The Giver, The Dreamer

The world in which Jonas lives guarantees its citizens a carefree life. There’s no longer scorching sun and severe snow; there’s no more pain and vain retaining in this place. With the Giver shouldering all the agonizing memories, people are no longer distracted by ups and downs but can concentrate on their “aim of life,” which is the job they are designated to do. Nevertheless, there are two sides to everything. If we never suffer from heat and cold, there’s no way we can feel the warmth of spring or the biting coldness of winter. If we never suffer from hurt and discomfort, there’s no way we can sense the true chords of our hearts. The one and the only way we can derive sweetness from life is to face the bitterness of life, which is the theme of “The Giver” that the author tries to convey to its readers.

Hence, we strive to grow stronger and steadier in order to face difficulties, just like the process of Jonas being a competent Giver requires much time and effort. Somehow I glimpsed the younger me on Jonas as I went through the challenges Jonas encountered while he was trained. While children were taking the toy rifle to shoot against each other joyously, Jonas whimpered since he discovered the catastrophic aftermath of war during the inheritance of genuine history. It is at this moment that I recognized the indifference and brutality of real society. Born as an innocent individual, I initially looked upon the world as a lovely one. However, various pandora boxes were opened as I was trying to delve into the truth of the world, the objective of my life. While Jonas was inquiring about whether his dad loved him, his father replied with cruelty, “Jonas. You, of all people. Precision of language, please.” It was at the moment that I lingered around the intersection of truth, not knowing what to comply with when facing a large number of coherent but contradictory suggestions from our family, friends, and the people encompassing us. Swarming with all these complicated emotions, I was accompanied solely by a frustrated mind and a fatigued heart. I seemed to have fallen victim to the road not taken, making choices between unknown and uncertainty. However, obstacles toughen a person, don’t they?

By combating trials and errors, I am more confident than ever in facing the music of my teenage life. Instead of succumbing to twists and turns, I could take advantage of those uncertainties to fertilize the clarities, bringing more motivation to find the royal road that belongs to us. Likewise, Jonas’s mindset becomes mature after being trained by the Giver over time, and somehow Jonas and I are both pursuing similar goals. Jonas overcame the heat and cold, the hurt and discomfort, the bitterness, and eventually overwhelmed the system. Apparently, making over a system is an unpredictable action. Though Jonas recognized that he himself did not have the ability to persuade every citizen to stand out and protest, he had the tenacity to trudge over hill and dale in order to break through the border and bring colors as well as emotions back to people. Conversely, at this point, the future of mine may be relevantly unforeseen, yet I am determined to find my own aim to chase and ground to play.

To wrap up, instead of labeling the novel as a dystopia, I consider it a profound interpretation of the process of youth. In the beginning, we are all “animal self”, being pure and harmless. As time goes by, we get to know what society really is. The stage “socialization” would be pivotal since it is the only way for us to be acquainted with the world in a broader and deeper manner. However, rather than yielding to the unforeseen path of life, we do our best to construct our royal road, which is “self-actualization.” In addition, the novel spontaneously inscribes the protagonist as a reflection of those aspiring youths, giving them hope and motivation to consecrate to a better future as they would like to experience the standard but splendid journey of Jonas.