The Giver Chapter 11

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This analysis is based on chapter eleven of the novel, ‘The Giver’, by Lois Lowry. The novel is about a community that disregards memories and strongly values ‘sameness’. The protagonist of the book, a twelve-year-old boy named Jonas, upon turning twelve, received his assignment as the receiver of memories. Jonas arrived at the annexe the next morning, where his training would begin. He would become the next receiver, which was considered to be the most honourable job in the community. He met an old man, the previous receiver, who held memories of ‘elsewhere’, or about everything outside the community. Up to this point in the story, Jonas only knew about what existed in his own community, and had no idea of elsewhere. On this particular day, the previous receiver, now…show more content…
The author has brilliantly used the ‘show not tell’ technique here. As he progressed through the memory he started to become accustomed to the new words he had perceived – ‘snow’, ‘sledge’ and ‘hill’. By saying ‘substance called’ snow, ‘vehicle called’ sledge and ‘the mound- the hill’, she is implying that these words are very new for Jonas, and he has never seen them before. The reader is set back when he learns that Jonas’ community did not know about snow, hills and sledges. As Jonas moves towards the end of the memory, he starts using the words in his speech normally, without feeling awkward. This shows that Jonas started developing a liking for this kind of a world and foreshadows the end, where he escapes from the community to elsewhere. From this point onwards, the reader can see Jonas become more and more mature, as he develops memories, and becomes experienced, which in our society is considered to show the level of maturity. Then a questions pops into the reader’s mind – if the rest of the society does not possess memories or past experiences, are they actually progressing? Is this society a utopia after

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