In the following chapters Jonas experiences normal feelings during puberty. Feelings of loneliness, feeling unloved, and feelings of rebellion. Jonas is forced to grow up faster then the other children his age, because he experiences memories that the others do not. When Jonas starts to see colors, he soon begins to think that maybe sameness is not a good thing. He wants to have the freedom to choose what color of tunic he wants to wear. This is the beginning of change for him. He starts to become an individual, and begins to see all that is wrong within the community.
When I was in middle school, I remember there was a little clique of girls that I liked to call "the followers." They all dressed the same, they acted the same, everything about them was the same. At lunch they liked to bully some of the kids, but one day things changed. One of the girls was different. She had finally seen that what they were doing was wrong, and she didnt want to follow them anymore.
This is what Jonas is starting to realize. Then, one afternoon Jonas goes home and asks his parents if they love him, they respond by saying that it is just a hollow word. This makes Jonas sad.
Children who are not told that they are loved turn out to have low self-esteems, and usually have social issues. Only few overcome this and have regular social lifes. I make it a point to tell my children everyday how much I love them. From the time of my earliest memory, until I was 12 I can remember my parents always saying, "I love you, good night, sweet dreams." But soon after, I guess my parents thought that I was to old to hear that, so they just stopped. Two years passed, and then my family had a serious change to our family. My parents seperated. That was when my parents forgot about our age and made it a point to tell us that they loved us again. It is not an everyday occurance, but we still know that we are loved. It seemed to me that once my family started expressing their love for one another, things became better. Jonas does not have this feeling of security and love.
Through out these chapters Jonas receives memories on various things, such as pain, cold, sunshine, and a rainbow. He copes with the difficult memories, and the Giver always ends their sessions on a pleasant note. Then one day, Jonas sees something that he does not want to remember. The "release" of a toddler. Jonas had always believed that "release" was a happy occasion, but this was far from that. The child is injected in it's soft spot and killed, but not with out releasing a blood chilling scream of pain. Jonas and the Giver now know what they must do. They scheme to release these memories to everyone else, and Jonas and Gabe will escape to "Elsewhere."
Honestly, I do not remember any memories of news reports or articles on child abuse or murder of a child until I was pregnant with my first child. I remember reading about a newborn baby girl that was about 12 hours old, and she was left on a country road to die cold and alone. To this day that story makes my stomach turn. Having a baby is a joyous occasion, but some cruel, numb, sick person just left this baby to die. The city gave the little girl a proper buriel, and named her Hope Medina. I remember wanting to go and put flowers on the grave, but I couldnt bring myself to go. Then a month later I had my little boy. Yes, it might seem grotesque to bring this up, but the way I felt reading that article I think is the way Jonas might have felt seeing the "release." It makes you want to have justice for these little ones who can not protect themselves, and Jonas' form of protection came as running away. He protects Gabe by taking him away from that terrible place. That terrible place of sameness, where they choose who can live and who can die. It is a struggle, but in the end the two boys make it to "Elsewhere." At this point, I concluded that they really were a part of a cult or sect. I really have no clue what that would be like, but my friend compared it to going to a catholic girl school and then being free to dress however she wanted in college. Now, I know this is not exactly the same, but I can see her point of view. She was always told what to do, what to wear, and where to be. Even on the weekends, her parents were very strict. Once she went to college she had the freedom to buy the clothes she wanted, and express herself as an individual.
The book ends with the hope that Jonas and Gabe find love and happiness "Elsewhere."
That's Great
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