They Speak A Thousand Words




This picture depicts four plush toys, namely a giraffe, a lion, a hippo and a cow. In Jonas' society, all children had their comfort objects which were animal soft toys. Lily's comfort object was a stuffed elephant. The children had never seen the animals in real life but only in the form of toys. This shows how enclosed and restricted Jonas' society is. This is particularly saddening as I believe that everybody should be exposed to how animals live and behave as they are a vital part of Mother nature.




Shhh! Do not say the wrong word!

In Jonas' society, the precision of language is emphasised. If one uses the inappropriate word, he may be scolded or punished. For example, a three year old Asher who was too excited for his snack said "smack" instead and was given what he asked for: a smack.




Which one?

The joy of colour, or the mundane black and white?

Well, the people in Jonas' community do not really have a choice, or rather, they had only seen their world in black white since they were part of the community. Imagine a world without colours. No colourful flowers to enjoy, no rainbow to get excited about... I could go crazy. Luckily, jonas gets to experience colour finally! Apparently, it was Jonas' ability to see colour that made him the appropriate choice for a new Receiver. When he finally knew what colour was, he was desperate to share it with everybody around him, to show them that hey! Look around! There is a world beyond your wildest imagination you haven't realised!



Children do not get to celebrate their birthdays in Jonas' community. Instead, they are officially known to be a year older in December, when the Ceremonies for each age group take place. This is another situation that shows the ideology of sameness where children cannot celebrate their special birth date. Individuality is lost too.



“Father asked us what was God's noblest work. Anna said men, but I said babies. Men are often bad, but babies never are.” -Louisa May Alcott

Why release a baby when it is a gift from God to Humanity? Why deny a baby's right to live when it has a weaker physique? In the community's effort to advocate sameness, shouldn't they let every baby who is brought into the world be given a chance to live? To be equal like everyone else? Why the ruthlessness? These questions constantly ring in my mind when I think about the Giver. However, I know that the community has their rationale behind it. There are always two sides to a story, aren't there?

The government is very pragmatic and may only want physically strong people to join the workforce. They could be worried that the community may be bereaved shall the baby die. Maybe, just maybe.



"What does this picture have got to do with the Giver?"

The people in Jonas' community will never ever experience the real joy of falling in love, of having a baby together. The people have to take their pill daily after they encounter their first Stirrings. Yes, this may be an effective way of eradicating the problem of premarital sex, abortion, and sexual-related crimes, but the people will never know how exhilarating falling in love can be.

In the community, each couple applies for a child, instead of having their own flesh and blood. I feel that this system creates a void in the parent-child relationship as the child is not the couple's flesh and blood so there is no special bond and the element of love present between parent and child. How sad.



Pain
This photo represents the anguish Jonas must have felt when he receeived his first memory of pain- a twisted leg, and loneliness. The subsequent memories of pain, were not of physical pain anymore, but emotional hurt.



How it all seems okay.

Release is akin to murder. So does that make Jonas' father a murderer?
The people have always believed that the Release meant going to Elsewhere. However,as Jonas finds out the ugly truth of his community, he finds out that Release is injecting a person with a chemical that kills the person.

But we cannot blame the people who perform Release. They were taught that after the people were injected, they would go to somewhere else, perhaps another community. They were led to think that Release was a normal routine. Very normal.

"Great things are done when men and mountains meet. This is not done by jostling in the street." ~William Blake

He must have felt rejuvenated.
Rejuvenated to see a spectacular view before him. To finally experience the majestic hills after seeing it only from memories.

He must have felt encouraged.
Encouraged to continue moving on with Gabe till he finds another community where he and Gabe will be loved. Why? Simply because the wondrous magic which he only knew in the memories he received are now coming face to face with him. He spirit must have been lifted when he realised that the memories were not the past, but the present and the future, where there are hills, rainbows, and most importantly, love.