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| The genre of this book is fictional. The main character of this story is a twelve-year-old boy named Jonas. He lived in a perfect community, with a perfect family, and had a perfect life. Other main characters were his family, Mother, Father, and Lily, his friends, Asher and Fiona, a little baby named Gabriel, and an old man who was the previous Receiver of Memory (the one who gave Jonas the memories). Mother was a Judge, Father was a Nurturer, and Lily was his little sister. In his community, there are no choices, no climate, no color, but a lot of rules. Jonas thought that he would live a simple life of sameness. At least that's what he thought? This story all begins when Jonas is at the Ceremony of Twelve. They were about to call his number to get his assignment (19), but they skipped it! At the end, they had a reason. It turns out that Jonas had been selected to be the Receiver of Memory. It is the most important and honorable job in the community. Asher was selected to be the Assistant Director of Recreation, and Fiona was selected to be the Caretaker of the Old. Jonas went to the Annex room everyday after school for his training. On his first day, he had to take off his tunic and lie face down on the bed so he could be given the memory of snow. The old man put his hand on Jonas's back to transmit the memory. Jonas closed his eyes and before he knew it, he was riding on a sled down the hill in the snow. He also gave him the memories of sunshine and sunburn (his first memory of pain. When he left, the old man told Jonas to call him the Giver. The next day, Jonas explained to the Giver that he thinks that he has been seeing-beyond. Days before, he had seen an apple change for a split second. And earlier that day, he had seen Fiona change for a split second. It turns out that Jonas was beginning to see color. As the days and weeks went by, Jonas perceived new words and learned all the names of the colors. He thought it would be safer if everyone could see it. The Giver continued to give Jonas memories of both happiness and pain. One was where there were sounds of guns shots and elephants. The Giver gave him the memory of fire. It was just like the memory of snow, but the hill was steeper and icier. He went down the hill at top speed. When hit got to the bottom, he skidded sideways and broke his leg. His leg hurt for days after. Soon after, Jonas's parents were complaining about not getting enough sleep because of Gabriel stirring all night. Jonas volunteered to have Gabriel sleep in his room that night. That night, Gabriel's restlessness woke-up Jonas. He got up and rubbed his hand over his back. At the same time, he was remembering a memory of sailing. Suddenly, he felt the memory getting dimmer and he realized he was giving the memory to Gabriel. Gabriel calmed down, and Jonas decided not to tell anyone. |
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