This photo shows a young boy lifting his hands up, getting ready to catch an apple. In The Giver, this is the scene where Jonas and Asher were playing a simple game of catch during recreation period. Jonas had picked up the apple from the basket where snacks were kept. While playing, Jonas suddenly noticed that the apple had “changed” in mid-air. For just an instant, the apple had changed into a shade of red which stands out against the black and white background. At this point in time, Jonas was starting to see the colour red. He is one of the very few people who are able to see colours. The chief elder, the Giver of memory, refers to Jonas’s experience of starting to see colours as “seeing beyond”. The “change” in the apple caused Jonas to be mystified. The way the apple had “changed” was new and strange to Jonas. Puzzled by this phenomenon, Jonas brought the apple home to examine it. Jonas’s ability to “see beyond”, in this case seeing the colour red, differentiated him from his peers. This tells us that Jonas is unique. He is able to see things from a perspective where other people cannot do so (he sees life differently from the rest of the community). The special ability of “seeing beyond” helped Jonas to see that the way of life the community is leading is wrong. Jonas managed to make a change in the community at the end of the story where people led normal lives once again. They experienced love, warmth, complicated emotions once again.




This photo shows a pale, light eye. In the GIver, Jonas has pale and lighter eyes compared to the rest of the community. This makes Jonas stand out from the community. Most people in Jonas’s community have dark eyes. There were a few exceptions like Jonas who have different lighter eyes. They were the Giver of memory, Gabriel and a female aged five. It is mentioned in the novel that light eyes and pale were not only a rarity but they also gave one a certain look ---“depth”. It was as if one were looking into the clear water of the river, down to the bottom, where things might lurk and which have not been discovered yet. This shows that people with such eyes have the ability to “see beyond”, to see and understand things in depth that other people cannot see. This describes what Jonas is like very well. Being able to see more deeply into objects, Jonas can see colour. Jonas’s perception of colour symbolises his perception of the complicated emotions and sensations that other people cannot perceive. He sees life differently from the rest of the community. People with pale eyes are unique. They can experience memories, emotions, see colour and hear music (etc.). For Jonas, he starts off by seeing the colour red while the Giver of memory experiences music first. When Jonas was soothing Gabriel back to sleep one night, he transmitted a memory to Gabriel by accident. The fact that Gabriel was able to receive shows that he too had special abilities as only a few people in the community could enjoy memories.




This picture shows a baby with pale, light eyes. It reminds me of Gabriel in the Giver, the baby that was brought home Jonas’s father (a nurturer) for extra care. Babies are often than not symbols of hope and regeneration in literature. In this case, the new child, Gabriel, is a symbol of hope and starting over. Firstly, since Gabriel is too young to have absorbed the customs and rules of the community, he is still receptive to the powerful memories that Jonas had transmitted to him. Secondly, Jonas escapes out of the community with Gabriel to save Gabriel’s life. At the same time, Jonas’s gesture is also symbolic of his resolve to change things, to start a new life “Elsewhere” and change the community for the better.




This picture illustrates the filling up of a syringe with an unknown liquid from a bottle. This depicts Rosemary, the previous receiver of memory, who ended her own life prematurely. She injected herself with the liquid for release. She ended her life as she could not take the feeling of loneliness that the Giver of memory gave to her. She was very disturbed by the first heartbreaking memory of a child being taken away from his parents. In the end, Rosemary decided to end her life. This saddened the Giver and Jonas greatly. ,The picture also reminds me of the video Jonas watched which was about his father, a nurturer, releasing the lighter of two twins. His father injected the liquid emotionlessly into the infant’s scalp vein, killing him almost instantly. Jonas was bewildered, furious and overwhelmed by sadness. In The Giver, most people in the community have no emotions feelings except for people like the Giver of memory and Jonas. As a result, they are rather cold and heartless to the extent of killing a baby who has an identical twin. Haven’t the people of the community questioned themselves whether it is right to kill an innocent child who has the right to live? After this event, Jonas felt the urge to change the community by escaping from the community.




The cartoon shows some of the different occupations available in the community. At the Ceremony of Twelve, the elevens going twelve are given different jobs like engineers, labourers, lawyers, the speaker, teachers, pilots, researchers, technicians and so on. The community celebrates the differences between these children for the first time in their lives with the children being differentiated from their parents and peers. We can see individuality for the first time here. From this point in time, the elevens develop into an individual, maturing a young adult with unique abilities, dreams, and desires. The novel encourages readers to celebrate differences instead of disparaging them or pretending they do not exist. Individuality in a community is important as it will be dull and boring if everyone is the same. In the Giver, individuality also refers to Jonas having unusual qualities like “seeing beyond” and strange abilities which end up bringing lasting, positive change to the community.




