The Theme of Family in The Giver Essay Sample

Lois Lowry's novel The Giver is about a conflict between Jonas and the community in which he lives. Inequality, divorce, unemployment, injustice, and choice were all eliminated from the community. Jonas has been chosen for something special, and he must begin his life's destiny with an elderly man known as The Giver. Jonas will discover the strength of feelings and the honor he possesses. Memory is essential to human life, yet the community no longer has these memories. There is no pain without memories; society resolved to eliminate all pain from their life a long time ago. People lose their experiences and pain when they separate all of their memories from their life. They become oblivious to the rules and how to live their lives as a result of this, and they obey everything The Committee of Elders instructs them. In the book, the community’s ignorance can be seen as positive and negative; they’re unaware of the loss of a child, warfare, extended family, and color.

Jonas’ community’s ignorance about the loss of a child and warfare can be seen as positive. For example, the community has never experienced the feeling of losing a child, which The Giver tells Jonas about losing his daughter. In the text, the narration states, “‘There she was—my last glimpse of that beautiful child—waiting. They brought in the syringe and asked her to roll up her sleeve. ‘You suggested, Jonas, that perhaps she wasn’t brave enough? I don’t know about bravery: what it is, what it means. I do know that I sat here numb with horror. Wretched with helplessness. And I listened as Rosemary told them that she would prefer to inject herself. Then she did so. I didn’t watch. I looked away.’ The Giver turned to him. ‘Well, there you are, Jonas. You were wondering about release,’ he said in a bitter voice. Jonas felt a ripping sensation inside of himself, the feeling of terrible pain clawing its way forward to emerge in a cry.” (188-189) This evidence shows that Jonas' community is fortunate not to have experienced the loss of a kid. The pain of losing a child is so intense that you can't bear seeing or feeling the child die. Jonas could sense The Giver's sorrow and it tore him apart; he began to cry and refused to go home, so he stayed with The Giver. Furthermore, the community has not experienced warfare, which Jonas receives through the memory of war and watching his friends obliviously play war. In the text, the narration states, “But the noise continued all around; the cries of the wounded men, the cries beginning for water and for Mother and for death.” (151) The text also states, “In his mind, Jonas saw again in the face the boy who had lain dying on the field and had begged him for water. He had a sudden choking feeling as if it were difficult to breathe.” (168) As a result of this evidence, the community will be spared the suffering, screaming, despair, and desire for death associated with warfare. Knowing about war alters you for the rest of your life, and not in a good way. War is a source of suffering. It's intense, and you'll almost certainly develop PTSD as a reaction. Once you experience war you can not escape it, and you'll never be the same again. Jonas suffered through the agony, pain, and death of it all. Due to the sheer trauma, Jonas matured, lost his innocence, and childhood. He even felt hesitant to see The Giver again. The lack of knowledge in Jonas' community concerning the death of a child and warfare can be viewed as positive. People find it challenging coping with the death of a child, especially when it is a kid. Jonas was appalled, and he refused to return to his family. The warfare memory demonstrated how traumatic it is to witness others suffering while also facing agony and death. When Jonas received this memory, he was unprepared and unsure of how to handle the circumstance. Jonas developed, lost his purity, and childhood because of the pain. He was even apprehensive about seeing The Giver again.

Jonas’ community’s ignorance about extended family and color can be seen as negative. For example, Jonas’ community can not experience extended family, as seen in the Christmas memory. In the text, it states, “He was in a room filled with people, and it was warm, with firelight glowing on a hearth.” (154) The text also states, “‘What did you perceive?’ The Giver asked. ‘Warmth,’ Jonas replied, ‘and happiness. And –– let me think. Family.’ (155) These remarks demonstrate how the memory Jonas received about extended family has a good impact on him. The community has no idea what it's like to grow up with an extended family, which is unfortunate because family is a source of love and joy. Jonas enjoyed the warmth of the home and the joy of memory. He liked the memory because for the first time he understood love. Family is the core of everything and Jonas wants that. Furthermore, the community doesn’t know the feelings you can get from color, but they also can’t experience something as beautiful as color and the amazing emotions with it. In the text, it states, “‘But I want them!’ Jonas said angrily. ‘It isn’t fair that nothing has color!’ ‘Not fair?’ The Giver looked 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?’” (122-123) This shows that the community is oblivious of color, and they will miss out on love, decisions, and sentiments as a result. Color is essential for the existence of feelings, and while feelings might be unpleasant at times, they can also be great and exciting. When there are no colors, everything appears to be the same, and making decisions is useless. Jonas grew enraged because he wanted to make his own decisions, and taking away color prohibits him from doing so. However, Jonas discovers that taking away color also protects others from making the wrong decision. The lack of awareness about extended family and color in Jonas' community can be seen as negative. Family provides you with security, joy, and affection. Jonas desired family and emotions. He now understands why that memory is The Giver's favorite, and he feels a new level of passion. Everything with color has feelings and beauty. Jonas told The Giver that he wanted to be able to make decisions for himself, such as which color shirt to wear in the morning, but that option was taken away to prevent individuals from making poor decisions.

All in all, throughout the novel, the community’s unawareness about the loss of a child, warfare, extended family, and color, can be seen as positive and negative. In the book, It is emotional for Jonas to know he replaced Rosemary and someone close to him lost their child. Jonas was horrified and refused to return home to his family. After receiving the warfare memory Jonas matured, lost his innocence, and childhood because of the pain. He even felt hesitant to see The Giver again. Jonas liked the memory of Christmas and extended family because for the first time he understood love. Jonas realized why that memory is The Giver’s favorite, and he now experiences a new depth of feeling. He became angry that color has been removed from his world. He wanted to choose things for himself, but that choice was taken away to prevent people from making the wrong choices. Overall, it is important to have memories in your life because without the loss of a child, warfare, extended family, and color you can not experience any real feelings. Memories can also be bad so it can sometimes be good if you do not know about them. Learning about Jonas and his community’s way of life we can conclude that it can not always be bad to be ignorant about things.