Opinions In The Giver

Throughout time, in the present, past and future, all human beings have, had, or will have some sort of opinions about objects, places or other living things. Opinions are one person's point of view. They are not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. People form opinions off of many things, such as personal experiences, what their peers think about the subject, or what they have been taught through religion or schooling. Although one may think that their own opinions are correct, they must hear both sides of the story before they know what is true. In the novel The Giver, this theme is demonstrated and it explains that opinions may change when knowledge is gained. Generally, opinions can be changed to be more positive than a person thinks the situation is. This is shown through Jonas, one of the characters in The Giver. In the

The characters, Jonas and The Giver, prove this statement to be true. Jonas recently tells the Giver about all the new concepts that his teacher is teaching him about the brain and how it is used to function. The Giver knows from wisdom and experience that Jonas’ information is not true, and frowns upon his teachers for giving false information without knowing what is actually true. This example is best seen in the text, “‘They know nothing,’ the Giver said briefly.”(Lowry, pg. 132) This passage explains that the Giver thinks Jonas’ teachers are foolish and unknowing. Jonas changes his opinion about his teachers in a negative way, after hearing about what the Giver said about them. This situation could be true about life and about the novel. In life, people frequently change their opinions when they hear the other side of the story. This is another reason why we should hear both sides of the story before we judge the situation. This is also known as judging a book by its cover. Overall, when knowledge is gained, opinions may