Today in class we needed to write or expand on our fishbowl (discussion) that we had during class, which was based on The Giver. We came up with a few questions that were broken up into two sections. One was Stirring, and the other was Releasing. Below I will write what I feel about the two subjects. (I have already read the book, so don’t read on if you haven’t!)
Stirrings
I think that Stirrings are the beginning of puberty. Jonas felt the need to be with Fiona, which, from what I heard, seems to be the signs of the beginning of adolescence. Along with adolescence comes a connection with different people, which could lead to marriage and children.
Now that I think about it, it seems to also be connected to the Octo-mom. America has given her the free will to have children. This has stirred up many different things. She is getting a considerable amount of attention, and people have questioned how much the government should be involved in these kinds of issues.
Then you can look at the China one-child policy. Everything is controlled, and people are unhappy. The government still appears content that everything is in order.
Now look at “Jonas’s community”. Unlike in the US, everything is controlled. They can only have two children (one boy and one girl). Unlike China, everyone is content. I think this is because they don’t know a life with a free will. Everything in their existence has been robotic. The Committee of Elders controls everything so all is in order. They give people pills in order to prevent any problems in the community, where people fall in love. They match people a partner who they will be capable of living a normal, average life with. There is no real love shown between them or the children. Everything is set up in their town to The Committee’s idea of perfect. There won’t be divorce or any controversy whatsoever.
Another one of the questions was whether or not they had privacy of their dreams and thoughts. It depends on how you look at it. I don’t think that anyone can read their minds or anything, but they have to share their dreams and feelings. Then again, they could easily lie…I am undecided.
Release
I know for a fact that releasing is killing.
I read the book in second grade, so my memory is literally as clear as mud. What I do remember is that the way they killed the new children were by sticking some kind of needle in their heads…ugh!
People are wondering why there is releasing. I am still a bit hazy on the subject, but I think that it is because The Committee of Elders wants to keep order in the town. If people knew that they would eventually die, they wouldn’t be as happy about Release at all. To them it seems as if Release is a time of joy and happiness. If they knew, I think there could be a little bit of chaos in the town. People might start questioning whether or not they could trust the Committee. They could attempt to escape.
Another thing I was wondering is what happens to the people that already know what releasing is, like The Committee of Elders, The Nurturers, and actual Releasers. Are they Released, and if yes, are they joyous too?
The question that I asked during class was whether or not anyone dies outside of the Releasing room. By that, I mean could they have a heart attack, disease, old age, etc.
After having time to ponder on this subject, I have decided that everything is so controlled, that it might be impossible for that to happen. Think about it. Everything is so controlled that there couldn’t possibly be diseases. They don’t allow other people to come to their community, so no illness could be carried over. Also, they don’t even know what death is, so there couldn’t be suicide.
Then again, someone could accidentally fall or trip, or even choke…once again, I am really puzzled.
Hopefully when I reread The Giver, these questions will be answered!
thank you
Stirrings
I think that Stirrings are the beginning of puberty. Jonas felt the need to be with Fiona, which, from what I heard, seems to be the signs of the beginning of adolescence. Along with adolescence comes a connection with different people, which could lead to marriage and children.
Now that I think about it, it seems to also be connected to the Octo-mom. America has given her the free will to have children. This has stirred up many different things. She is getting a considerable amount of attention, and people have questioned how much the government should be involved in these kinds of issues.
Then you can look at the China one-child policy. Everything is controlled, and people are unhappy. The government still appears content that everything is in order.
Now look at “Jonas’s community”. Unlike in the US, everything is controlled. They can only have two children (one boy and one girl). Unlike China, everyone is content. I think this is because they don’t know a life with a free will. Everything in their existence has been robotic. The Committee of Elders controls everything so all is in order. They give people pills in order to prevent any problems in the community, where people fall in love. They match people a partner who they will be capable of living a normal, average life with. There is no real love shown between them or the children. Everything is set up in their town to The Committee’s idea of perfect. There won’t be divorce or any controversy whatsoever.
Another one of the questions was whether or not they had privacy of their dreams and thoughts. It depends on how you look at it. I don’t think that anyone can read their minds or anything, but they have to share their dreams and feelings. Then again, they could easily lie…I am undecided.
Release
I know for a fact that releasing is killing.
I read the book in second grade, so my memory is literally as clear as mud. What I do remember is that the way they killed the new children were by sticking some kind of needle in their heads…ugh!
People are wondering why there is releasing. I am still a bit hazy on the subject, but I think that it is because The Committee of Elders wants to keep order in the town. If people knew that they would eventually die, they wouldn’t be as happy about Release at all. To them it seems as if Release is a time of joy and happiness. If they knew, I think there could be a little bit of chaos in the town. People might start questioning whether or not they could trust the Committee. They could attempt to escape.
Another thing I was wondering is what happens to the people that already know what releasing is, like The Committee of Elders, The Nurturers, and actual Releasers. Are they Released, and if yes, are they joyous too?
The question that I asked during class was whether or not anyone dies outside of the Releasing room. By that, I mean could they have a heart attack, disease, old age, etc.
After having time to ponder on this subject, I have decided that everything is so controlled, that it might be impossible for that to happen. Think about it. Everything is so controlled that there couldn’t possibly be diseases. They don’t allow other people to come to their community, so no illness could be carried over. Also, they don’t even know what death is, so there couldn’t be suicide.
Then again, someone could accidentally fall or trip, or even choke…once again, I am really puzzled.
Hopefully when I reread The Giver, these questions will be answered!
thank you
