We just finished a book in language arts class called The Giver. It’s about a utopian society WAY in the future were everything is equal. Everyone in the community is given a job which they perform until they are too old and enter the house of the old. When they are really old, they are released from the community. (I won’t tell you what happens during release or it will be ruined.) Everyone is given meals everyday. Everyone has the right to issue for a spouse and let the commity of elders findĀ match, but nobody has to. Each family (mother and father) is issued two children, a son and a daughter, which they can apply for whenever they want to. There are birthmothers to give birth to the children. When kids start to feel sexually attracted to the opposite sex, they are given pills to stop it. There are other communities around the one in the story, but they aren’t involved much. Jonas, the main character, is chosen to be the new Receiver for the community. The Receiver is the one who holds all the memories of pain, happiness, and emotions. The people in the community have no emotions, they know nothing of true happiness, sorrow, misfortune, loneliness, love, or suffering. None of them know about war or anything where people are harmed. The worst suffering in the community is when, for example, a little boy drowns in the river. Through his training to become the new Receiver, Jonas learnes all these feelings. He is very angry at the community and the book is about how he deals with it and what happens in the end.
-Isaac
2 responses so far ↓
1 Bronwyn G // May 15, 2006 at 7:55 pm
Thank you. You expressed his role very poignantly.
I think I know what happens when people are released. But I won’t tell anyone.
2 *Nasya-Dawn* // May 18, 2006 at 1:22 pm
Heyy it’s Nasya again. When I lived in Stonewall I read The Giver then this year in Snow Lake I read it again with my class. I love this book. As for release all I’m going to say is it’s sad. Do you like this book? Lots of people in my class didn’t but I did. I can’t wait till the movie comes out. Since our movies are so advanced now it should be great. Well that’s all for now bye.
*Nasya-Dawn*