 | |
| Pay no attention to the bars that surround you. |
Here are the five words that I think sum up the first half of the, "The Giver" by Lois Lowry
Committee:
We are the wise Elders of our community. We make sure that you stay safe and secure in the sameness of us all. Everything is shared, nothing is to be hidden. Your laws will always be the same and your customs will never change. All you need to do is the work the jobs we assign you and take care of the children we give to you. Do not ask what your community can do for you, but what you can do for your community. So say we all.
Control:
For your comfort and convenience everything is the same everyday. The weather will never change, your food will always taste the same and your clothes will always be what everyone else wears. We hope you will enjoy the bicycles that everyone age Nine and above will be provided. This way no one will have anything better than anyone else. All we ask is that you tell us everything that goes on in your life. Here are the rules for the conversations in your home. Here are the jobs you will be assigned. Here are the pills you will take to prevent the Stirrings from arising. Here are the hours you will spend in school. Here are the hours you will spend volunteering in your community. Here are the times meals will be served. Here are the ....
Muted:
In order for everyone in our community to be comfortable there will be no bright colors. We don't want anyone to be surprised and made to feel awkward, so passionate emotions are not allowed. Please respect everyone's feelings and do not point out any differences you might see or hear. Do not get attached to anyone unless you have permission from all parties concerned. Please remember that as you grow older it will be your responsibility to help your younger community members to adhere to the rules. So say we all.
Illusion:
In order for everyone in the community to feel welcome and to fit in, we offer the following choices: 1) When you reach the age of 8 we will allow you the free time to volunteer in any of the community facilities of your choosing.
2) When you reach the age of 12 and you feel the job chosen for you is not the right one, you may appeal to the committee of Elders, and after careful deliberation, another will be assigned to you. This may take some time, so please be patient.
3) If you feel that a law needs to be changed in any particular, you may appeal to the committee of Elders, and after careful deliberation, we will render our unbiased ruling. This may take some time, so please be patient.
4) If you feel that the community that you are born to is not the right one for you, you may apply for release to another community.
So say we all.
Release:
To be fair to all, any infraction of our laws, any repeated offense to our customs, will result in the person(s) to be released. Anyone over a certain age will be scheduled, after a suitable release party, to be released. Anyone requesting a transfer to another community will be released. Anyone requesting release, will be released. After a suitable time period, the names of the released will be re-used in our community so that there will always be the same names to bring comfort and continuity. So say we all.
I like the "Pay no attention to the bars that surround you." quote, it's a perfect analogy to how Jonas outgrows his community. Him and The Giver are the only two who are able to look past the bars and onto other possibilities.
ReplyDeleteI like the whole thing! But one thing I especially like is the photo of the bikes. I think it says a lot about what is "unspoken" and "creepy" abut the community. I also like that the first two words you selected have some repetition of the first letter.
ReplyDeleteThe words you picked are very important to the book but you did the post in a way to keep it engaging. Nice work.