THE END! LEAVING THE COMMUNITY AND MAKING A CHANGE!

SUMMARY: 
The Giver and Jonas are talking about release. The Giver explains to Jonas that even if they wanted, neither of them were allowed to apply for release. That rule was added to the instructions after the failure ten years ago with the selected Receiver whose name was Rosemary. The Giver told Jonas that he felt love for Rosemary and didn´t want to cause her pain. So, during five weeks he only transmitted to her pleasant memories, but then he had to transmit to her painful memories. He decided not to transmit her memories of physical pain, so instead he gave her memories of emotional pain. After that, Rosemary wasn´t being herself anymore and was always sad without any laughter. So, she applied for release, and The Giver never saw her again. Jonas wonders what would happen if he floated off or drowned in the river: the memories would go back to the community, but The Giver could help them deal with the pain.

Jonas tells The Giver about the twin baby his father was set to release that morning. The Giver asks his Attendant for the tape of the release of the baby that morning and watches it with Jonas. In the tape, Jonas sees his father weighing both twins and handing the heavier baby to a nurse to take him back to the Nursery. Jonas keeps making comments so The Giver gets annoyed and keeps telling him to be quiet. Then, Father gives the other  baby an injection in a vein in his head. Slowly, the baby stops moving, Father puts him in a box and sends him down the garbage chute. Jonas feels extremely angry and confused!!!! The Giver says that he watched the tape of Rosemary´s release but he turned away when she asked to inject herself.


Jonas spends the night at The Giver´s since he still refuses to go back to his father. The Giver says that release is death for everyone, including the Elders, and reminds Jonas that both of them are the only ones in the community with real feelings. So, Father didn´t know he was causing death to the baby, he was only following instructions, which Fiona is being trained for as well. The Giver and Jonas come up with a plan to change Sameness! Jonas must escape to Elsewhere, knowing that he can never come back, and then all his memories will be released to the community, and they won´t be able to pick a new Receiver because there is no one available currently. Jonas really wants The Giver to come with him but The Giver doesn´t want to because he wants to be in the community when the citizens get the memories back, to help them deal with the pain. Then, the citizens will acquire wisdom thanks to the memories, and Sameness will change! The Giver also admits that he is too weak and too old to go with Jonas on the journey, he can´t even see colors anymore! Jonas reminds The Giver that some time ago he told him that when he was young the capacity to see beyond had come differently to him. Jonas asks how? The Giver tells him that his capacity didn´t start with seeing colors, but with hearing music. So, he decides to transmit a memory of it to Jonas. However, Jonas refuses to take the memory away from The Giver. Back home, Jonas pretends everything is okay with his father. At school, he keeps going over the plan which consists: during the next two weeks he will get ready to escape and receive some memories that will  give him courage. Then, the night before the Ceremony of Twelve Jonas will sneak out of his house and leave his bike and clothes by the river. Then, he will go into the Annex where The Giver will be waiting. Jonas will leave a note to his parents saying that he left for an early ride along the river, they will be waiting for him but then it will get late and they will go to the ceremony without him. No one will notice his absence since they are all focused on the ceremony. Then, The Giver will order a vehicle, send the driver away and hide Jonas in the truck. Eventually, the community will realize Jonas is missing and will ask The Giver for help. He will tell them that Jonas accidentally drowned in the river and he will help them deal with the burden of the memories. Jonas keeps insisting The Giver to come, but he says he needs to help the citizens and after that be with his DAUGHTER Rosemary.


The plan doesn´t work as it was supposed to. Jonas had to escape that night, two weeks before the ceremony. At dinner, Father announces that next morning they will have to release Gabriel. So, at night Jonas escaped in his Father´s bicycle which has a baby seat attached and took Gabriel with him. He did not have time to go back to The Giver or say bye. Days go by and Jonas keeps pedaling. Well, he and Gabriel sleep during daylight and pedal at night. They follow this routine because search planes fly over the landscape during daylight looking for him, so he and Gabriel hide while they sleep. When he sees the planes he tries to hold on to the memories of cold so that the heat devices the planes have to detect humans can´t detect them. As the days go by the planes become less frequent until they finally stop coming. The further Jonas gets away from the community the more memories start fading away because they are being released on to the community.

