Skip to main content

In The Giver, all the members of Jonas's family had to sign a pledge that they would not become attached to the newchild, Gabe. Do you think it is...

Jonas seems to be the only family member who becomes attached to Gabe. 


In our world, it would probably be impossible to take care of a baby for a year or so and not feel attached. Jonas’s community is different, however; people are raised from the youngest age to avoid attachment or emotions of any kind.  Therefore, as impossible as it might sound, the family did not get attached to Gabe. Jonas, the only one with emotions, did develop a strong attachment to him. 


Families in Jonas’s community are very different from ours.  Although they are made up of parents and siblings, no one is actually related and not even really attached. The parents are paired by community Elders, and only stay together until they raise the children. They do not get their children until they are a year old, missing a crucial bonding period.  Therefore, no one is attached. 


Jonas is one of the few members of his community who has access to his emotions. He learned how to feel through his training as Receiver of Memory. Only Receivers have the ability to feel emotions. As a result, Jonas comes to see Gabe as a real sibling. He grows very fond of the baby because he sleeps in his room at night. They both have light eyes, which no one else in the community has, and they both have the Capacity to See Beyond. 


After his parents laugh at him for asking if they love him, Jonas stands over Gabe and imagines a different kind of world. 



"Gabe?"


The newchild stirred slightly in his sleep. Jonas looked over at him.


"There could be love," Jonas whispered. (Ch. 16) 



Jonas has come to love Gabe. He is the only one in his family who understands this concept. Jonas’s affection for Gabe is one of the reasons he is so horrified when he learns Gabe is scheduled to be released. 


Jonas’s family reacts only mildly to this news. They are simply not attached enough to Gabe to care. Even Jonas’s father, who has taken care of the baby and nurtured him after requesting extra time with him, does not seem to mind the release much, saying, 



"Even I voted for Gabriel's release when we had the meeting this afternoon."


Jonas put down his fork and stared at his father. "Release?" he asked.


Father nodded. "We certainly gave it our best try, didn't we?"


"Yes, we did," Mother agreed emphatically.


Lily nodded in agreement, too. (Ch. 21) 



Jonas is horrified to watch his entire family just dismiss Gabriel like that, but it is not surprising. Jonas has come to realize that no one actually has feelings in his community. Jonas makes the decision to take Gabriel and escape.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more