The Giver Essay

No Emotions

Name: Colette Humanities

7th Grade The Giver

What if there was a society in which no one could feel emotions? What if people never felt pain, loneliness, sadness or happiness? This is true for the community in the book, The Giver by Lois Lowry. Jonas, a twelve year old boy, was selected to be the Receiver of Memory. It is the most important and respected job in his community. Jonas takes on the task of seeing memories and feeling new things, like emotions. This makes him different. Jonas’s society is a dystopia because the community doesn’t allow anyone to have emotions. The society seems like a utopia in some ways because the elders hold back the feeling of pain and loneliness from the community, but in reality, pain is something we can all learn from and is an important emotion for everyone to experience.

One way that Jonas’s community tries to be a perfect society is by not allowing anyone to feel pain. This insures that there are no differences between the people in the society. For example, when Jonas was selected as the next Receiver, the elders know that Jonas will feel terrible pain that he has never experienced before and that he will struggle through it. Only Jonas and the Giver are allowed to experience this sensation. On page 95 it says, “‘Why do you and I have to hold these memories?’ ‘It gives us wisdom,’ the Giver replied.” Jonas and the Giver obtain knowledge and memory, and as a result, experience pain. The elders need to keep the community in order and to have everyone be the same.They are preventing the community from having the whole human experience. Jonas can now feel both physical pain and mental pain too. He is starting to feel emotions such as sadness, love and fear. Emotions like pain makes Jonas feel alone. Although Jonas experiences terrible emotions like pain and loneliness, these emotions can later help us and gain wisdom.

Loneliness is a meaningful and life-changing emotion that Jonas experiences. It changes the way Jonas thinks by a great amount. Loneliness is a feeling of pain and grief. It’s a unique experience and a huge new shock for Jonas. Feeling alone is a hurtful emotion, it makes Jonas feel depressed and scared. Having emotions is a new way of thinking for Jonas, especially feeling pain and loneliness. For example, Jonas’s community doesn’t know anything about pain and feeling alone. On page 133 and 134, Lois Lowry writes, “Jonas stood alone in the center of the field. Several of the children raised their heads and looked at him uneasily… One of the children raised an imaginary rifle and made an attempt to destroy him with a firing noise. ‘Pssheeew!’ Then they were all silent, standing awkwardly, and the only sound was the sound of Jonas’s shuddering breaths. He was struggling not to cry,” (Giver, pg 134) Because Jonas is one of the only people who can feel pain, other people and children in the society don’t understand how and what he is thinking. In Jonas’s community, having emotions is like being in a whole new world, because no one else in the community knows what he and the Giver are feeling.

This community is a dystopia, because the people in the society aren’t able to feel emotions such as pain and happiness. Pain helps us grow stronger and helps deal with hardships later in life. Happiness is a moment of joy, it’s lucky to feel happy, but the society took this away from the people. Difference is fortunate, and Jonas gains this fortune. Jonas imagines creating a better world by letting everyone experience the full range of emotions.