This short extract shows that Jonas did not regret leaving the community. I feel that Jonas made the right decision. If Jonas had stayed in the community, he would be suffering every single day. His parents, who were supposed to LOVE him, did not even know the meaning of love. It hurts to live in a community without love. Love is very vital in our lives. It is encouraging to know that there are people in this world, especially our family members, who loves us. With this encouragement, we will have the zest to live life happily. Unfortunately for Jonas, he is not as lucky as us. Jonas also had no one to play with after he learnt about feelings, he was lonely. It is hard to live in the community after Jonas learnt about the wicked truth of his community. Yes, staying in the community would provide Jonas with food, but it is more important to have love. Hence, staying in the community would only prolong Jonas’s suffering. Jonas’s escape gave him a brand new start of his life. He could finally have what he long for! He knew that the place he was heading to celebrates love, creates and keeps memories, which is totally different from his old community. Jonas would be able to see colour every day and share his feelings with anyone in the community. He would have the freedom of choice, he would be able to express himself freely. There would be individuality and creativity. Such a community is obviously the better community for Jonas and baby Gabriel. Gabe was given a chance to live. Jonas certainly made the correct choice.
This extract also shows that the journey to the final destination was not smooth at all. Jonas encountered many difficulties. He fell and had a swollen ankle; both baby Gabe and him were starving and dehydrating; they had to be on a constant lookout for planes; they were wet and cold.
“Jonas had never seen rain, though he had experienced it often in the memories. He had liked those rains, enjoyed the new feeling of it, but this was different. He and Gabriel became cold and wet, and it was hard to get dry, even when sunshine occasionally followed.”
However, to obtain happiness and love, Jonas persevered, continued cycling and did not give up till he reached his destination. However, all the suffering was worth it as they managed to see things that they have never seen before and they were at a better place. What touched me the most was how much Jonas cared and love baby Gabe. To ensure that baby Gabe had a chance to live, he took baby Gabe with him. Although Jonas lived in a society without love, he showered baby Gabe with so much love.
“Gabriel had not cried during the long frightening journey. Now he did. He cried because he was hungry and cold and terribly weak. Jonas cried too, for the same reasons, and another reason as well. He wept because he was afraid now that he could not save Gabriel. He no longer cared about himself.”
This extract is very meaningful.
“As he continued to watch, the newchild, no longer crying, moved his arms and legs in a jerking motion. Then he went limp. His head fell to the side, his eyes half open. Then he was still.
With an odd, shocked feeling, Jonas recognized the gestures and posture and expression. They were familiar. He had seen them before but he couldn’t remember where.
Jonas stared at the screen, waiting for something to happen. But nothing did. The little twin lay motionless. His father was putting thing away. Folding the blanket. Closing the cupboard.
Once again, as he had on the playing field, he felt the choking sensation. Once again, he saw the face of the light-haired, bloodied soldier as life left his eyes. The memory came back.
He killed it! My father killed it! Jonas said to himself, stunned at what he was realizing. He continued to stare at the screen numbly."
The release of a twin, once thought to be an happy and harmless ceremony, turned out to be cruel and cold-blooded. A innocent, powerless baby infant was barely given a chance to live and his new life was just taken away after minutes of his birth by a single injection. Instead of disposing the body in a proper manner, they just dump it inside a chute, just like how they usually throw away their rubbish.
I could not understand why the Elders had to implement such a heartless rule. Why is there the need to release the smaller twin? Yes, they want to create a utopian community and having twins will only create confusion and disrupt their plan. However, the Elders could have just send the smaller twin to another community to live. At least he still had a chance to live. But now, his life was just taken away for no rhyme or reason. This law just does not make any sense to me. The thought of joyful infants being released makes me want to cry.
I pity Jonas too. His agitated response and sarcasm, shown in the next chapter, revealed that he was hurt and very frustrated.
