Drawing parallels between the Giver and our world(:

The giver book really intrigued me so i tried to see what are the similarities and differences between the Giver's community and our normal life.
Well just like in the Giver all children go to school. There is a strict curriculm for every year and all students must be given education here and there. Students also undergo specialised training in their interested careers just like we do advanced studies in subjects we like. All students have to do volunteer hours to serve the community like we do now. However the community there is very old fashinoed too! For example there is very low technological level. People ride on bicycles. There is no internet, handphones and televisions. Can you imagine living in a world that seems so undeveloped?
However in the Giver there are elders to guide the younger ones just like in our world =). When Jonas felt worried about the ceremony of twelves his parents comforted him and told him about their experiences of the ceremony. In our world too, our parents help us when we face fear or failure. Yet there is no natural bond between the family. There is a strong line of distance in between the family even though it is tried to be eliminated by the community by getting family members to share their feelings every single day. In our life there is surely an unbreakable bond within the family. Most people are very close with their family and they stick together through ups and down , rooting for us :D.
But the greatest difference of all is the fact that the people there have very diluted emotions whereas in our world feelings and emotions are what make us humans! In our world we feel joy after sorrow, success after failure, acception after rejection but in Jonas's world everything a routine so there is no change in life. Hence they cannot feel the depth of emotions. Everything is already planned so people cannot make choices. However here, people have all the rights to make their own choices amd change their life.
Just like in the Giver we are also punished for our crimes.However the community there is a little more merciless than us because peoplewill be killed for commiting more then 3 crimes and one major offence. In our world we are also killed for major wrong doings but we are given more chances to learn from our mistakes and turn over a new leaf(:
Still , I would not want to live in Jonas's world because people there cannot hear one of the greatest gifts of god: music, they cannot see the beauty of vibrant colours, people cannot experience the joy after failure, they do not know how it feels to be loved by and so on.It made me realise what a free world we are in. Hence we should not take this world for granted and treasure every moment we live here =)

Hello! Here is my wall of phtos(: Including some of my view points too!

Blindly obeying.............
I feel that in the Giver the people blindly obey rules. They do not question anything much and just do what they are told to do. Jonas is the only one who actually questions the rules and the communities’ objectives like sameness. They never question the fact that their spouses are chosen and they have to kill children that are different and elders because they are no longer productive. The community members unquestioningly follow rules; and over time, because killing has become a routine practice, horrible and senseless actions do not morally, emotionally, or ethically upset them.

A world of sameness.....
The chairs are all perfectly uniformed yet so lifeless! When there is no variety , things are not eye catching and it becomes boring .If everything is the same how can we show our personal interests, talents and capabilities? There are also no colours even! Can you imagine living in a world that is like a black and white television?

No choices......
In Jonas’s society people have a very restricted choice. They follow what the elders ask them to do and even when they ask for a change of law it usually never happens. This picture shows how Jonas could make a choice and remain in that restricted community or he could break through and run to another community which has more freedom.

Utopia............
At one time in the past, the people who inhabited Jonas' community intended to create a perfect society. They thought that by protecting the citizens from making wrong choices (by having no choices), the community would be safe. But the utopian ideals went awry, and people became controlled and manipulated through social conditioning and language. Now, even the expression "love" is an empty ideal.

Bye!

First discussion about the Giver =)

Hello again(: ok so a few daysback we had a discussion in school about some of the features of Jonas's society. I felt it was very impactful on me so i decided to pen down some thoughts about it :)
One feature of Jonas's society is that it is very pre-planned. Everything from their careers to their spouses are chosen for them. People do not have a say in what they want to do,or what they want to grow up to be. They have very rigid rules which they have to follow and even if they appeal for it to be changed, the elders take a long time to think about it and rarely does a change of rules even occur. Another point is that everyone gets the same thing at the same age, like everyone gets bicycles when they are 9 and jackets with buttons in the front when they are 8. Everyone celebrates their birthday on the same day too! As a result there is no individuality shown.I feel that this a huge contrary to our present world because in our world we are recognized for creativity and our special talents, that is what differenciates us(:

Another feature of this society is that there is dilution of relationships too. Babies are born through birthmothers and children are assigned to parents! People do not feel deep emotions too.People will never love anyone truly and will never be loved truly by anyone! This makes Jonas's world seem like a very artificial place and people seem like robots because i feel that what differenciates a living thing from a non-living thing is the ability to have a sense to feel deep emotions and reveal affections. If man becomes so mechanical then we are headed for a generation of robotism.