Jonas notices that the landscape starts changing, the road is narrower and there are much more stones, which by the way make the bike fall over and Jonas sprain his ankle. He starts traveling at daylight since the search planes are gone. The landscape changes more each time that he even saw a bird for the first time in his life, aside from the memories. They start seeing more and more animals. Gabriel and Jonas are running out of food and start getting very hungry, thankfully Jonas was able to catch two fish in the stream. Jonas starts to wonder that if he would have stayed in the community he woudn´t be hungry, but Gabriel would have died and Jonas would be starving in other ways such as starving for color and emotion! Then, Jonas sees hills which he is excited about! But, it´s extremely cold, he´s on a bike with a sprained ankle, and starving! Gabriel starts to cry, and Jonas is concerned about saving him.

Jonas feels he´s very close to Elsewhere, but he´s afraid he´ll die before getting there. Finally, they reach an extremely steep uphill, but Jonas can´t pedal up since it´s snowing and  he has a bad ankle! So, he lets his bike down, reaches for Gabriel and starts walking up, it´s sooo hard!! Every now and then walking up the hill he gives Gabriel the memory of warmth so that the cold goes away for some time, but after a while it immediately comes back. Jonas is feeling peaceful remembering about his friends Asher and Fiona, and his family, and The Giver.They finally reach the top and Jonas recognizes the place, it was the place of his first memory. He notices the sled and grabs it. He starts sledding down holding hard on to Gabriel, he tries to stay conscious and with his eyes open. He looks ahead and sees lights and colors, he know it´s a place of love. Then, he hears music for the first time, he knows there are others downwards waiting for him. Jonas thinks he just heard music from behind too "but perhaps it was only an echo."


TEXT RESPONSES: 
To a quote I would like to respond to is to the following which The Giver says in response to Jonas´ outrage of seeing his father kill the baby:

"Listen to me, Jonas. They can´t help it. They know nothing." 

Wow! I really would not like to live in this extremely safe yet fake and untruthful community, how horrid. They effort themselves so much to create a safe community knowing nothing. I think that the Giver´s and Jonas´ plan was a good idea, because all the memories will go back to the citizens. Yes, they will have to carry on with the pain, however they will acquire so much wisdom which will help them make better choices, such as not killing people.

To another quote I would like to respond to is to the last phrase of the whole book:

But perhaps it was only an echo.

I was left so confused by this quote! I got so stressed because it doesn´t tell you what finally happens. The fact that perhaps it was only an echo can be an indirect quote to tell us that Jonas died, in peace. Or he probably didn´t die and got to the place of love where he was being waited, but by who?!?! I predict that Jonas was in such peace yet weakness and starvation that he died. But, he died at his best moment, sledding downwards with a person he LOVED.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
In conclusion, Jonas and The Giver finally decide to make a change, to get rid of Sameness. Jonas has to leave much earlier than what they had planned, since Gabriel was going to get released. Jonas goes through a tough time trying to get Elsewhere because he and Gabriel start to starve, he sprains his ankle, and it´s very cold!! The landscape is wonderful filled with animals. The climate starts to change as well and it starts to snow. Jonas leaves his bike and walks a steep uphill carrying Gabriel, they are finally close to Elsewhere. They get to the top and go downwards on a sled, it´s hard to stay conscious! Up front there´s a place of love, the place he´s aiming towards. He hears music, suddenly he hears music by behind but it was probably just an echo... It´s hard to find people as brave as Jonas to do something like this for the people he loves and for his community. The community will finally be like it used to be millions of generations back, with real FEELINGS!! It was time to make a change...

MORE EMOTIONS AND SENSING THE UNFAIR SAMENESS!

SUMMARY:

One day Jonas shows up at The Giver´s room and finds The Giver in a lot of pain who begs Jonas to take some of it away. So, The Giver transmits Jonas a memory of warfare, where he is in a battlefield. He is lying on the ground and is missing a big chunk of his arm while he sees his mate die slowly next to him. The Giver feels guilty for having transmitted such a terrible memory, apologizes, and looks away.

After receiving such a memory, Jonas doesn´t want to go back to the Annex, he just wants a normal life again. But, The Giver transmits many great memories to Jonas to make up for transmitting the memory of warfare. He gives him memories such as a birthday party where Jonas feels different and special, riding a horse where Jonas feels the bond between animal and human, sitting beside a campfire in the dark where Jonas feels the joy of being alone. Finally, Jonas asks The Giver which is his favorite memory, and he decides to transmit it to Jonas. He transmits the memory of love in which Jonas lives the scene of Christmas morning. The Giver asks him what he saw and he answers that he saw family "grandparents". Jonas tries to describe an emotion he felt that he can´t find  its name, The Giver tells him it´s LOVE. He felt warmth as well. Back home, Jonas asks his parents if they love him. They seem disturbed and startled by the question, and they answer that he has to take care of his precision of language. Jonas is confused, WHAAAT?? His father says that love is a meaningless and obsolete word. Then, they asked him if he understands what they mean and he agreed, which was his first lie to his parents. In the middle of the night, Jonas whispers to Gabriel how everything could be different, how everything could be different with love. The next day, Jonas DECIDES to throw his Stirrings pill away and stop taking it.


