In Lois Lowry’s “The Giver”, Jonas resides in a seemingly perfect, idyllic world, meticulously controlled, yet under this guise hides a dark truth. As the story unfolds, Jonas, the protagonist, evolves from a law-abiding citizen to a determined individual challenging his societal norms. Through his experiences, Jonas confronts the limitations of his world and seeks change. Jonas starts just as clueless as any other person in his community, blindly following directions and rules. Chapter 5, page 48, “It’s just the pills”. You’re ready for the pills, that’s all. That’s the treatment for Stirrings.” Jonas brightened. He knew about the pills. His parents both took them each morning.Now he swallowed the small pill that his mother handed him.” This section of the chapter exemplifies how Jonas …show more content…
It was his first lie to his parents.” This section of the chapter now reveals for the first time Jonas going against his societal norms and questioning if his parents love him. By doing so, he is questioning if love even exists in his society. Another example of Jonas beginning to realize more and more of the truth is when Jonas sees the “release” of the twins by his father. Chapter 19, page 188, “He killed it! My father killed it, too! Jonas said to himself, stunned at what he was realizing.” This line of text demonstrates how Jonas is beginning to learn the dark truth of his society. Jonas realizes that his community is not the perfect idyllic society he knows. Jonas, now knowing that his society is not a perfect utopia, plans with The Giver to escape and release the memories to everyone. He enacts change in his society by doing this. In conclusion, Jonas’s evolution throughout the story is a combination of his experiences and training with The Giver. He grows and slowly understands that his community isn’t what he thinks it is. Jonas changes from a compliant member of society to a determined individual seeking the change of his