The Giver (government) 5

" The word had been "starving." You have never been starving, he had been told. You will never be starving. Now he was. If he had stayed in the community, he would not be. It was as simple as that. Once he had yearned for choices. Then, when he had had a choice, he had made the wrong one: the choice to leave. And now he was starving. But if he had stayed. His thoughts continued. If he had stayed he would have starved in other ways. He would have lived a life hungry for feelings, for color, for love. And Gabriel? For Gabriel there would have been no life at all. So there had not really been a choice (173)."

            In this passage from “The Giver” by Lois Lowry Jonas is reflecting back on his past actions. He wonders if it was the right thing to do, should he have left in hopes for a better life or should he have stayed in his town which is characterized by a dystopian society. He is reflecting back on the past because he questions his decision of leaving, he thinks that by leaving he has made things worse because he is not with the Giver anymore and he feels like he is starving. He made the right decision though of leaving because if he had stayed then he would be dealing with the same old problems that he dealt with before and his previous town is heading towards a disaster.

            My reaction to this passage is that Jonas did make the right decisions by leaving his town and going to a new one in hopes of a better lifestyle. He definitely found a better lifestyle where he is at now, the people are together, they have goals that they are striving for and there is more of a community life where Jonas is now. The only bad thing is that Jonas is no longer with the Giver, he is by himself so I wonder how the transition will be without the Giver considering Jonas has relied on the Giver so much like a father figure throughout this whole novel.  

            The purpose of this passage is to show that Jonas questions his decisions to leave, was it really worth it? Was it necessary to leave? What would of happened if he stayed in the society? He would have been around negative people who are living in fear of the government, Jonas needed a change and he needed to be in a place that was a good environment with a positive attitude. The specific literary techniques used in this passage are word choice, the technique of asking rhetorical questions, and imagery. The word choice in this passage contributes to the overall understanding of the novel and the passage. Words like “starving” and “if he had stayed he would have starved in other ways, he would have lived a life hungry for feelings, for love and for color.” These sentences and words suggest that Jonas thinks he is starving in his new society because everything seems so different to him because he is not used to living in a society that is perfect. He reflects back on the past and realizes that it was the right decision for him to leave because if he stayed he would have lived a life without “color, love and feeling.” The use of rhetorical questions gives the reader a better understand of the novel and it also posses questions to the reader in which he/she might have never questioned before. It makes the novel more interesting by the use of posing questions to the reader it makes the reader think in a different perspective. The imagery in this passage helps to contribute to Jonas reflecting back on the past. You can see Jonas looking back and reflecting on his dystopian society and you can hear all of the chaos in that society because of how dysfunctional it is. The imagery is from words like “for love, for feelings and for color.” If Jonas stayed in his society then he would have misses out on all of those things which are so important in life. The overall effect of this passage is achieved greatly through the eyes of Jonas when reflecting back on the past; he realizes that he needs to move on because his society is going down the wrong road.

            In this novel the word “human” means to be able to live a life freely without any problems, concerns or issues. You are able to live your life without anybody telling you what to do. You can make your own decisions and you are able to live by yourself. In Jonas’s case he is going to have to be able to live without the Giver. Even though this will be hard for Jonas, he will be able to do it because the Giver has provided him with all of the necessary tasks for success; he has been there for Jonas through the thick and the thin. Our depictions of the future reveal that the present will only last for a short time. With all of the technological advancements in today’s society, the world is moving quickly and the life we live now is going to be very different each and every year so don’t take anything for granted. We use images and language to manipulate people’s minds by reeling them into something that we want them to believe. When they believe it they will think that you are right and that will cause people to do things that they do not want to do.

