The Giver is a fiction novel about a boy named Jonas and his life in a perfect
world of “Sameness”. In this world there were no colors, feelings, or
choices. In this world everything was decided by the Commitee of Elders and took
place in a ceremonious way. There was the Matching of Spouses and the Naming and
Placement of new children. There was also a ceremony of Nines where all the
Nines received their bikes and the Ceremony of Twelve’s where they received
their life long occupations. In the beginning of the story, Jonas was a normal
boy who was nervous about the upcoming Ceremony of Twelve’s. He was anxious to
find out what job he would be performing for the rest of his life ( or at least
until he was “released” when he turned 70 years old). Even though he felt
apprehensive about the ceremony, it helped for him to talk about it at the
nightly talks about feelings. Everyone had to tell how the felt during the day
after supper was eaten. They spoke of feelings as if they were real even though
they have never actually had a feeling. Nobody in the community was permitted to
have confidential feelings for another person either. When they began going
through puberty or what they called “stirrings” they had to begin taking a
pill daily for the rest of their lives. Both males and females had
“stirrings” which usually began with a dream and had to be reported
immediately. It was finally the big day of the Ceremony of Twelve’s. Jonas
heard stories about previous ceremonies that didn’t help the nervous feeling
in his stomach. Jonas was number 19 and stood on stage between Asher and Fiona.
It was almost Jonas’s turn, Asher had received the job of Assistant Director
of Recreation and Jonas was next. The assignments continued and Jonas became
more and more apprehensive about his Assignment. All of a sudden Fiona’s
Assignment was given. Jonas was shocked, they had skipped him. He wasn’t sure
what it meant and he felt dizzy. The Chief Elder would never make a mistake
especially at the Ceremony of Twelve’s. When the last Assignment was given the
crowd cheered, but whispers of confusion filled the room. What had Jonas done
wrong? After the applause quieted, the Chief Elder began speaking. He Announced
that Jones would be the new Receiver-in-Training. He went on that Jonas was
chosen because he had all the qualities, such as, intelligence, integrity, and
courage. For the first time Jonas felt different, but he also was upset that he
would have to isolate himself from his friends and family. The Chief Elder
promised that his Assignment would give him great wisdom though. Jonas no longer
had to take his medicine to control his “stirrings”. He began his training
immediately and was surprised to find that the annex was the only building in
the community that had locked and the Giver was the only person who had books.
He found out that his job was to receive all the memories of life that the Giver
alone held for the community. He learned that nobody in the community had
feelings, saw color, or made choices. The first memory he received was of
sled-ridding and snow. He received many memories of good and bad things and
began seeing colors. He realized that Fiona’s hair was red. It angered him
when he heard his family tell of their feelings because he knew they didn’t
have any. The most horrible thing Jonas experienced during his training was the
“release” of a baby boy. The boy was a twin and only weighed 5 lb. 10 oz.
The regulation weight for a baby was 6 lb. The baby was considered an inadequate
shrimp and Jonas’s father was ordered to “release” him. Jonas watched as
his father as he cleaned the baby and made him comfy. He then opened a cupboard
and removed a syringe and a small bottle. He began to fill the syringe with the
clear liquid. His father carefully insert the needle into the top of the
baby’s head to release the liquid in his vein. The baby squirmed and went
limp. Jonas was horrified. He hated his father for killing the baby even though
he didn’t understand what he was doing. Jonas found out that Gabriel was going
to be “released” and Jonas decided to run away to another world named
“Elsewhere”. Jonas planned to run away in the middle of the night before the
Ceremony because the night time attendant wouldn’t be working. Jonas grabbed
Gabriel and was on his way to Elsewhere. When he left “Sameness” all the
memories he had received would be given to the community and panic would break
loose. Jonas finally made it to Elsewhere, but faced problems on the way such
as, hunger, coldness, and bad weather. As Jonas and Gabriel were entering
Elsewhere on the sled they heard people singing and knew that they were waiting
for them. “Behind him, across vast distances of space and time, from the place
he had left, he thought he heard music too. But perhaps it was only an echo,”
and Jonas and Gabriel entered Elsewhere. What happened in the world of
“Sameness” will never be known.