The next morning, Jonas´ family hears over the speakers that an unexpected holiday has been declared for the day, and they all cheer in joy! Meanwhile, Jonas has stopped taking his pills for four weeks now and starts having some inappropriate dreams. Jonas also starts seeing color all the time. He also starts feeling deeper emotions and realizes that the citizens have shallow emotions. Jonas finds Asher and Fiona playing with some other kids a game where they are pretending to shoot and kill each other. Jonas begs them to stop playing the game, since he´s felt how war is like! Asher gets angry and starts arguing with Jonas. Then, apologizes. That night, Lily shares about her day and Gabe who has just learned how to walk stumbles around the room saying "Gay" trying to say "Gabe". It´s almost December again, which means that Lily will become a Nine and will be able to have her own bicycle. Father says that tomorrow the twins will be born, and he will have to decide which one is sent Elsewhere. Lily wonders what would happen if one twin was sent Elsewhere, but both twins ended up with the same name, and on a visit they would mix up, and the wrong twin was sent back to the other community. She also questions what if each citizen of the community had a twin Elsewhere.


TEXT RESPONSES:

I would like to respond to the following quotes between Mother, Father, and Jonas:

"Your father means that you used a very generalized word, so meaningless that it´s become almost obsolete," his mother explained carefully. 

Jonas stared at them. Meaningless? He had never before felt anything as meaningful as the memory. 

I don´t understand how they don´t have love in the community!!! Don´t couples love each other? How can you be married to someone you don´t love? I think Jonas is starting to sense the Sameness and how unfair the community is! He is feeling angry and confused, because now that he´s felt amazing emotions such as love, the emotions felt in the community are too shallow. I predict that Jonas is going to change Sameness in the community, something amazing is about to happen.

To another text I will respond is to the following in which The Giver and Jonas talk about what he felt during the memory of Christmas morning:

"What did you perceive?" The Giver asked. 

"Warmth," Jonas replied, "and happiness. And- let me think. Family. That it was a celebration of some sort, a holiday. And something else- I can´t quite get the word for it." 

I wonder how and at which point of the memory Jonas perceives the new words. Perceiving the words by himself is part of the capacity to see beyond, or is it wisdom, or is it another capacity unmentioned? I question myself how does he perceive the names and how do the names get to him? It´s so hard to believe that in this community they don´t know these names which we use almost every day!

FINAL THOUGHTS:

In conclusion, Jonas has been receiving completely new emotions which have led him to think about the shallowness of the community. He has felt pain such as war,but has felt pleasure with beautiful memories such as Christmas morning! He´s mad about the Sameness of the community, and thinks it´s unfair that certain emotions were taken away! My biggest prediction is that Jonas will change each citizen´s life by taking Sameness away!

Training Jonas!

SUMMARY:
Jonas continues with his training along with the Giver. The morning after Jonas receives the memory of sledding down the hill he does not share it with his family, since he was not allowed to. He kept thinking about the memory, he kept feeling that he wanted to reach something, but he did not know what that something was. When he gets to school all of his classmates are talking about their assignments and their training, and he is mad since he can´t share his training hours. Then, he heads to the annex along with Fiona, and it seems as if she is expecting him to talk about his training hours but he does not. Instead, Fiona explains about how the old have discipline wands as well, and the ton of rules they have. When Fiona goes through the door into the House of Old Jonas noticed her hair change as well as how the apple and  the crowd had changed. When he got to the annex he immediately asked the Giver about it. So, the Giver told him that it was a case of seeing beyond but that to him it happened quite different, and asks him if he looked down at the sled when the memory was transmitted to him, Jonas answered that he did not. So, he recalls the memory and looked down at the sled, there it was, changed, just like Fiona´s hair. Then, he also made him look at the books, they changed as well. The Giver explains to him that he is starting to see the color red. He says that before Sameness existed everything had a quality called color and that the color that he is seeing is red, that there are all kinds of colors. The scientists have not gotten completely rid of color, but only the people who have the quality to see beyond can see them.