The Giver (government) 4

" Jonas, you and I are the only ones who have feelings. We've been sharing them now for almost a year." "I',m sorry, Giver," Jonas said miserably. "I don't mean to be so hateful. Not to you." The Giver rubbed Jonas's hunched shoudlers. "And after we eat," he went on, "we'll make a plan." Jonas looked up, puzzled. "A plan for what? There's nothing. There's nothing we can do. It's always been this way. Before me, before you, before the ones who came before you. Back and back and back." His voice trailed the familiar phrase. "Jonas," The Giver said, after a moment, "it's true that it has been this way for what seems forever. But the memories tell us that it has not always been. People felt things once. You and I have been part of that, so we know. We know that they once felt things like pride, and sorrow, and-"

This passage from The Giver by Lois Lowry talks about trying to make a plan so the memories of the community can be restored. In this passage The Giver is talking to Jonas about trying to save the memories and restore the values of the community. When the Giver tells Jonas that they need to restore the memories, Jonas becomes quickly surprised. He soon realizes that his vision of the future is not going to happen; his community is still going to be hopeless and unchanged because the people are living in fear because of the government. Jonas wanted his community to change, but instead of changing they are just going to be like how they always were, everything is going to be the same. Jonas realizes this and he becomes sad that he won’t be able to make a difference in the society; his society will still follow its dystopian ways. But when Jonas becomes sad by this the Giver gives Jonas hope, like a father figure and quickly revitalizes Jonas and his decisions of a better future and a utopian like society.

My reaction to this passage is that Jonas as the new receiver is doing a good job in trying to get the community out of this dystopian world. But the problem is people don’t want to go against the government because the government has put so much fear into them that they are scarred and they believe that the government is a higher power then them, they control all the power and give the people no freedom. As the new receiver Jonas is just trying to make his society better, the Giver implemented to Jonas that their society that they live in is bad and although it may seem like everything is perfect, things are bad and it is heading toward disaster. I wonder what Jonas will do because it seems like nobody wants to change in the society, will Jonas step down as the new receiver? Will the Giver provide Jonas with the courage to keep pushing and stay strong because the people will eventually follow?

The purpose of this passage is to show how much fear the government has put into the people. It could also show maybe how much the people believe in the government that things will get better. If the people did not believe in the government then they would go with Jonas’s idea to change the society and restore their values that they once had. But the people aren’t going with Jonas which shows that they believe in the government, that they can push them through this tough time. Also it shows that the people are living in fear and the government has all of the control in the society, the people aren’t living free because they are being controlled like robots. The specific techniques used to achieve this purpose are the use of phrases and repetition. The phrases like “back and back and back” suggests that Jonas wants to go back to the time where everything was good in their society, where everybody was free and the government did not run them. But the people do not want to go back, they are afraid of change. They are afraid to get rid of the “sameness” in the society. Also the phrase “back and back and back” is repeated over and over again to emphasize the fact that Jonas is trying really hard to restore the values of the community that they once had. The Giver sys that the memories tell them that it has “not been this way forever” which suggests it once used to be good probably during the time that Rosemary was the receiver, once Rosemary stepped down as the receiver the society became in total chaos. Jonas is trying to revive a big job but with the help of the Giver he can do it. The overall effect of this passage is that people are not willing to be different; they are not willing to change because they don’t want to be different. They are willing to just go with the flow like they have been doing even though that it is not working, they are still unwilling to change from these dystopian ways that the government has them under.

The word “human” means to be able to live around each, getting along with each other and being compassionate with each other. Everybody may have their different views but everybody gets along. Being a human also means you try and do the best for yourself and do things that will positively affect your life. In this situation Jonas is just trying to be human when wishing that people would follow his lead and change the way that they have been behaving in hopes of getting out of these dystopian ways. Jonas is just trying to do what is the best for his society, being the new receiver he feels like it is his obligation to do these tasks and to try and make things better.

Our depictions of the future reveal that the present although maybe a time to cherish, there are still a lot of bad qualities during this time. People are all different and not everybody is willing to be different. If not everybody is willing to be different then everybody is too much alike and that is not good in the society because you need diversity. If everybody is the same then it creates“sameness” in the society and causes a disaster just like what is happening in this society. We us images and language to manipulate people’s minds by providing people with false information so they believe what they say.