This picture shows ‘Love’. This reminds me of the time Jonas asked his parents whether they loved him. They replied that Jonas should be precise in his language. ‘Love’ was a generalised word that is very meaningless that it is almost obsolete. Well, family love is absent in Jonas’s community. Family love is not important and vital in his society. Family love is ‘lost’. The photograph also reminds me about the Christmas memory the Giver gave to Jonas. For the first time, he experienced the pleasures of family love land warmth. He had liked and appreciated the feeling a lot. Jonas once said, “I wish we still had that”, “that" refers to love. Unfortunately, family love does not exist in Jonas’s community. 0 comments

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Class Discussion

In a class discussion about The Giver, it is mentioned that there is total control and no privacy in Jonas’s community. Total control refers not just over the weather or colour but the citizens and their lives as well, giving them no choice of freedom over their interest in life. For instance, the Elders were increasingly observing the elevens during recreation time and volunteer hours. It seems as though people have no more privacy as they are under constant surveillance. Assignments given to the individuals were based on their abilities and skills and not one’s interest. The community placed capabilities over interest to get the best out of the community. Hence, people of the community lack the freedom of making the choice of doing what they aspire. Besides these, total control also covers the aspect, choice of their family unit. Spouses are assigned and children are being applied for. In Jonas’s community, the control is so tight and strict that one cannot even choose his or her own spouse and have their own children.

I will not want to live in Jonas’s society. Can you imagine the feeling of being observed all the time? It feels exactly like I am a prisoner and someone is watching me to ensure that I will not escape. The community knows every move of the citizens. For instance, Jonas removed the apple from the recreation area and brought it home. Later in the day, the speaker announced: THIS IS A REMINDER TO MALE ELEVENS THAT OBJECTS ARE NOT TO BE REMOVED FROM THE RECREATION AREA AND THAT SNACKS ARE TO BE EATEN, NOT HOARDED. It is mentioned in the book that the community knows who the culprit is but his or her name will not be mentioned. From this, we can tell that the community tracks one’s every move where one is constantly being watched. The community has no sense of privacy and I dislike the fact of being constantly observed. I would feel disturbed and conscious in whatever I do especially when the Elders are watching me.

The most annoying thing in Jonas’s community is that there is no freedom. I want to make my own choices instead of letting others do it for me. I would like to make a choice my own assignment according to my interest rather than my abilities. Moreover, I am going to do it throughout my adult life and I would not want to do jobs which I do not like. I understand the fact the assignments are given because it is feared that people will make wrong choices. Wrong choices refer to failures and mistakes. However, isn’t that the true meaning of life where people go through trials and face difficulties in life? After such experiences, people will then become more experienced and careful in life. By not allowing people to make their own choices, the community is lacking the chance to learn to be independent, learning how to manage problems and enquiring new knowledge.

I feel happy to be free to make my own decisions in life, for example, deciding my job when I grow up. I prefer a job which I have interest for rather than what I excel in. I believe that we should choose a job which we have a love for so that we can enjoy the process and hence, progress and excel in it. I would not find joy in working for what I do not like. Therefore, I am happy to be in a world where I am free to make my own decisions.

In Jonas’s society, colours represent freedom. The fact that everything is the same where there are no colours, only black and white, reflect that there are no choices in the society. I feel sorry for Jonas’s society in which they cannot even choose their spouse and bear their own children. I personally feel that the control is too tight and people should have some freedom in life. In life, I think most of us like the freedom of making our own choices and would not want to live in Jonas’s community. Freedom of choice is important if not, life will be dull and boring.

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Class Discussion

My day on 27th July started off with the class discussion about The Giver on whether the statement, the Chief Elder claims that the assignments are a way of honouring differences, is accurate. In my opinion, the assignments are not a way of honouring differences.

Assignments are given based on one’s abilities. One will be observed carefully and will be given the assignment that the Elders think is most suitable. Hence, this suggests to me that the community is stereotyping, giving jobs based on one’s capabilities instead of honouring differences between individuals.
Not all assignments are honoured. Some assignments like birthmothers, night crew, street cleaners and food delivery people are being looked down upon. These assignments are seen as low class jobs.