Weeks go by and Jonas can see all the colors! AWESOMEEEE!!! He thinks it´s unfair that colors were taken away, they are so beautiful! Jonas tells the Giver that he believes it´s completely unfair and wrong that citizens are not allowed to make choices, such as deciding to wear a red or a blue tunic. However, the Giver tells him that the risk is that they may pick wrong decisions, therefore it´s unsafe. Jonas agrees with that. Jonas tries to make Asher see color one day, the color of the flowers, but it did not go well, even worse when he touched Asher which is considered rude in the community. The Giver transmits Jonas the memory of poachers killing an elephant, and for the first time Jonas sees men with different skin tones. After the poachers killed the elephant and took his tusks, the elephant´s mate finds him and roars in sadness. That night he tries to tell Lily that back in the past elephants used to exist, but of course it didn´t work either! Finally, Jonas asked The Giver if he has a spouse or can apply to one. The Giver answers that he does have a spouse, but that she is now living with the Childless Adults. Then, The Giver mentions about advising the Committee of Elders, he wishes they would ask for more advice. He says that ten years ago when the last Receiver failed, the memories did not come back to him and they were released to the world and everyone had access to them. So, that is when the Committee of Elders realized how important it was to have a Receiver to suffer instead of everybody else. Sometimes, when Jonas gets to training The Giver is in extreme pain so he sends Jonas away, until one day Jonas asked The Giver if he could help by taking some pain away by receiving the painful memory, and The Giver agreed.

The memory The Giver sends Jonas is the memory of breaking a leg. He sends him to the same place where the memory of snow took place, but instead the sled tipped over and he broke his leg. During his following days of training, The Giver transmits more painful memories to Jonas but always ends the day with a pleasant memory such as sailing in a lake during sunset. The Giver transmits Jonas the memory of starvation and Jonas is startled why such horror must be kept. The Giver tells him that it gives him wisdom to advice the Committee of Elders. For example, once the Committee was thinking on having birth mothers have 4 babies instead of 3 so that there are more Laborers. The Giver had to remind them that such a large population would lead them to starvation and even warfare. Meanwhile, Jonas´ father says that soon there will be twins born and that they will have to release one to Elsewhere, the one with less weight. Jonas can´t stop thinking about Elsewhere and about where the elders are sent when they are released. Jonas asks if Gabriel can sleep in his room for a few nights, and his parents agree. In the middle of the night Gabriel started whimpering, and Jonas transmitted Gabriel the memory of the sailboat which instantly calms Gabriel down, but Jonas feels it´s going away from his mind. So, he decides to take some more of the memory from The Giver and transmit some more to Gabriel. Jonas is not sure if he broke a rule or not. OOPS...


TEXT RESPONSES:

To a text I would like to respond is to the following conversation between Jonas and The Giver:

The Giver shook his head. "Those are simply the things that I do. My life is here."

"In this room?"

The Giver shook his head. He put his hands to his own face, to his chest. "No. Here, in my being. Where the memories are."

I wonder if The Giver remembers how life was before the memories, before pain. Don´t the Committee of Elders feel sorry for giving a single person so much burden to carry on his own? On the other hand, they haven´t felt real pain so they wouldn´t know what The Receiver exactly feels. Although, I believe he is so privileged to have all the memories, and be able to live them unlike the rest; except for the painful memories.

To another text I would like to respond to is to the following:

"Well..." Jonas had to stop and think it through. "If everything´s the same, then there aren´t any choices! I want to wake up in the morning and decide things! A blue tunic, or a red one?"

I completely agree with Jonas´ statement! People have the right to make their own decisions, not only the right but the freedom. And from what we´ve read, freedom is not given to the citizens in this community. It´s extremely important that we have the right to make our own choices, because if we make a bad choice we´ll experience the consequences, and learn from it! How can they know something´s right, when they haven´t felt wrongness or when they haven´t done wrong? Yes, it is safer if they don´t get the freedom to make decisions because no wrong will be done, so no pain or danger will be felt. But, the community can improve if they experience making worn choices, because they would know what not to do. It would be beneficial because this community is obsessed with perfection and Sameness. So, if they get the chance to make their own choices they could even create the community they always wanted to!

FINAL THOUGHTS:

In conclusion, Jonas has shown a ton of progress in his training, each time learning new figures from the past. He is having both painful and pleasant experiences. Nevertheless, he is extremely angry with the fact of Sameness, he wants society to be like it used to be in the past, with the freedom to make choices! He has mixed feelings about the society he lives in, it´s painless but it doesn´t grant freedom to citizens which ANNOYS him of course!! Jonas wants to change Sameness, but he doesn´t know how to!

