was awkward to talk about someones successes and it goes against the rules of bragging in the community.  Another rule in the community was not to see someones nakeness unless you are a children or an old person. One day Jonas had a dream in which he wanted to bath Fiona, a friend and he wanted so terribly but he knows that to see someones nakeness was against the rules. That morning all his family talk about the dreams they had and Jonas tell his wear dream. His mother told him that it was time for him to drink the special pills that everyone drinks all the mornings. This pills help to people not having stirrings.

       I reflect a lot on these few chapters and I think that the community has many rules and restrictions for the people. One of those was that people are not allowed to have stirings or have babies with the person they want and they can only apply for two children a girl and a boy. Also the kids doesnt have so much childhood because when they are eight they start they volunteer hours and got their assignments at twelve and start to train so in a few years they start working. " Almost every citizens in the community had dark eyes. His parents did, and Lily. But there were a few exceptions: Jonas himself, and a female Five who he had noticed had the different, lighter eyes. No one mentioned such things; it was not a rule. but was considered rude to call attention to things that were unsettling or different about individuals"(20).  I think that is not bad to talk about the differences of the people because that is what makes us special and beautiful.

      Finally,  I think these community has a wear way of thinking and eventhough they want a organize place to live I think is more a place with different restrictions were people are not allowed to choose they own decisions. Also two question I have is why people are not allowed to have stirrings if it is part of the human nature? and what is the component of the pills that help people not to have them? However i think this book has many things I want to learn from Jonas community and discover who is the one that makes the choses in this place and why he/she thinks the way they do.

The Giver chapter 1

     

           The first chapter was about how Jonas was feeling. He was feeling frightened. Jonas feels this way because a year ago he saw a jet flying near the community. He was really fascinated because it was not very common to see an aircraft so near the comunity because it was against the rules and pilots can be realised. On this days Jonas was feeling eager and apprehensive because December ceremony for the Twelves was almost upon him. After school in the evening Jonas family has a ritual in which everyone has to tell their feelings of the day. In this ritual was obligatory to talk because it was a family rule in which they comment and help their family members. At first Jonas didn´t want to talk because he didn´t know how to describe his feelings that's why he let Lily his sister go first. At the end when everyone finished talking Jonas told to his parents that he was feeling apprehensive because of the ceremony of Twelve. He explain that he knows that there's nothing to worry about however he feels that way. Finally his parents tell Lily to go and prepare for bed because they were going to have a private conversation with Jonas.

         When I was reading this chapter I had some thoughts in my head. One of those thoughts were some questions when in the book says "For a contributing citizen to be realised from the community was a final decision, a terrible punishment, an overwhelming statement of failure"(2).  My questions are where does the realised people are send? are they killed? what are other ways to be realised for the community? Another thought I had was when I read this " Lily considered, and shook her head. I dont know. They acted like...like..
Animals? Jonas suggested. He laughed.
That´s right, Lily said, laughing too. Like animals.
Neither child knew what the word meant, exactly, but it was often used to describe someone uneducated or clumsly, someone who didn´t fit in"(5). I think that this community is very strict because the children dont know exactly what an animal is so they just use the word to describe a clumsly person. I think is strict because animals are not allowed and I feel sorry for the kids because having a pet is part of their choldhood because they play and have fun with the animals.

         In conclusion, I think that the next chapter is going to be interesting and I will understand more about the ceremony of twelve and figure it out more about the traditions and rules of this community. I predict that in the next chapter Jonas parents would talk with him about how the ceremony of twelve is celebrate and the importance of this practice. Also maybe they will tell Jonas how they feel when they were at his age. Maybe his father also feel apprehensive. If you want to know more about this incredible book don't forget to see my page every monday. If you want you can leave comments.

Government vs. Citizens

          The control that the government should have over the citizens is a normal one so everybody is agree with the way the governor rules the country.  For example, without being very controlling with the things that are within his grasp like citizens money. Also the country would be able to grow because there are many private industries that many times governors with a lot of power decide not to allowed them enter to the country.  This becomes a problem because there are many things we need to survive and many times those things (food, clothes etc) are imported to the country.  Also is important to have a governor that is not so controlling so then the country can be organize without people fighting and making protests because the disagreements they might have about the laws and how the president governs. Finally, I think that is not right if the government have absolute power over the citizens because many problems can be created. That´s why it should be a normal control toward the citizens. 

          In the Truman Show there are some examples in how the government have control over it´s citizens. For example, Cristoff have all the control in the city that was created for Truman to give him a life without fear.  Because Cristoff have all the control he decide what to do each day in Truman´s life so he can have a little bit of drama like when his father pretended to die and then he appears. I think that this makes Truman suffer in his life specially he was upset when he discovers all the true about the fake city he was living in.  Also was Cristoff the one that organize the city and create the idea of a fake country. Finally, I think that he has all the control because he was the director of this show so he was like the governor. 

         In conclusion, having a government that controls everything is not positive because many times people can suffer because his way of ruling, like Truman. Also a governor with to much power can make everything in his favor. That´s why poor people can increase because governors take all the money and increase fines and taxation in the city. Another thing that can happen is that by having a governor like that the country would became corrupted and wouldn´t improve.  Finally I think that because all this reasons a government shouldn´t have absolute power just the normal so the country can improve.