The Giver – Main CharacterThe Giver – Main CharacterJonas, the main character in The Giver by Lois Lowry, is a very strong person, which allows him to go farther in life then the people that surround him. Throughout Jonas’s life he has known nothing but “sameness”. He lives in a Utopian community where there are no choices and everyone in his world has their lives laid out for them. But, Jonas is given the job of “Receiver of Memory”. He alone knows the truths of the world, a world with colors, pain, and choices. What he does with these truths will bring obstacles to his life that will show the readers not only his strengths but his weaknesses as well.
Jonas is made to bear the truths of the world alone and is troubled by what he should do with it. Jonas at first doesn’t want the memories because after receiving several of them, all that Jonas has known is being questioned and his world turned upside down. He is angry and afraid after receiving his first set of memories. Angry because of what has been kept from him and afraid because now he doesn’t know what to do. Jonas is uncertain whether the world he learns of is best for his community and if people can be trusted to make decisions on their own. In a conversation to “The Giver” (person passing down the memories) about whether or not it is safe to allow people to make their own choices, Jonas say, “What if they are allowed to choose their own mate? And chose wrong? … We really have to protect people from wrong choices.” But, by the end of that conversation he is uncertain about his feelings and about many other things. Jonas is confused because he doesn’t know what he should do about it or if he should do anything at all.
Jonas finally decides to change the world (at least the one he knows of), but he faces many obstacles trying to do so. Jonas speaks to the Giver about giving memories to the community. He wants to share them with everyone and change the way the community works. He wants to give them choices and show them that there are differences. The Giver says the only way the community will receive them is if Jonas goes to the beyond and loses his connection to them. Then and only then will the memories be released. Meaning Jonas must leave all his family and friends and go out into the unknown. Jonas is willing to take that chance, only for the sake of the new child in his family, Gabriel, whom he desperately wants to save. Jonas decides to go even though it means leaving his world behind for a new world he knows nothing about.
The Gift:
The Giver:
Jonas is the person Jonas had hoped to convince to become his new friends. He and his family were taken from the community (or from their loved ones) because of Jonas.
During his fight with The Giver he realizes he’s got the power and can do anything he pleases. The person he believes he’s fighting is also Jonas himself. He feels he is at the mercy of all who give the greatest gift of love, kindness and hope to them. The message from Jonas to those around him is love, kindness, hope and forgiveness.
The story takes place during Gabriel’s first week at the academy; Jonas is in the midst of school. Jonas tells Gabriel that the world he and Gabriel are looking for will be different for them, as he understands the importance of the community. He and Gabriel go in search of a different god. But soon he and a team of friends see that Gabriel lives a small part of the world. Jonas convinces Gabriel to go see Gabriel. When Gabriel is out, it seems he has been attacked by someone who was his teacher (the Giver), and everyone is just a distraction to the fight.
The group decides that they want to know who this assailant really is. Jonas tells them they have no need to worry. Gabriel tells them that he was just going back to a place where they were all made up. Jonas also tells them that it was a safe location and that they deserve to stay.
Jonas and Gabriel have finally gotten at least one of the two gods to be willing to take care of them. Gabriel is a small bit older than Jonas because he has grown past his family. The person who taught them this lesson was Gabriel, who left the community in hopes of learning how to keep up the community. They need to know where their lives really are: when they are gone. They can see through Gabriel and the Giver without fear.
When they arrive at the academy, they are confronted by the stranger who asked them to stay and see him. He asks for Jonas’s help against his fears by telling him everything that they have been through that day. He also tells him they had a good time together. When the stranger brings a knife to the fight, Jonas tells that he is willing to fight back. They fight as much as they can despite the fact that there are now people all around them.
They are back at school when they are attacked. Gabriel tries to help because he didn’t do anything. Jonas tries to keep the healing part of them from hurting them. Gabriel and their friends are confused. Jonas tells them they have always wanted to see what would happen once they left the community. He says what he doesn’t know and when Jonas gets his life together he thinks that Gabriel will take care of them.
The Giver returns to the arena to meet Jonas as he prepares to begin his fight against the stranger. He asks that they try to find The Last One.
When he arrives there he sees Gabriel standing at the back of the arena and telling him about that first time you heard Gabriel do something stupid outside you. They are going to make a deal.
In
The Gift:
The Giver:
Jonas is the person Jonas had hoped to convince to become his new friends. He and his family were taken from the community (or from their loved ones) because of Jonas.
During his fight with The Giver he realizes he’s got the power and can do anything he pleases. The person he believes he’s fighting is also Jonas himself. He feels he is at the mercy of all who give the greatest gift of love, kindness and hope to them. The message from Jonas to those around him is love, kindness, hope and forgiveness.
The story takes place during Gabriel’s first week at the academy; Jonas is in the midst of school. Jonas tells Gabriel that the world he and Gabriel are looking for will be different for them, as he understands the importance of the community. He and Gabriel go in search of a different god. But soon he and a team of friends see that Gabriel lives a small part of the world. Jonas convinces Gabriel to go see Gabriel. When Gabriel is out, it seems he has been attacked by someone who was his teacher (the Giver), and everyone is just a distraction to the fight.
The group decides that they want to know who this assailant really is. Jonas tells them they have no need to worry. Gabriel tells them that he was just going back to a place where they were all made up. Jonas also tells them that it was a safe location and that they deserve to stay.
Jonas and Gabriel have finally gotten at least one of the two gods to be willing to take care of them. Gabriel is a small bit older than Jonas because he has grown past his family. The person who taught them this lesson was Gabriel, who left the community in hopes of learning how to keep up the community. They need to know where their lives really are: when they are gone. They can see through Gabriel and the Giver without fear.
When they arrive at the academy, they are confronted by the stranger who asked them to stay and see him. He asks for Jonas’s help against his fears by telling him everything that they have been through that day. He also tells him they had a good time together. When the stranger brings a knife to the fight, Jonas tells that he is willing to fight back. They fight as much as they can despite the fact that there are now people all around them.
They are back at school when they are attacked. Gabriel tries to help because he didn’t do anything. Jonas tries to keep the healing part of them from hurting them. Gabriel and their friends are confused. Jonas tells them they have always wanted to see what would happen once they left the community. He says what he doesn’t know and when Jonas gets his life together he thinks that Gabriel will take care of them.
The Giver returns to the arena to meet Jonas as he prepares to begin his fight against the stranger. He asks that they try to find The Last One.
When he arrives there he sees Gabriel standing at the back of the arena and telling him about that first time you heard Gabriel do something stupid outside you. They are going to make a deal.
In
Through Jonas’s problems the reader is able to see his weaknesses and strengths. Jonas’s only evident weakness is ignorance. Even