Is Perfect Realistic?

Authors Note: This is a Non-Fiction piece for Language Arts class to describe the similarities and differences between our reality and reality in The Giver. It is written to improve my score in Text Analysis.

                           

            In the Novel The Giver, reality isn’t even on the same page as ours here in the modern world. Although their appearance is somewhat the same, how they see other things is way different. If everyone could see what our main character Jonas sees, life would be just like it is today in our time.

            In some ways, people in this particular community are just like us. For example, they look the same physically, there are still only two genders, and their toys are sort of the same (bikes, stuffed animals, etc.). In both communities, people here are still like people there. There are boys and girls, but no animals of known existence. Whenever they grow a year older, at the ceremony of their age, they receive something according to their age. For example, they get a front-buttoned shirt to symbolize that they are independent enough to dress themselves. Or at a different age, they get a brand new bicycle. As you can see, ours and their cities are a lot the same in many ways beyond visibility, but nothing is exactly the same.

            On the other hand, with similarities come differences. Can you imagine life if it all looked like an old newspaper; just black, white, and shades of gray? Well, this is exactly what people in this particular community see. Only the Giver and receiver can see color because they hold the memories of the past. It might be harder for us to understand, but it is true where they live. Lastly, you are given a job based on your service hours spent indifferent places of your choice. When you turn eight or nine, you are allowed to spend service hours in places like the House of the Old, Nurturing Center, and Director of threes, fours, and fives. This means that you never get to get a new job or apply for one of your choice.

            Overall, there are many similarities and differences, but people act somewhat the same as we do here in our community. People in our community act like their own person; their own style, ego, and actions. Everyone is an individual who follows their own path. This is not the case in this particular community. People always have to wear the same clothes, but they do get new clothes that are age appropriate almost every year. Also, they are required to speak completely fluently and have no grammar mistakes. If they do screw up, they will get smacked in the hands by a stick like teachers used to do back in really old schoolhouses. Here we get slightly warned if we use incorrect grammar, but nothing too serious.

            Believe it or not, many of us in our modern world wouldn’t be able to do very well in Jonas’ world. People are all different and they are used to a totally new way of living. Over the years, languages, styles, and technology have evolved greatly. Eventually, their community will change into something different than what they can even think of right now.

Dear Lily

Dear Lily,

                   

            I know it has been decades since we last saw each other, but I did find what I was looking for; a new community that has more choices than you do in our old community. Here there is freedom. There is color, choices, variety, and true families. There are grandparents. Grandparents are the blood-related parents of our parents.  Also, adults get to have their own children. That means they don’t apply for them and they can have as many as they want. Plus, it isn’t in ‘the rules’ that it has to be one boy and one girl, it can be all boys, all girls, or mixes.

           

            Another amazing thing is that you can apply for any job that you want. You aren’t assigned a job when you turn twelve because you can’t even get a job when you are twelve here. Speaking of jobs, I am sorry I never got to know what job you received. Could you please send me a letter stating what it is? Anyway, you can also quit your job at any time you would want to.

            I also have seen animals. You know those “comfort objects” with the funny names. I’ve seen elephants, horses, hippos, and many more. I think that Gabe had a hippo. Father said he was to be released, but that is the morning I took him. Gabe is safe and sound here in this new community. He doesn’t remember much, but he still has faint memories of his childhood now that he is older.

Talk to you soon,

Jonas

Important Quotes (The Giver)

Author's Note: This piece is written to analyze two quotes that I think are very important. Also, it is written to improve my score in conclusions.

Jonas was selected to become the receiver of memory and  learn what life was like generations and generations ago. In this piece I will describe a few of the key events that make Jonas' job so unique and different from everyone else's. He is only twelve, but he is taking over the job of an old, wise Elder.

The first quote that I'm going to be explaining, is one of the more important facts in this book because it keeps reoccurring. " - well this was the part that he couldn't adequately understand - the apple had changed". I think this is a key element of the story because it shows that the Elders were one-hundred percent legitimate with their decision of Jonas as the receiver of memory. What I mean by this, is the fact that Jonas is learning his job even though the ceremonies haven't even started yet. This quote appears near the end of chapter three (page twenty-four). This is only one of the two most important quotes that I have chosen to describe about his novel.

Moving on, this is a mildly important event that gave Jonas a good feel of what life used to be like. This event was the first time Jonas felt real pain in a sunburn. Here on modern-day Earth, most of us already know what that feels like; not the best. The actual quote is: "'It hurt,' he told the old man, 'and I couldn't get the word for it.' 'It was sunburn,' the old man told him". This was important because it gave Jonas a sort of pain he has never encountered before. The quote was part or chapter eleven on page eighty-six. It is sort of astonishing that only on  Jonas' second day of training, he asked for a painful memory instead of a happy vision.

As you can most likely see, Jonas has a very special job that allows him to do way more things that he wasn't allowed to do before he got selected. He is permitted to lie, ask questions, see and feel things that most everyone else in the community hasn't ever even thought about experiencing. I think Jonas will eventually slip and tell the whole community what life was like and take action to recreate what life was like generations ago.

Setting: The Giver

Author's Note: This is a writing piece to help me improve my vocabulary, introductions, and conclusions.

Recently in language Arts class, we started book clubs. I was assigned the book The Giver. It is mainly about a 12 year old boy named Jonas who lives with his assigned Mother, Father, and sister Lily. In his community, nobody knows true agony or joy. Jonas receives a job that will reveal him to what only a selected few have ever seen and felt.

The community that Jonas lives in is controlled by what they call Elders. Elders have the power to release someone from the community (the greatest punishment on can receive) and select their lifetime professions. I think that this is what you would call a perfect community. Pedestrians are classified as their age when they are 11 or under. For example, and eight-year-old would be considered an eight. Another unique thing about the community is the fact that everyone of your age has the same birthday. Although they are numbered in the order they are born, all the birthdays are celebrated on the same day. They are considered the ceremony of [age you are turning]. Whenever you age up, you receive something to symbolize your age. At a certain age you receive a shirt with buttons on the front, and at eight, you receive your bicycle. Bicycles are the main form of transportation in the community so that is a big deal.

As you can see, life is way different in this particular community than in ours. The celebrations of age are one of the most important parts of life in the novel because they mark you on your maturity, confidence, and individuality. Jonas will probably find himself well fit for his job and able to do it well.