"The Giver" Chapter 9-11

SUMMARY: 

Chapter 9:

After the Ceremony, Jonas feels lonely and senses that people have begun to think of him differently. Dinner is quiet for the most part, although Lily talks about how she will begin volunteering at the Nurturing Center tomorrow, since she has learned a lot from Gabriel, although she remembers that she is not supposed to know his name. Jonas's parents tell him that being The Receiver is the most important assignment in the community, even more important than the job of making Assignments. They remember the Ceremony of Twelve for the previous Receiver, but her name has been prohibited to say, which is the highest disgrace for a name. They say that they do not know what happened to her, but his mother tells him that Jonas has been greatly honored.Before he goes to bed, Jonas reads his folder with instructions. The sheet informs him that as The Receiver of Memory in training, he should go directly from school to the Annex behind the House of the Old each day and then head directly home after Training Hours. It also exempts him from rules regarding rudeness and allows him to ask any question of anyone and expect the truth. However, it prohibits him from discussing his training with anyone, telling his dreams, asking for any medication related to his training, and applying for release. Finally, it tells him that he is allowed to lie. He is startled by the final rule, which goes against all that he has been taught about language precision and not exaggerating. He wonders if all adults are allowed to lie, but he cannot confirm what the others have been told.

Chapter 10:

Jonas accompanies Fiona to the House of the Old, since the Annex is behind the house. When Jonas gets to the Annex, the attendant unlocks a door and allows him to enter, explaining that the locks are to ensure his privacy. The Receiver's living space is more luxurious than others´ dwellings and has thousands of books, unlike other households which only have a dictionary, a volume describing everything in the community, and the Book of Rules.The Receiver welcomes Jonas telling him that he has been The Receiver for a long time, although he is less old than he looks, and that it will require his remaining strength to train Jonas. He explains that his task is to transmit his memories of the past to Jonas, who does not understand why it is so important that The Receiver tells him his memories. The Receiver tells him that his memories are those of the whole world, including previous generations and those from Elsewhere outside of the community. Experiencing the memories gives him wisdom but weighs on him terribly, he gives as an example riding on a sled downhill. Realizing that Jonas does not understand the meaning of terms such as snow, sled, runners, and downhill he decides to transmit him the memory of snow by placing his hands on Jonas´ back.

Chapter 11: 

After a moment of feeling nothing, Jonas shivers and realizes that the air is cold, while he can no longer feel the Receiver's hands on his back. For the first time, he experiences snow, and while part of him is still in the Annex, another part of him is sitting on a sled on top of a hill. Although he has never seen a hill before, he perceives its name. While he slides downhill he enjoys the feeling.  At the end of the ride, the sled slows, and although he pushes to keep sliding, the snow that has built up stops him. Opening his eyes, Jonas finds himself back on the bed in the Annex. Jonas says he feels surprised by the experience, while The Receiver feels a little relieved to have the tiny weight of the memory off his mind. Jonas feels bad at having taken such a joyful memory away from him, but The Receiver explains that he has many more.Jonas asks how long ago the memory was and why the things in the memory no longer exist. He learns that the memory is from the distant past and that Climate Control and landscape adjustments got rid of snow and hills in order to make transportation and agriculture easier. Now, instead, the community has Sameness, which both Jonas and the old man regret. To be The Receiver is to be honored, but they do not have the power or influence to bring things back from Sameness to the way they were. As a second memory, the old man gives Jonas a memory of sunshine, he does not tell Jonas its name, but once again Jonas perceives it. Before Jonas leaves, he asks why the Chief Elder warned him about pain. The man says that he learned from his failure, but Jonas says that he is brave, so the old man returns to the memory of sunshine but adds the memory of sunburn. Jonas thanks him for the experience and says he understands better about the concept of pain. Before he returns home, he asks what to call the old man, since Jonas is now The Receiver, and the old man tells Jonas to call him The Giver.

TEXT RESPONSES:

I would like to respond to the following quote from page 85:

The man sighed. "I started you with memories of pleasure. My previous failure gave me the wisdom to do that."

 I would like to understand more about the previous failure. Mother said that the previous selected Receiver of Memory disappeared, and nobody saw her again. Why wasn´t she seen again and what happened to her? I wonder if the Giver had something to do with the failure, if he did anything wrong. In this quote he says that he is first giving Jonas pleasurable memories thanks to his last failure. Did the Giver first give painful memories to the last selected Receiver and did those memories influence her disappearance?

Another text to which I am eager to respond to is to the following from page 73:

Then she seemed to notice his discomfort and to realize its origin. No doors in the community were locked, ever. None that Jonas knew of, anyway. 

