DIGGING DEEP INTO THEMES...

Yo Bloggers! How did you enjoy the photos? I hope you commented on them. Well, if you didn't you should do so right away, after reading this post! We've looked into the summary and the symbols so now, I'm addressing the (drumroll...) themes. That's right! We're going to observe the themes in The Giver and understand how deep the theme goes and why it is so important. Before that, we need to know what are themes. I'll explain it to you in a nutshell! Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work, such as The Giver! Now that you know what themes are let's dig in, bloggers!!!

Our lives are like machines

With rituals and routines

We go to school; we go to work

Nothing but overwork

With no memories to dwell upon

About sunshine and trumpeter swans

Or even hunger and wars    

It’s just so bizzare

Christmas trees and red sleds

Grandparents and redheads

Such blissful things, we know not of

To such limits we’re bound thereof

Even war is just a game

Nothing more than a shooting game

No idea what is sunburn

Or even starvation

We have no colours or music

Neither snow nor feeling homesick

Love is considered vague

Using it makes them plague

We live in sameness

It gives us calmness

With total equality

And tranquility

It’s just a cloy

But we don’t feel true joy

Of having a family

Of living in an  “Utopia”

For all we see is sameness

Nothing but uniformity in excess

Afraid to let us handle choices

The leaders have made us choiceless

But now that I have the memories

I have CHOSEN my own way, my own path

To let them experience true joy

To let them suffer the true pain

I want to bring a change

Beyond any range

I want to bring about the truth

The truth of reality

The truth of reality way back and back and back...

This poem addresses the importance of memory in The Giver.  The whole story has developed from the idea of memories. The whole community has no memories except for the Giver and Jonas. When one has no memory they cannot remember painful episodes in their life. It might be a good thing but you might not be able to learn from the mistakes you could have made and you might commit the same mistake again. However, we should firstly realise that this is the reason for a Receiver, like Jonas and the Giver. The Receiver holds these memories and advises the Committee of Elders when they meet with unusual circumstances. To some people with memories of horrors, losing those memories can seem to be a blessing. Yet, if they also cannot recall the emotions associated with their good relationships with others, it might not be a pure, spirited blessing. The author appears to believe that having all memories, good and bad, is better than having no memories. This book presents a convincing argument for the importance of memory.

Memory is important for preventing repetition of mistakes. That is where the Receivers give their community valuable help (as I have said earlier). Without the Receivers, the community would have wanted to increase the population. However, since the Giver/Receiver had memories of famine and hunger, they avoided suffering through famine and hunger again.

I crafted this poem from Jonas' perspective. It is set on the night before Jonas leaves the community. Jonas reflects about how his life was once and how it has changed to then. I've named the poem "Memories" as it is a significant theme in The Giver. In the picture, I've cancelled out the word "Memories" to show that there aer no memories in Jonas' society. They have been eliminated and only the Giver and Jonas hold these memories. Firstly, Jonas reflects on how "[their] lives are like machines". I've used this simile to compare Jonas' life to a automatic and mechanical life where they have "rituals and routines" such as the Sharing of Dreams, Sharing of Feelings and stuff... Every single day, they perform the same routines and this routine has changed their lives into machines. 

 From the second stanza onwards, I talk about the change in Jonas' life-about how he knew about memories. Firstly, he ponders upon the happy and merry stuff like "Christmas trees and red sleds". They are one of Jonas' favourite memories. The memory of the sled was the first he ever received and the speed and the colour of it fascinated him a lot. The Christmas trees reminded him of warmth and happiness, and a loving family. These were some of the things he wished to keep and experience in reality. Yet, since he was living in a community of Sameness, these memories were nothing but just "memories".

 Secondly, Jonas also ponders about the sad and painful stuff like "war" and "starvation". They are one of the memories which affected him deeply. The memories of "war" where he saw wounded men and heard cries begging for water, and for death to envelop them, left a huge hole in Jonas' heart. He began to realise that the rest of the community do not even experience true pain in their lives. Furthermore, he understands how the rest of them just consider war as a "game". He, then, feels the reality of the war, even just as a game, when the others are not at all affected by the seriousness of it, even as a "game".

