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  • Essay / Understanding Emotions and Feelings in “The Giver” by Lois Lowry

    Imagine living in a community where everything you do is monitored by the cameras in your home, your school, your cafeteria and everything in between. you say is recorded. Imagine living a life where you can feel no emotions, no feelings, where you have no decision to make a choice, where you have no memory of the past or where you cannot see any color except black and white . The Giver by Lois Lowry revolves around a character named Jonas, an eleven-year-old boy who lives in a very controlled community that has eliminated all pain, fear, war, hatred and all emotions. Couples are chosen and if they want to have children, they must apply. Everyone is assigned a role in this community by the elders and at the age of twelve, all children, including Jonas, must attend "The Ceremony of the Twelve". In this ceremony, elders assign each twelve-year-old child in the community a job based on their abilities and interests. Jonas has been selected as the receiver of the memories and is told that the job requires physical pain. Jonas is trained by a very old man named The Giver who holds the community's memories. He also transfers the memories to Jonas about colors since Jonas cannot see colors, he also gives memories of pain, happiness, sadness, betrayal, etc. If The Giver gives Jonas the memories, he no longer has them. Jonas is forbidden from revealing his training to anyone, including members of his family. Throughout the book, world liberation is used a lot and world means killing someone by injecting a special type of liquid into their body. Once Jonas discovered the meaning of liberation by watching his father kill a baby without his father knowing he had killed him, he was so hurt and made a plan with The Giver to release the memories of pain , happiness and being able to see colors in people. of the community because they have the right to know their emotions and their freedom. Therefore, this essay will examine the importance of memory, courage and establishing a very close relationship with one's family/mentor in the novel The Giver by Lois Lowry, to achieve a better understanding of what are emotions and feelings. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay Firstly, not being able to have a memory can be stressful because it would be difficult to remember something that you no longer have memory for. hand, an example of this situation can be that of colors. In The Giver, this shows how Jonas has no memory of feelings, of emotions that make him think of the type of community he lives in. Jonas also realizes that without color in his life, his life is clear and simple and also how he won. I can't see the physical characteristics of someone like Fiona. Not only does he realize that he can't see colors, but he also realizes that he has to rely on The Giver to give him the memories of what colors are. He goes to his training classes and meets the Giver regularly and one day Jonas said he saw something but it disappeared and he went to confront The Giver. “I'm right then, you're starting to see color,” said the Giver. “The what?” Jonas replied: The Giver signed. “How can I explain this? Formerly, in the days of memory, everything had a shape and size, as things still do, but they also had a quantity called color.” This quote from The Giver proves that they lived in a community withoutdiversity and everyone has no memories or feelings. The author tries to make his readers understand that memory is really important and without it you would not feel any emotions or feelings. One of the quotes in this chapter that helps readers understand feelings and emotions is: “When you receive memories, you have the ability to see beyond them. You will then gain wisdom and joy, as well as colors and much more. This quote helps to understand feelings and emotions because it shows how memories have the power to see beyond and express joy when the memory is happy. But at the same time, it can show different types of emotions depending on your memories. To continue, memories are important, they have the chance to show you important life lessons that will help you make better choices in life and if Jonas didn't rely on The Giver, he would never have felt what he did. is pain. Lois Lowry also uses a quote that says, “The worst part about preserving memories is not the pain. It's loneliness. Memories should be shared.” If memories are not shared, people will have no idea what emotions are or even feelings and so this quote proves that readers will have a good understanding of emotions/feelings. Some memories can also bring joy and warmth, one day The Giver transferred to him memories of grandparents sharing presents at Christmas. Jonas doesn't know the name of the holiday, but he feels the warmth and happiness of it. He also learns that the elderly were not relegated to a place of respect in the House of the Old and from this memory Jonas realizes that he never knew who his parents' parents (grandparents) were. ). “What’s your favorite memory” asked Jonas. The Giver smiles. “Lie down, I’m