I was really startled by this text when I read it. I wonder why locks are not allowed in the community, except in the Receiver´s living place. The attendant tells Jonas that the doors are locked to ensure his privacy, nevertheless why can´t the rest of the community have its privacy? Why would the rulers avoid privacy? Is it because they want to know what is going on in others´ lives? I believe that the rulers do not promote privacy in the community because they are afraid that a citizen will do something he or she is not supposed to, such as disobeying to the rules or such as doing anything that will change the Sameness in the community in any way. 

FINAL THOUGHTS: 

In conclusion, these three chapters have probably been the most interesting and revealing chapters in the novel since we have discovered the tasks of the Giver and the Receiver. However, both of them must feel pain to transmit and receive a memory, since memories can be both pleasurable and painful. Many times the previous failure has been mentioned but it has not been revealed what happened to the subject, meaning her. In addition, we just discovered that privacy is avoided in the community for some specific reason. Many secret are hidden within and beyond this community which only the Receiver and the Giver are allowed to know and understand. 

"The Giver" Chapter 6-8

SUMMARY:
Finally the December Ceremony has arrived! Jonas and his family get ready to go to the event, they get to the ceremony and take a seat in the auditorium, except Jonas´ father who had to be with the other Nurturers. First, the Naming Ceremony starts, each newborn child receives his name except Gabe, who was given one year more of nurturing. Next, everyone performed the Ceremony of Loss for a family unit who lost their son Caleb, so the family was given a new newborn child named Caleb as well. After, the Ceremony of Ones through Eights takes place. Lily receives a new jacket and gets to stop wearing her ribbons. Finally, that´s it for the first day of the December Ceremony. The second day arrives and Jonas has mixed feelings, he is apprehensive, nervous and excited! His family unit gets to the ceremonies and takes its seats. First, the bicycles are given to the Nines, the Tens get their haircuts, and the Elevens get new clothes. Then, they have a midday break to have lunch. Jonas and Asher are nervously talking about what is awaiting them. Asher tells Jonas that if a citizen hates his assignment he is allowed to apply to go "Elsewhere", although Jonas believes it´s a myth. The elders would never make a mistake, even all the spouses are perfectly matched.

The midday break ends and the community goes back to the auditorium. The Twelves seat in order of their birth number, Jonas is 19. He sits beside Fiona and a classmate he did not like much, Pierre. The Chief Elder gives a little speech to the group of young people. She notes that, until now, differences were a bad thing. But today, differences are called out and used to decide each individual's future. Next, the assignments begin: Fish Hatchery Attendant, Birthmother, Instructor of Sixes. Then, it was Asher´s turn. The Chief Elder related funny anecdotes when Asher was a small child and he could not use language properly. He constantly said "smack" instead of "snack" and eventually he got smacked many times by his teachers; the crowd laughed. Anyways, Asher got Assistant Director of Recreation. The assignments continued, when the Chief Elder got to Fiona who was number 18, Jonas got nervous since his turn was next. Fiona got Caretaker of the Old. Jonas was getting prepared to get up and head to the stage, but the Chief Elder called out Pierre, number 20. Everyone notices and the crowd murmurs in confusion. Jonas was startled, he had been skipped, he was wondering what could he have done wrong. 
Jonas feels extremely ashamed for being skipped.

Finally, when all the Twelves received their assignments, the Chief Elder points out the fact that she skipped Jonas and apologizes. The community and Jonas as well accept her apology. She starts off with saying that Jonas has not been assigned, he has been selected. Neither the crowd or Jonas understood what she meant. She continues, and says that Jonas has been selected to be the next Receiver of Memory. Everyone gasps in surprise, since being The Receiver is the position with most honor in the community. The Chief Elder says that the current Receiver, an elder, will train the next one, Jonas. Jonas notices the Receiver, an old man with pale eyes such as Jonas, sitting with the Committee of Elders. The Chief Elder continues and starts listing all the qualities required to have to be the Receiver, which of course Jonas has: intelligence, integrity, courage (she mentioned that he will feel physical pain), and wisdom (which he does not have yet, but he will acquire). Finally, she mentions the most important quality, which is the capacity to see beyond. Jonas is about to object that and explain that he does not have that capacity, but instantly he looks back to the crowd and sees them change such as what he saw that happened to the apple. So, he tells the Chief Elder that yes, he believes that he does have that capacity. Finally, the crowd starts cheering his name, first with a murmur and then very loudly and clearly. Jonas is proud and fearful for what is to come. 
He was left alone in the stage while the crowd his name, he was feeling proud yet fearful.

