The Giver told him that it would be a very long time before he had the colours to keep.
"But I want them!"Jonas said angrily. "It isn't fair that nothing has colour!"
"Not fair?" The Giver look at Jonas curiously. "Explain what you mean."
"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?"
He looked down at himself, at the colourless fabric of his clothing. "But it's all the same, always."
Then he laughed a little. "I know its not important what you wear. it doesn't matter. But-"
"It's the choosing that's important, isn't it?" The Giver asked him.
Jonas nodded. "My little brother-" he began, and then corrected himself. "No, that's inaccurate. He's not my brother, not really. But this newchild that my family takes care of- his name's Gabriel?"
"Yes, I know about Gabriel."
"Well, he's right at the age where he's learning much. He grabs toys when we hold them in front of him- my father says he's learning small-muscle control. And he's really cute."
The Giver nodded.
"But now that I can see colours, at least sometimes, I was just thinking: what if we could hold up things that were bright red, or bright yellow, and he could choose? Instead of the Sameness." "He might make wrong choices."
"Oh." Jonas went silent for a minute. "Oh, I see what you mean. It wouldn't matter for a newchild's toy. But later it does matter, doesn't it? We don't dare to let people make choices of their own."
"Not safe?" The Giver suggested.
"Definitely not safe,"Jonas said with certainty."What if they were allowed to choose their own mate? And choose wrong?
"Or what if," he went on, almost laughing at the absurdity,"they choose their own jobs?"
"Frightening, isn't it?" The Giver said.
Jonas chuckled. "Very frightening. I can't even imagine it. We really have to protect people from wrong choices."
"It's safer."
"Yes," Jonas agreed. "Much safer."
As his training progresses, Jonas starts to learn about the existence of colours and begins to see them fleetingly in his daily life. During a conversation with the Giver, Jonas expresses that it is unfair that nothing has colour in his society- he wants to have a freedom to choose between things that are different. However, he later realizes that if people had the power to make choices, they might “choose wrong”. This makes him feel frustrated as he is unable to come to a conclusion.
As shown in the extract, nothing in Jonas’s community has colour and therefore also symbolises a lack of choice. For example, as Jonas had said, they do not have the most basic choice of what colour things to wear everyday. This lack of choice also includes jobs and spouses too whereby they are all chosen by the council of elders. Though people unsatisfied can put up an appeal, it is however mentioned earlier in the book that a common joke in the community was that by the time a change was made, the community members would have become elders.
As Jonas matures, he starts to disagrees with some of the things that his community does. However, he still feels that it is safer to protect the citizens from making wrong choices. Jonas’s twelve years of being part of the community can probably still be seen where he describes choosing jobs as “very frightening”. Because everything has all along been decided for the citizens, they therefore do not know what freedom nor choice means. Therefore, it will definitely seem very intimidating for them to make their own choices when the need comes.
I beg to differ from Jonas as I feel that having a choice is not a scary thing at all. It is part of my society where everyone has to make choices at some point of our lives. For example, we have to choose which what subjects to study at school and ultimately, what job we want. I agree that people make wrong choices sometimes and that some are reversible while others are not. Everything has its ups and downs and I still think that the pros(freedom) outweigh the cons.
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♥ Saturday, July 10, 2010
Short Extract
An extract taken from pages 97-98:
The Giver told him that it would be a very long time before he had the colours to keep.
"But I want them!"Jonas said angrily. "It isn't fair that nothing has colour!"
"Not fair?" The Giver look at Jonas curiously. "Explain what you mean."
"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?"
He looked down at himself, at the colourless fabric of his clothing. "But it's all the same, always."
Then he laughed a little. "I know its not important what you wear. it doesn't matter. But-"
"It's the choosing that's important, isn't it?" The Giver asked him.
Jonas nodded. "My little brother-" he began, and then corrected himself. "No, that's inaccurate. He's not my brother, not really. But this newchild that my family takes care of- his name's Gabriel?"
"Yes, I know about Gabriel."
"Well, he's right at the age where he's learning much. He grabs toys when we hold them in front of him- my father says he's learning small-muscle control. And he's really cute."
The Giver nodded.
"But now that I can see colours, at least sometimes, I was just thinking: what if we could hold up things that were bright red, or bright yellow, and he could choose? Instead of the Sameness." "He might make wrong choices."
"Oh." Jonas went silent for a minute. "Oh, I see what you mean. It wouldn't matter for a newchild's toy. But later it does matter, doesn't it? We don't dare to let people make choices of their own."
"Not safe?" The Giver suggested.
"Definitely not safe,"Jonas said with certainty."What if they were allowed to choose their own mate? And choose wrong?
"Or what if," he went on, almost laughing at the absurdity,"they choose their own jobs?"
"Frightening, isn't it?" The Giver said.
Jonas chuckled. "Very frightening. I can't even imagine it. We really have to protect people from wrong choices."
"It's safer."
"Yes," Jonas agreed. "Much safer."
As his training progresses, Jonas starts to learn about the existence of colours and begins to see them fleetingly in his daily life. During a conversation with the Giver, Jonas expresses that it is unfair that nothing has colour in his society- he wants to have a freedom to choose between things that are different. However, he later realizes that if people had the power to make choices, they might “choose wrong”. This makes him feel frustrated as he is unable to come to a conclusion.
As shown in the extract, nothing in Jonas’s community has colour and therefore also symbolises a lack of choice. For example, as Jonas had said, they do not have the most basic choice of what colour things to wear everyday. This lack of choice also includes jobs and spouses too whereby they are all chosen by the council of elders. Though people unsatisfied can put up an appeal, it is however mentioned earlier in the book that a common joke in the community was that by the time a change was made, the community members would have become elders.
As Jonas matures, he starts to disagrees with some of the things that his community does. However, he still feels that it is safer to protect the citizens from making wrong choices. Jonas’s twelve years of being part of the community can probably still be seen where he describes choosing jobs as “very frightening”. Because everything has all along been decided for the citizens, they therefore do not know what freedom nor choice means. Therefore, it will definitely seem very intimidating for them to make their own choices when the need comes.
I beg to differ from Jonas as I feel that having a choice is not a scary thing at all. It is part of my society where everyone has to make choices at some point of our lives. For example, we have to choose which what subjects to study at school and ultimately, what job we want. I agree that people make wrong choices sometimes and that some are reversible while others are not. Everything has its ups and downs and I still think that the pros(freedom) outweigh the cons.
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