happy to give it to you.” “Jonas felt joy as soon as the memory began. He was in a room full of people and it was hot. He could see through the window, there were colored lights: red, green and yellow. think about family", Jonas replied. Based on this quote stated by Lois Lowry, it shows that readers understand certain emotions and feelings by explaining what family, warmth and happiness are and how they can be expressed. Jonas has some great traits in him that define who he is. This also helps readers learn more about his character. Throughout the book, Lois showed great traits in him such as caring. , responsibility, not taking back, honesty and the most important thing he has shown is courage Throughout his training to become the new receiver of memories, Jonas does not shy away from any challenge he faces. confronted, but instead he not only accepts painful memories, but he asks for them when he sees The Giver struggling in pain A quote that proves how readers understand emotions and feelings is when Jonas says, " But I did not suffer, Donor. Not really.' Jonas smiles. “Oh, I remember the sunburn you gave me the very first day. But it wasn't so bad. What makes you suffer so much? If you gave me a little, maybe your pain would be less. "This quote proves that readers gain knowledge and understanding of emotions and feelings because it shows how Jonas feels bad for The Giver, because he has been worrying about painful memories for years. When The Giver and Jonas plan to share the memories with the rest of the community by making Jonas run away from the community, he takes Gabe with him because he heardthat Gabe was going to be released because he didn't fit society's standards. Jonas leaves the community with the support of Gabriel and The Giver and he knows that without someone by his side he will be afraid and won't do it because he doesn't have support with him. Jonas also knows that if he and Gabe get caught, they will both die, but he does it anyway to protect the lives of others. The journey he is about to undertake requires strength and confronts exhaustion as well as starvation. “He was exhausted. He knew he had to sleep while resting his own muscles and preparing for even more hours on the bike. It would not be safe to travel during the day.” This quote indirectly says that he has to take care of himself because he has to take care of Gabe without getting caught, and it shows emotions and feelings because it shows how much Jonas cares for Gabe. Another quote that shows Jonas' care for Gabe is when he transfers the memory of the wind to him to keep him from panicking. "Before leaving the house, he placed his hands firmly on Gabe's back and told him conveyed the most soothing memory possible: a hammock swinging slowly under the palm trees.” From this quote, readers have a better understanding of the feeling because it implies that Jonas is willing to get rid of his memories to make Gabe feel safe and calm. Finally, in order to better understand what emotions and feelings are, the characters must establish a close relationship. From the beginning to the end of the book, Lois Lowry led Jonas to establish close relationships with The Giver, Gabe, and his family. The relationship Jonas has with his mentor, also known as The Giver, is very different from his other relationships. His relationship is more open-minded because of the rules Jonas learned from his training book. One of the rules in the book was that "from this point on, you are exempt from the rules governing rudeness." You can ask any citizen any question and you will receive answers.” From this quote, it shows how Jonas has the right to ask for anything and shows that his relationship with The Giver is more open-minded. The reason this shows that he is more open-minded is because Jonas has rules that he must follow if he wants to know something. Not only does The Giver give him the answers to his questions, but he helps him explain them and behaves as well. When Jonas wanted to know the meaning of liberation, The Giver gave him the answer by showing him a video in which a baby was given an injection by his father (who was a nurturer) and died. When Jonah began to sob and scream and beat the bed with his fist, the Giver comforted him by saying, “You can stay here tonight. I want to talk to you. But you must keep quiet now, while I inform your family unit.” These quotes prove that Jonas has established his relationship with The Giver and that The Giver is ready to talk to him and have Jonas express his feelings regarding the release of a newborn baby. This also shows an understanding of emotions and feelings as Jonas is now heartbroken and The Giver tries to calm him down and at the same time he shows care towards Jonas. Not only did Jonas form a good relationship with The Giver, but he also formed a very stable relationship with Gariel. The Giver teaches Jonas how to love, and Jonas comes to love and care for Gabriel by comforting him with positive memories in the same way that The Giver comforts him. Jonas indirectly learns not to be selfish by transferring his memories to Gabe. Jonas transfers memories like snow, memories of cool winds that]