The second discussion topic is on whether Jonas’s community values sameness or difference. Well, the answer is obvious. Jonas’s community values sameness. For example, during the standard ceremonies held for children, everyone is promoted to the next level at the same time. Also, all children of the same age are given the same type of object. This shows that the community has no sense of individuality and likes to standardise things. Besides this, the community controls their environment. The weather and climate are all adjusted to best suit humans. Colours are controlled where the whole environment is black and white. The community also promotes sameness through the family unit. Spouses are assigned and every family is given a maximum of two children. The family unit is fixed throughout the community. On top of this, people take pills to stop “stirrings”. “Stirrings” are natural and emotional feelings. The pill makes it such that everyone is emotionless, cold and heartless. Hence, we can conclude that the community values sameness a lot and tries to standardise things in every aspect of life.





Despite the community’s efforts in trying their best to promote sameness throughout the society, there are still flaws in Jonas’s community’s utopia. The irony about the assignments is that a hierarchy is created. The reason being some jobs are highly respected while others are not as respected and honoured. For example, the receiver of memory is looked at differently. It is very highly respected and honoured. Other jobs like birthmothers, labourers, and night crew (etc.) are being looked down upon. Lily’s mother scolded her when Lily said that she wanted to be a birthmother as Lily’s mother feels that there is little honour in this job. In conclusion, the assignments are dystopian elements, making the community’s utopia an impossible ideal.



I feel that utopias do not truly exist. No matter how much people try to create an ideal community, dystopian elements tend to surface out. Utopias do not last long because of the many difficulties and problems people encounter when making one. Hence, creating a utopia is impossible.

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Book related to life

From the novel, The Giver, I can draw some parallels to my life, particularly from the protagonist, Jonas.

Jonas was courageous to accept reality when he realised what sort of community he was in. However, he did not resign himself to fate. Instead, he was bold and wanted to bring about changes to the community. He was optimistic and was determined to succeed despite encountering difficult situations and overwhelming challenges. He persevered and his ‘never say die’ attitude shone throughout his endeavour to bring about change. Jonas displayed his eagerness when faced with critical situations and difficult decisions.

In the same vein, I was courageous to face up to the problem of getting low grades for Science in primary school. My desire for change was bold as I wanted to make significant improvements to my Science grades despite the odds and the many challenges ahead. I was determined to achieve A* for Science in PSLE.

When I was in primary school, my worst subject had always been Science. With a mark ranging from 75 to 80, I was ranked one of the last in my class. Getting my grade to above 90 therefore was no mean feat. Taking the bold step to change, I embarked on a journey to do practically everything to get my grades up. Gritting my teeth, I tackled difficult questions in assessment books and test papers, re-learnt my Science concepts and applied my knowledge when answering questions.



I persevered when I did not do well in Science for my preliminary examinations. I learnt from my mistakes and took them in my stride. Knowing that time was not on my side as PSLE was drawing closer, like Jonas, I was eager to change the situation. I was not about to give up. I continued my strict regiment, ploughing through reference books, assessment books and test papers diligently, and listening attentively in class. I remained optimistic that I would succeed. Finally, my efforts paid off and I obtained A* for Science in PSLE. From the experience, I have a complete change of attitude towards Science. Till today, I enjoy Science and am yearning to learn more about it.



Jonas had a mind of his own. He was not one who followed the crowd. When he knew what sort of community he was in and what the people were going through, he knew that he had to bring out change for the good of the community. The task was arduous. The decision was tough. He knew that he had to leave the community to bring out this change. He also wanted to pursue a better life beyond the realms of his familiar world. He meticulously planned his escape with the Giver.

After obtaining my PSLE results, I had the option to pursue an education in an institution offering integrated programme, meaning that I could skip ‘O’ levels and just sit for ‘A’ levels in the second year of junior college. It was alluring. Moreover, many of classmates wanted to pursue en education there. However, after much deliberation, I decided to do otherwise. I applied for MGS which required me to take the ‘O’ levels when I am in secondary four. Like Jonas, I did not want to follow the crowd. In this instance, I wanted the best for myself.

When Jonas left the community with Gabriel, they were pursued by airplanes for days. Out in the open, he experienced hunger and bitter cold. There was always the temptation to turn back and return to the community. However, that was not the case for Jonas. He knew that he had to persevere and not give up to bring about change to the community. Returning to the community was not an option for him. Despite the physical pain and suffering he had to endure, he knew the final outcome he wanted. He continued his journey with Gabriel till he arrived at the world with colours, seasons, nature and music.





When I joined MGS, I decided to take up the Music Elective Programme. At the same time, I decided to learn a second instrument, the cello. Although I knew it was not going to be easy, I took up the challenge. Initially, it was difficult. Handling the instrument and the bow in the correct manner was mind-boggling. The cello was entirely different from the piano. Like Jonas, I was not about to give up. I persevered. I practised hard. I am glad to have my headway in playing the instrument after one and a half years.

