Have you ever looked around and appreciated the beauty around you? It could be the vibrant colours, the sweet melody of your favourite song, the cold feel of snow, the toasty feeling of the sun on a hot day, the wind on your face, the sadness of losing someone special or the feeling of love that captivates you when you’re around family and friends. “The Giver” by Lois Lowry paints a picture in which the characters had never felt these wonderful feelings, which are quite normal to us. After reading this book, our uniqueness and ability to choose our paths becomes even more special. Everyone in this fictional society had been taught the same thing and ultimately they thought alike. Jonas was the main character in the novel, and he was also one of the biggest dynamic characters. Jonas was a significant character, who changed remarkably over the course of the book.
Majorly, his emotions changed and developed. Firstly, he developed deeper and more meaningful feelings. The memories he experienced had made him more sensitive and thoughtful. “He had never recognized it before as a game of war” - page 133. Jonas saw the meaning behind an apparently harmless game that he did not notice before. Secondly, he had felt love in his memories and loved the Giver and the new child Gabriel. “Love. It was a word and concept new to him”- page 125. “Do you love me?” He ached to be loved but his family and everyone else in his society didn’t understand or appreciate love, so he poured all his love into Gabriel. Thirdly, Jonas realized that no one in his society had ever felt real anger, love, happiness and/or sadness. That made him frustrated, sad and helpless. “but Lily had not felt anger, Jonas realized now. Shallow impatience and exasperation, that was all Lily had felt. He knew that with certainty because now he knew what anger was”- page 132. Jonas wanted his society to face the truth and choose their way of thinking as he had. Jonas was more mature, experienced and in touch with his feelings which allowed him to choose his own way of thinking.
In this novel, Jonas was very significant and he held a position in his society. Jonas was important and respected in his society. “Asher looked warily at him. “I apologize for not paying you the respect you deserve,” he mumbled” - page 134. Even his closest friends have to treat him with respect as he is the future Giver. Furthermore, he had been given permission to lie and to not be questioned for any of his actions. “3. From this moment you are exempted from rules governing rudeness. You may ask any questions of any citizen and you will receive answers” - page 68. “8. You may lie”- page 68. These rules are considered very important and exemption from them is only given if you are of extreme importance. In addition to that, he was prohibited from dream telling. “From this moment you are prohibited from dream-telling” - page 68. If you dream, you are required to share it. If you don’t it’s considered lying and Jonas is exempted from this rule as well. Jonas held a lot of honour and respect but almost no power.
Jonas’ opinions changed drastically. His biggest concern when beginning his training was to be honest, but as time passed he realized that lying may be the only way to save himself and everyone else. “It was possible, what they had planned. Barely possible. If it failed, he would very likely be killed. But what did that matter? If he stayed, his life was no longer worth living” - page 155. He knew that after the unique and warm feelings he had felt, he could not live in a bland, colourless world. He learned what release really meant and it broke his heart. “He killed it! My father killed it! Jonas said to himself, staring at the screen numbly” - page 150. He realized that no one in his society got a happy ending, instead they got an unnatural and unfair death. Jonas began to think that family, love and happiness was more important than rules or even safety to some extent. “I liked the feeling of love” - page 126. “I wish we still had that” - page 126. “But anyway, I was thinking, I mean feeling, actually, that it was kind of nice then. And that I wish we could be that way, and that you could be my grandparent” - page 126. Jonas learned to put his feelings before anything else, no matter how impractical it was. Jonas realized how trusting and blind he had been and how wrong he was about his perfect society.
Jonas played a crucial part in this novel and he changed tremendously throughout the course of the story. He was more respected and honoured, which Jonas would’ve appreciated, had his emotions and thoughts not changed drastically. Jonas was definitely not the same person he was before, he was much more aware, sensitive and broad-minded.
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Emotional Development Of The Main Character In The Giver.
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