TEXT RESPONSES: 

A text I would like to respond to is the following text which was mentioned in chapter 8;

"We failed in our last selection," the Chief Elder said solemnly. "It was ten years ago, when Jonas was just a toddler. I will not dwell on the experience because it causes us all terrible discomfort."

When I read this I felt startled and disturbed. All along the book it´s said the Committee of Elders never make mistakes referring to giving positions and assignments. However, it seems that they made a mistake ten years ago choosing The Receiver. I wonder why they made this mistake? Where did the selected individual go, was he released, or did he go to another community? Also, did something really unwanted happen referring to this selection, since it causes discomfort in the community?
Another text which called my attention was the following; 

"But the Receiver-in-training cannot be observed, cannot be modified. That is stated quite clearly in the rules. He is to be alone, apart, while he is prepared by the current Receiver for the job which is the most honored in our community." 

I question what does the Chief Elder mean with modified? I have mixed feelings towards this phrase, I would not like to be alone and apart from my family. Why does the Receiver have to be alone? I would mind such a solitary life, apart from the community. However, it is a position of great honor and the whole community is proud of him, So, what does the Receiver do? What is his job? I think that many painful yet adventurous events await Jonas. 


FINAL THOUGHTS: 

The December Ceremony seems to be a very fun ceremony since all the children in the community receive something special. Nevertheless, secrets lay within the community which only the rulers know about. For example, the capacity to see beyond is a capacity that no one can understand not even the rulers, but the Receiver can. "Why is that?," I believe is the question on all of our minds. Also, we have not found out yet why the Receiver is so important and what is his job. I believe that probably he is the individual who keeps all the secrets safe. I am starting to realize that this community is completely different from the communities in which we live in, so many things and feelings in Jonas´ community have to be kept  away for some reason. 

"The Giver" Chapters 1-5

Summary:

The Giver is an amazing and interesting book from what I have read the first five chapters. They give an introduction about the theme of the book and the structure and organization of the community. Jonas, the protagonist who is an Eleven soon to be a Twelve is introduced by trying to describe his feelings, regarding the upcoming ceremony of Twelve, since he would be given his assignment. Anyway, thinking about his feelings he remembers about a time a year ago when a jet flew over the community and he felt frightened, in which the pilot was released. Finally, he decided he was feeling apprehensive. When he got home his family unit performed the night ritual which is a ritual in which each family member describes his or her feelings. Its explained that Jonas has a sister Lily, and that his father is a Nurturer and his mother is a judge of law. His father confesses on peeking a baby´s name who he was nurturing because he was not growing well. So, he thought that if he called him by his name, the baby will feel in a safer environment and in comfort zone; his name was Gabriel but Father called him Gabe.  Father has broken two rules; peeking Gabe´s name and teaching his little sister when he was young how to ride a bicycle before she turned nine, which was prohibited. Father and Mother comforted Jonas about the situation, they assured him that the Committee of Elders will give him a great assignment.After, Lily appears ready to go to bed demanding her comfort object which is a stuffed animal; an elephant. Father brings Gabe home during the nights to take good care of him. Jonas notices that unlike the rest of the community, Gabe and Jonas have a main characteristic in common, they both have light eyes. Instead, the rest of the community has dark eyes. Lily points out that they both have funny eyes, but she gets called attention because it is considered rude to point out another citizen´s difference. Lily is happily intrigued with the new baby, she mentions that she would like to be a birth mother when she grows up. But, her mother tells her that it is a position of terrible honor, and that after they have 3 babies in 3 years and get pampered, they become laborers for the rest of their lives. Jonas remembers when a message was communicated trough the speakers of the community directed to him about not taking food home, since he had taken an apple home. Nevertheless, he took it home because while playing catch with his best friend Asher using the apple as the object, Jonas realized that while the apple flew across the air it changed in a way he could not describe. But, on a closer look it was the same shape and size. Anyway, a couple of days after Father brought Gabe home, Jonas was trying to decide where to do his volunteer hours. Jonas really likes volunteer hours because he feels he has freedom and also because the rest of the days hours are regulated. He notices Asher´s bicycle parked in the House of the Old. He goes inside and finds Asher and Fiona, a classmate he is fond of, in the bathing room.  Jonas bathed an elder named Larissa who related to him about that morning in which the Elders celebrated the release of an elder named Roberto. During Roberto´s release his life was related, there was a toast, speeches from friends and from him, and finally the moment he went through the door who no one knew for what it was. Finally, the next day Jonas wakes up and it is time for the morning ritual. The morning ritual is a ritual each family unit performs every morning to describe the dreams they had that night. Lily starts off with telling that she had a scary dream in which she was caught riding Mother´s bicycle. Then, Mother explains that she had a dream about being scolded about something she did not understand. Father states that he did not have any dreams. Finally, Jonas narrates that in his dream he had a desperate wanting feeling to bathe Fiona in the House of Old, however Fiona was laughing in disagreement. After he relates his dream, Mother tells him he got his first Stirrings, so she gave him pills that help the Stirrings go away.

