Sunday, June 6, 2010
In the book, Jonas cannot see colour. However, he sees flashes of it throughout the book. He saw it while playing with an apple and also in Fiona's hair, which was red. While these are only two instances of him seeing colour, people in Jonas’ community cannot see colour. Therefore, it is considered an unusual skill and this was one of the reasons that he was selected to become the Receiver. As his gradual realization of colour and also the names of the colours he learns appear regularly in The Giver, this shows that the idea of colour is important.
Colours.
Also, another recurring theme in the book is the importance of having memories. The notion of needing someone to take care of the entire community’s memories in order to ensure a controlled society shows that Jonas' community thinks that memories are a very precious thing. If they had not thought that way, they would not have found someone like The Giver to control their memories.
Several illustrations showing the importance of memory
One recurring motif in The Giver is release. Release is talked about frequently in the book as a peaceful procedure into Elsewhere. Also, Jonas finds out the truth about release in the book- that actually it refers to euthanasia. This is also a very important motif because many people are released in the book and the discovery about the truth of release also is one of, if not the main impetus that makes Jonas leave home into the unknown in search of another Community. This is another portrayal of release as Jonas is leaving the community, yet he was not euthanised. This shows a kind of release as he left the community with Gabriel.
Release: portrayed as a peaceful experience
Labels: colour, memory, release
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