The Giver (government) 3

" Jonas was silent for a minute. "Oh, I see what you mean. It wouldn't matter for a newchild's toy. But later it does matter, doesn't it? We don't dare to let people make choices of their own." "Not safe?" The Giver suggested. "Definitely not safe," Jonas said with certainty. "What if they were allowed to choose their own mate? And chose wrong? "Or what if, " he went on, almost laughing at the absurdity, "they chose their own jobs?" "Frightening, isn't it?" The Giver said. Jonas chuckled. "Very frightening. I can't even imagine it. We really have to protect people from wrong choices." "It's safer." "Yes," Jonas agreed. "Much safer." But when the conversation turned to other things, Jonas was left, still with a feeling of frustration that he didn't understand. He found that he was often angry, now: irrationally angry at his groupmates, that they were satisfied with taking on. And he was angry at himself, that he could not change that for them. He tried. Without asking permission from The Giver, because he feared or knew that it would be denied, he tried to give his new awareness to his friends (98-99)."

              This passage from the book The Giver by Lois Lowry comes after Jonas has accepted the job as the new receiver in the dystopian society. This is when Jonas is talking to the people and speaking out about the fact that he wishes that there was still color so the people could enjoy the color and they could have the pleasure and feeling to chose between different colors. But the government quickly shoots down this idea that Jonas has, this shows the dystopianess of the society. They said that if people were allowed to choose their own colors then they would be gaining too much freedom and then they would want to chose who they marry and they would want to choose their own jobs. The government said that these choices and decisions are a big part of people’s lives and if we let the people have more freedom then their decisions could be disastrous. This shows the power that the government holds over the people in the society.

            My reaction to this passage is that the people should be allowed to make their own decisions. The government shouldn’t interfere with people’s lives, it’s their own life and they should be able to live their life anyway they want to and the government should have no say in what they say or the things that they do. The government says that they want to control the people in case they make wrong decisions because their decisions could be disastrous. But my point f view on this subject is that if the people do make bad decisions then they should learn from their bad decisions so they won’t make those same mistakes again. But if they keep making the same mistake over and over again then the government should be able to take action and put in place their rules and regulations.  

            The purpose of this passage is to show you how the government likes to control people in their society, they like to be in control and if they are not in control then they feel like they are not in power. Since the government is living in so much power it causes the people to live in fear because they know that the government is controlling them and if they do something wrong or mess up then they are going to be punished because of the strict rules and regulations in the dystopian society. The specific techniques used to achieve this purpose are words like “wrong choices” and “we really have to protect people from wrong choices.” These phrases suggest the strictness is Jonas’s society. This also acknowledges that Jonas recognizes that his society is bad and people are making the “wrong choices.” But in a community that is as strict as Jonas’s people can damage the society if they make the “wrong choices” so as a result in order to keep the society running smoothly the people have to abide by all of the rules that the government puts in place. This passage has a negative connotation, it is taking about the government controlling people and how the people cannot live free because of the strict control by the government. Also in this passage the literary technique of asking questions is being used, by asking questions the reader is proposed with new ideas in their heads that they might have never thought of before. It provides the reader with a different view on an aspect and could provide a solution to a problem.

            In this novel so far the word “human” means that the government controls you, your rights are limited by the government and the government allows you not to be free. The “humans” are living in fear because of the government and the government is putting the people in fear. The “humans” in this dystopian society remind me of robots because they have to do what the government tells them to do, if they don’t do it then there are punishments that they are going to receive.

            Our depictions of the future reveal that the present is a lot easier than what the future could hold, nobody knows what the future is going to look like but if it is like anything that is described in this book then it won’t be good. The government will control the people and people will live miserable lives because nobody wants the government to control them, people want to live freely and be able to do the things that they want to do without anyone telling them different. We use language and images to manipulate people’s minds by showing them certain things to make them believe it because people are so gullible, but in actuality the thing that they are seeing, they aren’t interpreting it correctly. So false acquisitions are taken place.

