you're a mystery yourself
Sunday, July 18, 2010
5:36 PM


Baby Gabriel is a symbol of hope and starting anew for Jonas. In literature, babies often act as symbols of hope and regeneration because babies are brand new lives. They are untainted, pure and free.

When Jonas takes Gabriel along with him to escape from their community, it suggests that Jonas resolves to change the way things work in his community, to release the memories he and The Giver hold to their community and to Elsewhere. It also shows that he wishes to start a new life Elsewhere just like how Gabriel represents a brand new life and starting over.



The red sled illustrates the training Jonas undergoes and the discoveries he makes along the way. Jonas delights in the exhilarating downhill ride on the sled, just like how he is thrilled to accumulate new memories during each day of his training.

However, the ride on the sled can be treacherous too, with it being the first memory of extreme pain Jonas had to experience. Pleasure and pain are related to the ride on the sled and in the same way, they are related to the memories Jonas receives from The Giver.

Also, the sled is red in colour, which symbolises the new essential world of feelings Jonas discovers.

Lastly, when Jonas was on his way to Elsewhere, he finds a real sled with colours, representing his entry and discovery of another world where colour and emotion exists in reality, not just in memories.

The snow-covered hill that Jonas sled down with Gabriel acts as an entrance to Elsewhere. It signifies his realisation that there is a world not dominated by Sameness outside his community.


The river acts as a boundary between Jonas's community and the outside world. On the other hand, it may also represent escape and change.

The river forms a border of the community. The river is a barrier that prevents the members of the community from escaping and crossing the border. The river took Caleb's life away, thus showing that the danger of escaping into the outside world as it is associated with death.

However, it may also be a gateway to Elsewhere. Lowry uses the river to show us that Jonas had escaped his community. Lowry wrote that "Jonas [had] reached the opposite side of the river, stopped briefly and looked back. The community where his entire life had been lived lay behind him now, sleeping." This shows that Jonas had escaped his community already and put his past behind him, making his journey to Elsewhere.

The river also symbolises change. The community could not predict when Caleb would fall and drown in the river. The community could not control that fact and Jonas and The Giver made use of the river's unpredictable behaviour to try to change the community, by saying that "Jonas had been lost in the river" when actually Jonas had
escaped. The community would then have to bear the memories themselves.



In The Giver, light eyes represent the ability to see-beyond and being able to perceive. It also brings out one of the main themes in "
The Giver", which is The Importance of an Individual.

Having pale eyes were associated with having the ability to receive memories and feel true, deep emotions. The pale eyes signified 'depth', "as if one were looking into the clear water of the river, down to the bottom, where things might lurk which hadn't been discovered yet." This shows that Jonas is able to see more deeply into objects than others who have darker eyes. He is able to see colour.

Also, the pale eyes bring out The Importance of an Individual. Jonas's community has been dominated by Sameness. In his community, every being had similar attributes and in this case, the darker eyes. "Almost every citizen in the community had dark eyes." "But there were a few exceptions: Jonas himself, and a female Five who he had noticed had the different lighter eyes." Gabriel had lighter eyes too. This shows that it is impossible for the community to control nature completely and make everything similar, therefore showing the need for individualism.


This bathtub brings us back to when Jonas is bathing Larissa. It is only while bathing her that he realises the beauty of touch and intimacy. This brings out the theme of Feeling and Emotions in "
The Giver". Nakedness is also related to Jonas's training when The Giver has to place his hands on Jonas's bare back to transmit the memories. This shows the trust between them and also the trust between Larissa and Jonas when he bathes her. Again, it related back to the theme of Feeling and Emotions.


Last but not least, the apple symbolises Jonas's perception of colour and emotions. His perception of colour leads to his perception of the complicated emotions and sensations others cannot perceive. The first colour he sees is red and the apple is red. When he sees the colour red,he not only sees the colour, but he feels it too. He feels, passion, fire and love. all of those emotions are associated with the colour red even in our lives now! For example, Fiona's hair is red and he feels love for Fiona. This shows that he sees and experiences life differently from the others.

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The Sharing of Feelings

me

Welcome to my blog. =) You are most welcome to read my posts about an awesome book entitled "The Giver" by Lois Lowry.


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desires

I wish upon a shooting star to score an A1 for Literature

I wish upon a shooting star to ride on the red sled Jonas rode on

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I LOVE "The Giver"

I HATE "Release"

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hearing-beyond

Those songs were chosen because I felt that they were in a way related to "The Giver". =)

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