Text Responses:

During these few chapters many situations and phrases have called my attention.
"There were only two occasions of release which were not punishment. Release of the elderly, which was a time of celebration for a life well and fully lived; and release of a newchild, which always brought a sense of what-could-we-have-done. This was especially troubling for the Nurturers, like Father, who felt they had failed somehow. But it happened very rarely." (7)

Release is described as a punishment of failure. Anyhow, it called my attention that when an elder is released it is very much celebrated, and when a newchild is released it is sad for the community. I wish I knew why the elders are released. What is required for an elder to be released? Does he have to be a certain age or does he need a requirement of a certain amount of positive accomplishments in his life? Then again, I inquire about the newchildren. Does something need to go wrong in their newborn children phase to be released? Do they have to have a certain problem to be released?
I have a desperate feeling about these two types of non-punishment releases. But especially, I am desperate to know where they are sent on the release, where are they taken. Also, on the punishment release I question what is the punishment. Is it going to some place very far away? Or is it being killed?

Another text to which I would like to respond to;
"Stirrings. He had heard the word before. He remembered that there was a reference to the Stirrings in the Book of Rules, though he didn´t remember what it said. And now and then the Speaker mentioned it. ATTENTION. A REMINDER THAT STIRRINGS MUST BE REPORTED IN ORDER FOR TREATMENT TO TAKE PLACE." (37)

From this reading, what I infer is that Stirrings are viewed as a terrible feeling or as a disease, since it requires treatment. It is very much understood that the treatment is the pills for the Stirrings to go away. But what most calls my attention is that they have to remind the community, to tell them over the speakers. I believe there must be a specific reason to remind the community often to take pills so that Stirrings go away. Meaning that Stirrings are harmful in some way. Why is it so important for the rulers or governors to keep their citizens away from Stirrings? Can Stirrings affect the community in a negative way?
This is the event where an elder is released.

Final thoughts: 

This community in which they live in is extremely regulated, strict, and potentially equal. It is rude and disrespectful to point out somebody else´s differences or to joke about being released. When a citizen  breaks a rule a certain amount of times or commits a terrible action, he is released. Nevertheless, the release of elders and newchildren is not considered a punishment. Another disturbing event is that while Jonas was playing catch with an apple, while it was in the air it changed in a way hard to describe. Also, it is extremely important to keep Stirrings away, which we do not know why. I believe that soon in the next few chapters a secret of the community will be revealed, and Jonas will be involved. A secret which first of all reveals the unknown world of animals, but also reveals the importance of feelings. Feelings have definitely something to do with the bizarre way the community is.

Control of Governments Over Citizens

In some cases, governments have too much control over citizens which leads to unwanted events such as fights and civil wars. In other cases, governments have no control over citizens which leads to a disorganized society which can cause political and economic issues. Governments should establish the laws that the citizens are required to follow. But, they should give citizens their freedom in property, family, travelling, business, and such as. Governments should control education, laws, crimes, and safety of the society; meaning the public categories. But, they should not interfere in one´s  personal life. They should give insurance, security, rights, and freedom to their citizens but stay away from their lifestyle and their way of thinking.

The movie, The Truman Show is a great supportive example about the control of governments. In the Truman Show the creator, Cristof, creates a fake world in which Truman is raised, he creates an arena which imitates the real world. During Truman´s life, Cristof films every step Truman takes, every action he makes, and every reaction he has. He does this because he wants to show the world the real reactions and emotions of Truman, he wants to give inspiration to the world, since he created many fake events in Truman´s life to make it more interesting. In this case, Cristof is the government. Anyway, Cristof mentioned that he created a world for Truman where there´s nothing to fear. He took a wrong step by giving Truman a life where there´s nothing to fear, no human should be real in a fake world. The right of Truman to live in the real world with real people should never have been taken away from him. Truman should have the right to make his own choices in life, no matter if they are right or wrong.

In conclusion, governments should give the opportunity to citizens to make their own choices and choose their way of living and thinking. Governments are not established to make choices for us or to tell us how to think or live our lives. They are established to provide security and order to our society.