The Giver (government) 2

" We failed in our last selection,” the Chief Elder said solemnly. “It was ten years ago, when Jonas was just a toddler. I will not dwell on the experience because it causes us all terrible discomfort." Jonas didn't know what she was referring to, but he could sense the discomfort of the audience. They shifted uneasily in their seats. "We have not been hasty this time," she continued." "We could not afford another failure." "We have had our current Receiver for a very long time," she went on. Jonas followed her eyes and saw that she was looking at one of the Elders. The Commitee of Elders was sitting together in a group; and the Chief Elder's eyes were now on one who sat in the midst but seemed oddly separate from them. It was a man Jonas had never noticed before, a bearded man with pale eyes. He was watching Jonas intently (60-61)."

            In this passage from The Giver by Lois Lowry, the Chief Elder at the Ceremony of Twelve is introducing Jonas as the new receiver. There has not been a receiver in more than 10 years in this society so this is a big deal for Jonas. The previous receiver was named Rosemary but she applied for release of the receiver position, which made this new receiver position open for Jonas. There wasn’t a receiver for over 10 years because Rosemary experienced traumatizing memories that were released into everybody’s minds. 

My reaction to this passage is that this again shows the dystopian society, the traumatizing memories caused nobody to apply for the receiver position which made it empty for over 10 years. This also shows the courage that Jonas has to accept a position that is of such importance that has been empty for over 10 years. I wonder if the Giver has anything to do with Jonas accepting the position of the new receiver. How do you become a receiver? I wonder if Jonas will be able to handle the responsibilities of being a receiver? What powers does the position of being a receiver have?

The purpose of this passage is to show the dystopian view that the society has on everything, everybody has been scared to accept the position of the new receiver because it has been empty for over 10 years and everybody is scared of the traumatizing memories but Jonas comes along and shows that he is strong and has the courage to do this new receiver position. With the help of the Giver, Jonas can be a good receiver. Without the Givers help Jonas would not be able to do this job. The Giver has given Jonas the strength to accept this position, the Giver realizes that Jonas can do it and the Giver can guide him through the tough times like a father figure. The specific techniques used to achieve this purpose are words like “discomfort.” The word discomfit has a negative effect and a negative connotation. In this passage the word “discomfort” represents the feeling that the people in the community had when Jonas accepted the position of being a receiver. This came at a shock to the society because the position has been empty for over 10 years. The society was discomforted because Rosemary had such a traumatic experience of being a receiver that the community could not understand why someone would want to be a receiver after what had happened to Rosemary. At the end of this passage, foreshadowing is used, you are left with yourself asking many questions, who is this bearded man that Jonas saw in the crowd? Could it be a relative of Jonas? This is left with the reader asking questions and makes the reader want to keep on reading to find out who is this man. The overall effect of this passage is that the people in the society are living in fear because of what happened to the previous receiver Rosemary. The people in the dystopian society need to stop living in fear and accept the new position that Jonas has accepted.

In this book so far the word “human” means you are living in a dystopian society that the government has all control over you, they have strict rules and regulations that are set forth and you have to follow them or else there are consequences. In this passage the “humans” are living in fear because of the past experiences that Rosemary had when she was the receiver. Our depictions of the future reveal that the present is very valuable and is of the essence. You have to value your time in the present because the future is going to be far different than anything that you can imagine, maybe it will be better or maybe it will be worse nobody knows but you have to value the things that you have right now. We use language and images to manipulate people’s minds by providing circumstances and certain situations to show certain things that aren’t actually true. It’s all about the way people perceive certain things. In this case the people in the society all were in fear of accepting the position of the new receiver because of what happened to Rosemary. They let this one incident cause them to not accept the job, they just went with the flow and denied the job instead of being different and accepting the position of the new receiver like Jonas did.   

