The Giver By Lois Lowry

In Lois Lowry’s book, “The Giver”, Jonas, the main character, lives in a utopia. His community knows nothing about war, poverty, or differences. Jobs are assigned to children once they turn twelve, and Jonas is selected to be the next Receiver of Memory, the most important assignment in his community. The Receiver of Memory retains all memories previous Receivers have experienced, during a time when everyone was different, and war and poverty still existed. To Jonas and the Giver, they are the only people in their community to know and experience these horrid memories. Jonas’ assignment as the next Receiver of Memory is a punishment he is hurt while receiving bad memories, the Elders know the dangers of the job, and he is isolated from everyone

Memories of war and injury left Jonas begging for relief-of-pain, but he is not allowed to use medicine because of the rules he is given. In the memory when Jonas is injured, it says, “Then, the first wave of pain. He gasped. It was as if a hatchet lay lodged in his leg, slicing through each nerve with a hot blade. In his agony he perceived the word “fire” and felt flames licking at the torn bone and flesh. He tried to move, and could not. The pain grew” (109). After the memory, Jonas says, “‘ May I have relief-of-pain, please?’” His leg is not broken, but he can still feel the ache in his leg and the rawness in his face, as shown on page 109. This doesn’t only happen to Jonas, though. Often, the Giver sends Jonas away from his training because of the pain from the memories. If these memories are enough to cause serious pain to the Giver, Jonas should not have to receive them

He hesitates to congratulate Jonas for his selection, because he received such an honorable role in the community. Jonas’ selection places him farther away from other children, like his friends, Asher and Fiona. His knowledge of his community and its flaws makes him feel isolated. For example, when Jonas was playing a game with his friends, he realized that he was playing a game of war. It says, “It was a game he had often played with other children, a game of good guys and bad guys, a harmless pastime that used up their contained energy and ended only when they lay posed in freakish postures on the ground. He had never recognized it as a game of war” (133). When Jonas points this out, Asher says, “’You ruined it’” and Fiona says, “‘What’s wrong, Jonas? It was only a game’” (134). It is unethical to isolate a child from their friends, give them information that most adults cannot handle, and then have them watch other children play a game out of something that is so