However one thing i like a lot of Jonas's society is that they are very polite! These days if we bump into someone noone really bothers to say sorry however in his society there is a standard apology phrase for everything. Whether the people in his society say it from the bottom of their hearts or say it because they have to obey the rules is a different matter(: and also people must say that they accept one's apology. Whether or not they really forgive is also a different matter but as there is dilution of emotions it might be easy for people to forgive and forget easily =)

This is all i have for now, so think about a world like this...........

A poem on Utopia

Hallo =) Here is a poem i found about one the major themes in The Giver, a utopia.

Long ago and faraway

where all good tales began

in a land of plenty

not marred by thinking man

No poverty or sickness,

no anger, greed or hate

Time was not the master

and folk were never late

Utopian land of dreams

Heavenly place to some

To one man it seemed tedious

“A paradise for the dumb.”

“Not for those who question

or rise to seize the day,

No challenges to stretch their minds”

was what he’d like to say.

Others seemed content

in the endless glow of sun

but the wise man prayed most earnestly

that it would come undone

He grew tired of endless day

and longed for the contrast of night

because ‘Only after darkness

can they hope to see the light.’

He looked upon the people

grown complacent, soft and fat

“Nothing more and nothing less.

What’s a ball without a bat?”

There’s no competition

When everyone agrees

Surrounded by perfection

what could they hope to see?

A better world is found

in balanced black and white

Growth can only happen

through challenges in life.

Hearts and minds grow stronger

when they bravely bear the load

How can one develop

with only one choice of road?"

This was written by Chanti.

I think this is a beautiful poem which clearly illustrates how a utopia actually has many dystopian elements. If life was a still repetative and restricted path then there is nothing new! Sameness would be like water standing too long, till it becomes stagnant and all life within it ceases to exist. This is the same with life, variety is the spice of it. The poem also says that only after darkness can we look forward to light. Hence in The Giver , people do not experience hardships so they never how it is to taste the sweet fruit of success! In the book people do not even know what it is to be different and outstanding because everyone lives the same life as everyone else.The poem also says that growth can only occur through challenges in life, hence in Jonas's world there are no challenges so how do people grow wiser?If everything is already pre planned for us where is the need to think and learn to choose wisely? Overall this poem clearly states that an utopia has lots of dystopian elements hence we should learn to appreciate this free life we live and anticipating all the ups and downs we face, for we should not stagnate ourselves just like in Jonas's world(:Look forward to a change iin our everyday life and not be oblivious to even human emotions like the world in The Giver =)

My initial response to the Giver

Hello(:
When i first saw the title ' The Giver' immediately my thoughts were that this book was about someone who gives all he has for charity to make a few children happy like Santa Claus or something but after i read the book i discovered that it was about a person who teaching a boy what is a real life like. The book also says how the world there seems to be an utopia but is actually a dystopia. This is because in the starting the book says the world there has no pain, sadness, no need to make choices and suffering but towards the end we realise that the people cannot experience joy, they have no freedom to choose even their careers to their spouse.The people initially seem so calm and peaceful but in the end we realise that is because they cannot even experience normal human feelings.
I feel this book made me appreciate my life in Singapore now because although we are not in a perfect world where everything is prim and proper but we live in a world full of life and colour. Before reading the Giver I used to think that my life is too complicated and we have too many choices to make and if we make a wrong choice our life is gone. I used to wish is the world could be uniformed and mechanical but after reading this book i have learned to appreciate my life. I live in a world in which everything is not usual but there is a change, something new to expect each and everyday. There is a curiosity to know what will happen if I make a different choice. So everyday is something to look forward to rather than in Jonas's world where everything is ordinary and dull.
So i liked reading this book and enjoyed it very much =)