The Giver (government) 1

" Last night he had watched as his father bathed the newchild. This was much the same: the fragile skin, the soothing water, the gentle motion of his hand, slippery with soap. The relaxed, peaceful smile on the woman's face reminded him of Gabriel being bathed. It was against the rules for children or adults to look at another's nakedness; but the rule did not apply to newchildren or the Old. Jonas was glad. It was a nuisance to keep oneself covered while changing for games, and the required apology if one had by mistake glimpsed another's body was always awkward. He couldn't see why it was necessary. He liked the feelig of safety here in this warm and quiet room; he liked the expression of trust on the woman's face as she lay in the water unprotected, exposed, and free. From the corner of his eye he could see his friend Fiona help the old man from the tub and tenderly pat his, thin naked body dry with an absorbant cloth. She helped him into his robe (30-31)."

             The book The Giver by Lois Lowry is a dystopian book, everything in Jonas’s world seems perfect but in reality it is not. Jonas seeks the Giver for help and relies on him for answers, in this dystopian society that they live in. I interpret the Giver in this book as a higher power, almost like a “God-like figure” to Jonas, with that interpretation I feel like the Giver has all the answers and everybody in the society relies on him for answers almost like a “government figure.”

            This quote is from Chapter 4 where Jonas starts to realize that his community is not everything that he may think it is, he starts to realize that something is missing in his society. He realizes this when he was training to be a “receiver” when the Giver showed him what it was really like to live in a utopian society. In this quote we also see that Jonas has a strong relationship with the woman and the Giver. He feels safe with these people and he very much trusts them. My reaction to this quote is that I feel like Jonas has been limited to what he is allowed to see in the society. As a result it is almost as if he does not recognize what is real and what is fake in society. I feel like the Giver presents him with the real and factual information that is true about his dystopian society. Up to this point Jonas has been living in a fake world before he met the Giver, whether or not Jonas accepts the Giver, the Giver provides Jonas with what their society is actually like, unlike what Jonas makes it out to be. Jonas thinks his society is utopian but it is really dystopian.  

            The purpose of this passage is to show the Giver and his importance to the book, it is only the beginning of the book but we already see the affect that the Giver has on Jonas. The Giver and Jonas are forming a strong relationship/bond because the Giver is being real to Jonas and Jonas can’t believe what he is actually experiencing with the Giver. Also the purpose of this passage is to show how much power the Giver possesses in the society, it is almost as if the Giver is a form of “government” because of how powerful he is. He is accepted in the society and people come to him for advice in this dystopian world that they live in. The specific techniques used to achieve this purpose is the use of words that Lowry chose to use, the words “unprotected, exposed and free” are key words in this passage because Jonas liked the way that the woman laid their being “free” and free caring. Jonas is not used to this new world that the Giver has brought him to because he is so used to his society being uptight and strict, nothing like this would happen in Jonas’s dystopian society. The word “free” is the most important word because Jonas is not free in his society because of the strict rules and regulations unlike this woman who lives in a utopian society, she is the definition of “free” that Jonas wants to be. The word “free” suggests that Jonas does not like the rules and regulations that his society puts in place. This passage foreshadows what’s to come later in the novel, we can see by the Giver showing Jonas this new world that they are going to have a strong relationship with each other, he feels safe with the Giver and maybe he will be like Jonas’s father figure.

            In this novel so far the word “human” in Jonas’s cases means that you are living in a dystopian society and you do not get to see the real world and what your society is really like because of the strict rules and regulations that are in place by the government in your society. In Jonas’s case the word “human” is not used correctly because I believe that if you are a human you are free and nobody has to tell you what to do, you are capable of making your own decisions whether you are wrong or right. So far in this novel the word “human” is being incorrectly used in my point of view because Jonas is not living “free” like Larissa and the Giver.

            Our deceptions of the future reveal that the present is a time to cherish because it may not be there for long, you need to cherish the good things in life that are available and at your dispense now because one day they are not going to be there. In Jonas’s case he needs to go with the Giver so the Giver can guide him to the utopian society that Jonas envisions, not the dystopian society that Jonas is living in now. We use language and images to manipulate people’s minds by only showing what people want to see. People want to see all the good things, but do not want to see the bad so people often make it seem like everything is alright and good so people don’t get scared. In Jonas’s case he thinks his society is perfect because he is only seeing the good, not the bad. So the Giver introduces Jonas to the bad of society and then shows him Larissa who is actually living in a utopian society, unlike Jonas.

