Letter to the Mom and Dad... No, it's not blackmail...

Dear Mom and Dad,

This letter is the hardest thing for me to write. I want you to know that above anything else, I respect and honor you and as I have lately discovered, even love you and Lily. Before you become upset at my choice of words, or rather the lack of precision, permit me to state exactly how I feel. This letter comes from my heart and not from some regulation or code that has been expected of me.

You see, Mom and Dad, I've changed quite a bit over the past year. You may have noticed that I keep more to myself and contribute little to our nightly conversations. You may even have heard my footsteps sneaking over to Gabriel's bed at night to comfort him. The thing is, I have had experiences and feelings in the course of my training of becoming a Giver which opened up new worlds of pleasure and pain. It is hard for you to understand exactly how the training could have changed me so much, but it did and I am now about to make a move that may cause you grief and sadness, perhaps even, dishonor. For this, I apologize and beg for your forgiveness.

Tomorrow, I intend to remove myself away from this Community. I have also decided to bring Gabriel along with me. I think deep down, you know why that Gabe has to follow me. I know what the Community has decided to do with him and I just simply can't let that happen. I have come to the stage where I believe strongly that only the individual can decide his own fate and that he alone should bear the consequences of his actions. This may sound very strange and disturbing to you, but given what I now know, I believe that this is the only cause of action available to me. Again, I wish for your kind understanding.

We shall be long gone by the time you read this letter. I am not at liberty to say where we are going, but I hope that you might find it in your hearts to give me some kind of head start before notifying the authorities. I realize that eventually, they send search parties for us. Knowing what I do know now, I can tell you that their mission is not to rescue us but to " release " both Gabriel and I. The elders are aware that I know too much and may imprison me for a long time before finally releasing me once they've selected an new Receiver-in-training. This fate to me, is worse than death itself. So, now, you know why I have to leave and don't wish to be found. I cannot return to this place anymore.

Yes, this place I once called home to me now, is nothing more than a prison. A prison for my body in which I have no say over anything at all. Worse, a prison for my mind in which nothing is real and all emotions are withheld. Do you know Mom and Dad, that without emotions, we are no longer able to perceive colors? Colors!! The world used to be a colorful place, full of reds, yellows and the brightest greens. Without emotions, we lack the need for freedom and options. Through the Giver, I have experienced the memories of the greatest joys and deepest sorrows. By my going, these memories will revert to the Community and it is then up to everyone to decide what to do with them. For the first time, each and everyone of us will be given a choice to do what is right for him or her. I sincerely believe that all of us are able to choose to do what is right. And by doing so, experience life to the fullest.

I have to go now. Know that I will be forever grateful to both of you for raising me up to be what I am today. You once said that you were ' proud ' of me and ' enjoyed ' me, but, here let me say that on my part, I love you both very much. I hope that one day, you will understand that this is something that I have to do. Maybe on that someday, we will meet again. And I hope that you will be just as proud of me as you once were.

Lastly, no matter what the future brings, do remember that my thoughts are always with you and Lily and that you have my undying gratitude. Goodbye..

Your son,

Jonas

What the freedom?!

In Chapter 16, Jonas was torn between his need for security and order in his life and his desire to experience the new world of memories, emotions and personal choice. " He returned each day to the Annex room." The Giver presented his favorite memory to Jonas, the one where love and the affection of the family during Christmas became the overriding emotions. These two concepts, love and family, were foreign to Jonas before he met the Giver as were the ideas of choice and personal freedom. Even when overwhelmed by the good feelings, Jonas through his years of training in leading the so-called perfect life, could find fault as in the case of the risks associated with the glowing hearth. ( page 122 ) He became aware that he was taught to view love in a negative way, " A dangerous way to live. " ( page 126 ) For members of his strict society, families are provided for and there is no freedom for expression or choice. Upon realizing this, Jonas wanted his adopted brother, Gabriel, to experience feelings and see colors, " Each night, he gave memories to Gabriel. " ( page 128 ) These memories were once of happiness and Jonas attempted to connect these memories to the emotions of love for Jonas believed that the two are inseparable.

The second point concerns Jonas's decision not to take his pill. It is presumed that the pills are meant to keep his emotions and drive in check. Because he had experienced the memories of love, friendship and attraction, he decided to throw the pills away and to allow his body to develop freely in order for it to reach its fullest potential. Here, it can be seen that Jonas has taken the first step in removing himself from the rigid regulations imposed by his society. He has consciously made a decision to be different and by doing so, has become an outsider. After this moment, his view of his entire world had changed and he came to realize how trapped the others were through their own making. At this stage, I would say that Jonas's mind had tasted freedom and craved for more.

I'm just gonna LIE down...

Well, I believe that the reason why Jonas finds the instruction about lying so disturbing is because he has not done it before. Jonas and everyone else in the community, are too used to obeying the rules, following them to the letter. Of course, there are little white lies, like the underaged children learning how to ride a bicycle before their Ceremony of Nine. But, overall, nothing majorly serious.

In Jonas's daily life, from the moment he wakes up till the time he retires to bed, he is constantly reminded that he needs to speak the truth at all times. This has been an overriding principle ever since he was born and Jonas believes that lying goes against the very institution of living in such a structured community. It is not surprising that Jonas's reaction at being permitted to lie was one of being incredulous because the analogy would be for someone in the modern world to be given the license to kill. Deep in his heart, Jonas hopes that it would never have to come to this.

But as the story progresses, he finds that lying has become a necessary evil. He needed to maintain a calm exterior for his parents' sake while his heart and mind underwent tremendous changes. He reasons that the most convenient way to resolve his inner conflicts is to by way of lying which was difficult initially, but became almost natural later in the book.

"He killed it! My father killed it! Jonas said to himself, stunned at what he was realizing." (page 150 ) Ultimately, he rationalizes that adults around him lie to maintain society's order and that he being the receiver, has every right to become the greatest lier of them all.

I'm giving the Giver some givings. Wait, wha--

Prompt 1

Recently, I have read the Giver, an excellent book concerning a boy named Jonas, who is chosen as a receiver, someone who receives memories from the Giver. He lives in a society where there is no pain, no famine, no disease and no freedom or choice. Everything is controlled. Food supply, reproduction, even spouses are chosen. So, the question I have chosen is ' Would you want your future to be decided by others ? Why or Why not? '.

I think I would prefer not having a controlled future, even though it may seem ' perfect '. I do not like the idea of me not being in control of my own future. I would never, ever trade my freedom for such a life. As perfect as it may be, it would never be able to compensate for the price paid. Feelings and freedom of choice are the attributes that define humanity itself and without these, we might as well all be robots. The right to choose and to be an individual form the basis of human conduct and achievement. Like Jonas, for example, became disillusioned when he realized that there was more to life than just being sheltered and fed. Eventually, he found that he was missing out, not experiencing the real world, where there is pain, anger, happiness, love.

Furthermore, having choices made for you is downright unfair. For example, birth-mothers give birth to THEIR offspring an the Nurturers just give the babies away to another random family. All the pain and suffering of giving birth only to have our son or daughter adopted, never to know the real mother. Even Jonas and Lily aren't the biological children of their mother. In my opinion, I wouldn't want this to happen to me.

In conclusion, my response to the question is ' No, I would absolutely hate it. ' To me, life would not be worth living without being able to express myself freely. No freedom = No happiness.

This is Alex, the master of disaster, signing out!