Following, he thinks about the lack of colours, music and a very important symbol, love. Once, he saw the colours in the memories he received, he was able to see all the colours in his community. However, he knew that the rest of them could not enjoy this quality of colour and they don't even know what it is (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! IT'S RIDICULOUS!!!). All they could see was Sameness-everything would be colourless and flavourless to them. Nevertheless, the fact that the word "love" is considered vague (?!) is absurd! When Jonas saw the memory of Grandparents and family, he felt a feeling of warmth... He felt happiness... He felt LOVE... However, when he asked his parents if they love him, they replied him that "love" is a word too vague and that "enjoy" is a more appropriate word to be used!!! I don't think that there is a deeper word than LOVE! Love is a passionate affection, a feeling of warmth for a family, friend or a child... It's such a meaningful word that even my words can't describe it. Jonas expresses his feeling that EVEN love is considered inappropriate in his society and that he wants to change it.


The 6th and 7th verse contrast each other. Since the community has a quality of sameness (with no conatct to memories), there is peace and equality. On the other hand, because of this Sameness (with no contact to memories), they are not able to experience true joy of having a family or of living in a "Utopia". The memories are what express true joy and true pain but when they are not able to access these memories, they don't know the REAL/TRUE feelings. They may assume that they experience true joy and pain, but in reality they just don't and can't, until a change has been imposed in the community. It's so pitiful... Huuuhhh... I quoted Utopia to bring out the point that it is not a Utopia. It's just called one but it does not possess all the necessary qualities of an Utopian society.No place in this world is Utopia. My utopia could be your dystopia... Hence, this society which claims to be Utopia is not perfect as there is no colour, music and emotions there, making life flavourless... What do YOU think, bloggers?!

 The next verse briefly introduces the new them of the lack of choice. The community is unable to choose anything-from their jobs, spouses, wishes to have children, to even the different coloured tunic that they want to wear (I can't imagine... :[). this is what I mean by choiceless. They jsut don't have a choice. They have to abide by the rules and let the Committee choose everything for them, leaving them choiceless...

The second last verse is the "climax" of the poem. Jonas has decided to CHOOSE his own way... He has decided to CHOOSE his own path... He has CHOSEN to break the rules and leave the community, not just for his own pleasure but also for the community's welfare (or not? It depends on your way of thinking...?). Leaving the community will result his memories being released to the community. Hence, the community gets to know the truth. They get to experience the true joy (Yippee!!!) and the true pain (Oh no!!!). It would be fair to the Giver and Jonas if they enjoyed and at the same time, suffered with the memories they were released when Jonas left to Elsewhere. They could experience the reality of life in the past...

The last verse ends the poem by outlaying the intentions of his escape from the community. He merely wanted to bring a change, that has never been attained before. He just wanted show the oblivious truth to the community. The oblivious truth that might be dark and ominous, and, certain, bright and propitious. I used the phrase "back and back and back" to reinforce the point about the memories dating to a life long ago. Under normal circumstances, the phrase “back and back and back” is meant to express the inevitability of the current situation: Sameness is not a historical moment that has a beginning and an end, but an endless, changeless state, something beyond time and space and human intervention. However, in this context I've used this phrase as a means to express proof that there was something beyond this inevitable Sameness, that there was something against this life with uniformity, that there was a different life where there is Difference, in certain things. Under the usual context, this phrase displays a history-less and memory-less life. Comparatively, I've used this phrase to emphasise the exact opposite meaning-to exhibit a historical, memory-filled life... This is my aim... It's to bring about the hope that rules can be changed... It's to bring about the hope that the truth and reality could be attained even in such a rigid society...

What do you thing, bloggers?! Do you like my poetic poem. I can only come up with such poetic stuff when I feel poetic. Do you feel like you want to write poems now? Let me give you one tip to craft poems: If you are the calm, nature-lover kind of person, go sit in the garden or a beach, and stare at the sky. If you are the more hippy and Y-generation kind of person, sit in front of your laptop and stare at the screen. Words will just flow like rivers, believe me...If you feel that I could improve my poem, feel free to comment on it... If you are an aspiring poet, why don't you attach your poems in my comment box?! We can all enjoy it!? Signing off for now... Subi... :)