War

            In the movie “Transformers” alien robots are under attack. They are attacking the human population; they are in a war with the human population. Unfortunately for this man Shia, he is who the alien robots want to kill the most so they are constantly going against him to kill him. The two types of alien robots are the Autobots and the Decepticons. The alien robots are under attack because they want to destroy the Earth, the Sun and all of the living things on Earth. My reaction to this movie is that the humans should have been able to find a way to defeat the robots. The humans should have never let the robots get so powerful, how did they let them get so powerful with all the technology that they have? Maybe the alien robots were so big and powerful that they couldn’t be destroyed, maybe the humans felt as if they were going to die anyways so they lost all hope.

            The purpose of this movie is to show how fragile the human population is and how easily we become scared of things when we are under attack and faced with a problem. When the robots attacked the humans they were scared and it was like they accepted the fact that they were under attack. They thought to themselves that they can’t do anything about it and it was almost as if they threw in the towel. The specific techniques used were the size of the robots. The alien robots were huge in their size which showed how powerful they are and it really had an emphasis on the people because their size scared them away in trying to kill the alien robots. The overall effect of this work is to that us as humans when things are going bad, we always rely on other people to stop the problem instead of actually facing the problem ourselves and doing what we have to do to get the problem or situation fixed.

            In the movie “Transformers” the word humans mean you are fragile. You are being attacked by alien robots who want to destroy the Earth and all the living things on it. You are no match to the robots who are much stronger than you are so you lose all hope as a population because you know that you are going to be killed by the alien robots. The humans start to do things that they never did before.

            Our depictions of the future reveal that the present is a time that we can enjoy because you never know what the future is going to bring. The future can either be great or it can be bad and filled with bad, terror and destruction. We use imagery and language to manipulate people’s minds because when someone says something, the people in the movies can make it sound like he actually meant something else rather than what he really said or they can put emphasis on it by making the person scream or show their emotions.

The Pledge of Allegiance

Religion

            The Pledge of Allegiance is a very controversial document due to the fact that not everybody wants to pledge to the flag because they are not from this country. This is especially seen in classrooms in the United States of America where we see teachers who make their students stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance. Teachers make it mandatory because they believe that if you live in this country then you have to stand for the pledge no matter what your religion is or what you believe in. Is this right? Should teachers make students stand for the pledge even if it is against their religion or what they believe in? My reaction to this is that I believe that if you live in America then you have to follow the American way of life. You already have enough freedom to do what you need to do and do what you need to worship. But the pledge is different, it shows respect and if you don’t stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance you are showing no respect for America and you are not following the American way of life. Everybody needs to stand for the pledge no matter what they believe in because it is the right thing to do.

            The purpose of this work is to show the controversial issue that the Pledge of Allegiance presents in the classroom throughout the United States of America. The question whether or not student should have to stand for the pledge is a very big topic trending in the world. Also the question of the words of the Pledge of Allegiance raises much controversy. The phrase “one nation under god” is very controversial because some people do not believe in good because they think that he is fake or that they believe in another higher power that they worship from their country’s beliefs. The specific techniques used to achieve this purpose is the picture of the Statue of Liberty. This statue represents power of the American people as one country all standing strong together. It is a sign that America will never fall. This statue shows power and it is one of the great iconic figures in this world. The overall effect of this work is to show you that the pledge is a sign of respect to America and as long as you are living in this country then you have to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

            Our depictions of the future reveal that the present allows you to make your own choices and you have a lot more lee way now than you may have in the future. Now if you refuse to stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance the worst that may happen to you is that you get suspended. But who knows in the future if you refuse to stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance you might be killed or face severe consequences. Greater penalties and punishments will come to life in the future as the new technology gets more advanced because if technology is advancing then the rules and obligations also have to increase and become harsher so the technology doesn’t out due to the rules and order in the society.