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Tuesday, July 27, 2010
The giver and my life
Throughout the course of these few weeks of studying the giver and reflecting upon the deeper meaning that it brings out, a theme that was highlighted in the book related very much to my own life. This was something unnoticed at first however upon further reflection, did I start to notice this seemingly minute detail.
One of the main themes in the Giver is the importance of memory. All throughout the book, it is constantly emphasized that without memory, there is no pain in life that we can ever experience. We cannot be plagued by regret or grief if we were unable to remember the event that brought about such a emotion or feeling. Thus in the Giver, it has been decided that the community should eliminate all pain by giving up their society’s collective experiences. This was done through designating the job of the Receiver to remember the memories for the community because the importance of memories was still recognized.
This let me reflect upon how many a times in my own life, I myself would wish that I was able to forget certain memories of life. For example those that made me feel sad, angry or depressed to eliminate the pain that these memories brought about, very much similar to that of Jonas' community. However, after giving much thought to it, I realized that having these memories of pain is when we are able to learn from our mistakes. Without the memories we will continue to face the same problems in life and never learn how to overcome them. Thus, I realized that these horrible memories I hold of my own life, is something that I treasure very much. Unlike before when I was all ready to give them up to forget the pain that came with these memories because from these memories, it is when I am able to learn from my mistakes, it is when I am able to grow as a person.
More than that, without memories, we will never be able to remember the happy memories that we have experienced. Something like memory comes in 2 forms, those that bring pain and those that bring pleasure. We cannot always look on the negative side of things, because with memories comes happiness as well which is something I will never be ready to give up. Without memories, life seems to be filled with no meaning or purpose. This was something that Jonas realized as well as he went through his training as the Receiver which was why resented this to run away.
Thus, after much thought and reflection, my memories are definitely here to stay to learn, grow as well as appreciate what they bring!
One of the main themes in the Giver is the importance of memory. All throughout the book, it is constantly emphasized that without memory, there is no pain in life that we can ever experience. We cannot be plagued by regret or grief if we were unable to remember the event that brought about such a emotion or feeling. Thus in the Giver, it has been decided that the community should eliminate all pain by giving up their society’s collective experiences. This was done through designating the job of the Receiver to remember the memories for the community because the importance of memories was still recognized.
This let me reflect upon how many a times in my own life, I myself would wish that I was able to forget certain memories of life. For example those that made me feel sad, angry or depressed to eliminate the pain that these memories brought about, very much similar to that of Jonas' community. However, after giving much thought to it, I realized that having these memories of pain is when we are able to learn from our mistakes. Without the memories we will continue to face the same problems in life and never learn how to overcome them. Thus, I realized that these horrible memories I hold of my own life, is something that I treasure very much. Unlike before when I was all ready to give them up to forget the pain that came with these memories because from these memories, it is when I am able to learn from my mistakes, it is when I am able to grow as a person.
More than that, without memories, we will never be able to remember the happy memories that we have experienced. Something like memory comes in 2 forms, those that bring pain and those that bring pleasure. We cannot always look on the negative side of things, because with memories comes happiness as well which is something I will never be ready to give up. Without memories, life seems to be filled with no meaning or purpose. This was something that Jonas realized as well as he went through his training as the Receiver which was why resented this to run away.
Thus, after much thought and reflection, my memories are definitely here to stay to learn, grow as well as appreciate what they bring!