Book Summary- The Giver

The Giver

Where Jonas lives rules are strictly adhered to and every aspect of a person's life is carefully planned. A Committee of Elders who reviews each individual to see if a person’s characteristics will be compatible with his mate matches husbands and wives as couples. Exactly two children-one {male and one female}. People don’t really make choices on their own, the community decides everything for them. There is no snow or sunshine, no colors or music, no animals or nature {which isn’t really my ideal type of world}. When Jonas and other elevens become Twelve’s in December, they get their assignments that assign them to their particular jobs. Someone with intelligence, courage, and integrity, Jonas is chosen for the most grateful and respected job, which is to become the Receiver of Memories. A Receiver of Memories is one person in the society who has admittance to all the memories of the past. He has to keep these memories inside himself until he can train a new Receiver. The Receiver has knowledge of things that no one in the community has admittance to, but the Receiver also has the responsibility to bear the burden of sorrow and pain that some of the memories bring. The Giver must give Jonas memories of loneliness, fear, grief, rage, and pain. All of which he never felt in the community he lives in. Through the memories he gets from The Giver, Jonas comes to understand the many truths about the community. He realizes that it is unfair to rob people of being able to make choices for themselves about their own lives. Again I don’t see how this is an ‘’ideal world’’ to someone? Even with all the good and bad memories I would honestly want to be the giver because then I would have the ability and power to change the way people live, [well at least in this ideal world]. While in training with the giver Jonas comes up with a plan to change the community, which is to let loose to all the memories he receives and set them free… and I am on the like the last 2 chapters and have not finished.