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My Initial Response

Thursday, July 1, 2010

The Giver is a very creative and imaginative story which depicts the future. The story has a plot that is fresh and new. In this community, technology is very advanced, the way of living is extraordinary and interesting and last but not least, there is actually a receiver to hold all the memories.

Initially, I thought that the people are quite strange as they have not even seen aircrafts and colours before. It is only after sometime that I realised that the setting, a new environment, is totally different.

Like Jonas, I do not want to live in such a community. I dislike the fact of “sameness”. Everyone seems the same. For example, everyone of a particular age will get the same type of object. Everyone in the community sees the same colours - black and white. I feel that because of sameness, there is no unique individual, causing the environment to be dull and boring.

Next, the many pleasures of life are not experienced in the community. The four seasons have disappeared. The community has not experienced the pleasures of different seasons, particularly winter. Even the hills and mountains have been removed. Children and adults cannot experience the fun of sitting on a sleigh and riding down the hills and mountains covered with snow. Temperatures have been adjusted and regulated for humans to live in, to grow crops, to stop natural disasters, to shorten travelling time and to save energy required to walk on higher ground. I understand that the community wants to lead a peaceful and good life. However, does good life only refer to having no natural disasters, the right temperatures and so on?





What is a good life without the real pleasures of life? The people are missing out on all the fun. As the saying goes, “No pain, no gain.” To experience fun, they have to sacrifice some things and experience pain. For example, mountains and hills mean both fun and danger. However, we have to sacrifice a little to experience fun by having for example, feeling the pain when we fall from a certain height.

Also, there is no freedom in this place. People cannot choose their own jobs, family units, spouses and children. It is said that this is done with the view that allowing people to make their own choices is dangerous. I agree to this to a small extent. However, what is life without trials and problems? This is a community with no challenges, difficulties, problems, trials, little failure and it is always peaceful. Is this really life? Although life is really peaceful, these people as a result do not understand the real meaning of life. People are supposed to experience the many pleasures of life and problems. However, such things no longer exist.



Next, what does life mean when people have no feelings? As a result, people are cold and heartless enough to release Gabriel and the lighter identical twin. These poor children obviously have the right to live. Doesn’t the community find it strange to be releasing a normal living thing? Besides that, Jonas has to take pills to suppress his feelings. As humans, we are supposed to have feelings. How can they take pills to try to stop such natural occurrences? Besides these, family warmth is also missing from the community. Since love does not exist, people can no longer experience love like the Christmas memory Jonas had.



Furthermore, the community has overly strict rules. For example, the rule of “precision of words” is strange. I agree that yes, we need to be precise but here, the community is just too overly concerned about the usage of words. The degree of the word is very important to the community. What is wrong about Jonas asking his mum whether she loves him or not? Also, at times, you just cannot express an emotion with a word but they still have to think very hard to find the appropriate word.

I totally disagree with the fact that the community should have a receiver to hold all the memories. Why should the receiver suffer alone with the past bad memories? Everyone should have the memories no matter whether they are good or bad. The community has to learn how to deal and accept those painful memories though it is hard to instead of retreating so easily. After being able to deal and face these memories, the people will be stronger and understand better how to really face the difficulties in life. I feel that there should be some happy and difficult times in life. Without the ups and downs in life, I feel that life is meaningless.

I like Jonas’s courage and determination in this novel. Jonas’s effort in changing the community is commendable. This novel teaches me a lot about the aspects of perseverance and courage. These apply to our daily lives as well, especially in our studies. We constantly encounter unforeseen problems and go though trials in life. However, we must continue to persevere, remain positive and work hard. We must be brave in trying out new ways in doing and solving problems and never give up when facing arduous tasks. Encouragement is important throughout the process. We should constantly encourage each other and look ahead, for we know that at the end of the journey, we will achieve our goal and bear the fruit of our labour. Lastly, we should do our best to finish the “race” well.



It is also heartwarming to see that there are still people like Jonas who are able to stand up for what is wrong and who want to make a change in society. In the present society, it is rare to find such a person since people are only concerned about themselves as they do not want to invite unnecessary trouble. Jonas’s accomplishment of changing the community such as letting people have memories of the past and seeing the spectrum of colours is remarkable. Although the process of change is both arduous and dangerous, Jonas still risks his life, sacrifices everything and leaves the community so that it can change for the better.

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