Memories and Individuality
Jonas lives in a community whose inhabitants feel no real emotion, where individuality is a thing of the past, and where the world has been drained of color. Jonas is just like everyone else in his community. But after the Ceremony of Twelve, he is separated from his peers in a way that is to them, inconceivable. A man known as The Giver has chosen Jonas to receive memories in order for him to experience the world as it existed in the past: a place of pain, joy, sorrow, and beauty. As Jonas’s perception of the world begins to change, he starts thinking about his society in a new light. My favorite book, a dystopian novel, falls in a genre that is over-crowded with bestsellers such as The Hunger Games, Divergent, …show more content…
Only The Giver and Jonas have access to memories because they are too painful for everyone to experience. However, the community believes that memories hold power since wisdom can only be gained by learning from the past. Yet without realizing it, the community has sacrificed joy, happiness, and so much more to avoid pain, or even the risk of pain. The memories that Jonas receives involve so many experiences that we take for granted, but that his community lives without. Memories such as sledding down a snow-covered hill in winter, sailing on a pristine lake at sunset, celebrating Christmas surrounded by a loving family, and even simply enjoying the sunshine are all memories that have been erased from the minds of those in Jonas’s …show more content…
I have found that when I do take risks, I am usually rewarded. For example, I decided to play tennis for another school during my junior year of high school. I had never played before, so I was nervous about whether or not I’d be any good at tennis and the fact that I did not know anyone. However, I fell in love with the sport, earned a varsity position, and made some really close friends. It’s true that I could have hated tennis, and felt like an outsider for the whole season, but I felt quite the opposite. Life is full of risks, but if we never take any, then we never get to benefit from them. Instead, we may live with the regret of not trying something adventurous. The Giver makes me want to experience life to its full potential, not just experience what is
Jonas lives in a community whose inhabitants feel no real emotion, where individuality is a thing of the past, and where the world has been drained of color. Jonas is just like everyone else in his community. But after the Ceremony of Twelve, he is separated from his peers in a way that is to them, inconceivable. A man known as The Giver has chosen Jonas to receive memories in order for him to experience the world as it existed in the past: a place of pain, joy, sorrow, and beauty. As Jonas’s perception of the world begins to change, he starts thinking about his society in a new light. My favorite book, a dystopian novel, falls in a genre that is over-crowded with bestsellers such as The Hunger Games, Divergent, …show more content…
Only The Giver and Jonas have access to memories because they are too painful for everyone to experience. However, the community believes that memories hold power since wisdom can only be gained by learning from the past. Yet without realizing it, the community has sacrificed joy, happiness, and so much more to avoid pain, or even the risk of pain. The memories that Jonas receives involve so many experiences that we take for granted, but that his community lives without. Memories such as sledding down a snow-covered hill in winter, sailing on a pristine lake at sunset, celebrating Christmas surrounded by a loving family, and even simply enjoying the sunshine are all memories that have been erased from the minds of those in Jonas’s …show more content…
I have found that when I do take risks, I am usually rewarded. For example, I decided to play tennis for another school during my junior year of high school. I had never played before, so I was nervous about whether or not I’d be any good at tennis and the fact that I did not know anyone. However, I fell in love with the sport, earned a varsity position, and made some really close friends. It’s true that I could have hated tennis, and felt like an outsider for the whole season, but I felt quite the opposite. Life is full of risks, but if we never take any, then we never get to benefit from them. Instead, we may live with the regret of not trying something adventurous. The Giver makes me want to experience life to its full potential, not just experience what is