“I will take care of that,sir. I will take care of that,sir.” Jonas mimicked in a cruel, sarcastic voice. “ I will do whatever you like,sir. I will kill people,sir. Old people? Small newborn people? I’d be happy to kill them,sir”
He was angry that his father did not tell him the real truth behind ‘released’ and had lied to him all the time, painting a beautiful picture about the Ceremony Of Release. However, pause and think about this. Jonas’s father and the rest of the community did not know the real meaning behind released. They had never seen anyone die and to them, the term ‘released’ is just ‘released’., There is no deeper meaning and truth behind it.
“They know nothing.”
Jonas knew that ‘released’ was actually killing the child as he learnt about death through the painful memory of war transmitted to him by the Giver. He witnessed the death of the soldier. He felt the sadness and pain. The community had never experienced what Jonas experienced, and feelings are not part of the life that they have learnt. Thus, the community is unfeeling and ignorant about ‘released’. Jonas’s father is also a victim.
This extract makes me more appreciative of my life. At least, we do not have to kill any newborn twins. In contrast, Singapore is supporting the birth of more babies! HA-HA. More babies, more joy in our lives! I am glad that all of us know FEELINGS. Without feelings, life would be meaningless and routine, just like Jonas’s world.
Overall, this is a really meaningful and heart- breaking (well, to me) extract.The Handmaid’s Tale is a sad and thought provoking story. It shows a community trying to become utopian but end up becoming dystopian.
The story starts with a family of three trying to escape the country by crossing the border. Unfortunately, they were caught; the husband was shot, the wife was taken away and the daughter was left alone to wander around aimlessly in the wilderness. The wife was taken away to become a Handmaid. The job of a Handmaid is to help a commander’s wife to give birth. They were like surrogate mothers. The Handmaids were cruelly treated and the punishment was very severe for them. Nuns were hanged, publicly, as they refused to become Handmaids and bear chidren.
The people running the community had twisted Bible teachings and brainwashed the women. They were trying to instill the sense of importance of giving birth into their minds. They felt that abortion was a disrespect to God and they were destroying God’s creation. I felt very frustrated as the Bible is a Holy book which teaches people the right morals and give people the strength and hope to live. Instead, they used the Bible and indirectly frighten the people. They are inhumane to carry out this propaganda.
The wife, Kate, was sent to a commander’s house. In the process of trying to make a baby, all three, the commander, commander’s wife and Kate, had to be present. I was very disgusted and disturbed by that scene. The scene kept replaying in my mind and Kate’s agonized expression kept appearing inside my head for days! I pitied Kate as she did not want to become a Handmaid but for the sake of saving her own life, she had to go through all the suffering and hardship. The commander’s wife, Sabrina, was also pitiful as she had to witness the whole process. She must have felt hurt and sad that she needed the help of a Handmaid to conceive a baby for her.
We stopped at this scene in class but I continued watching it at home. There was a scene where a Handmaid was about to be hanged and the other Handmaids were forced to pull the rope, lifting her above ground, and eventually killed her. A man, probably sexually involved with the Handmaid, was harshly beaten by the other Handmaids. I was saddened by this scene as it shows that the community was so cruel and corrupted till they made Handmaids kill their own kind. The Handmaids had no choice but to obey the community or else their lives would be at risk. They were also forced to call a Handmaid ,who was raped, a “whore”. This community is clearly DYSTOPIAN.
The Handmaid’s tale relates to The Giver as The Giver is also a utopia gone dystopia. In Jonas’s society, people were called according to their assignment such as ‘Street Cleaners’, ‘Landscape Workers ‘ to identify them. When they were born, the ‘newchildren’ were also numbered. In the movie, they were numbered and were called by their identification numbers.
In Jonas’s society, the people are clearly identified by the clothes they wear and the items they have. For example, all ‘Nines’ receive their bicycles at the Ceremony. In the movie, the Handmaids wear a red cloak and the commander’s wife wear a blue dress. Everything is uniform.
In Jonas’s society, the rules were so strict and rigid that any minor mistakes will result in ‘released’ which is equivalent to death. When the pilot-in-training made a navigational mistake and frightened the people, he was sent for ‘released’. Similarly, in the movie, the Handmaids were severely punished for a minor mistake. A Handmaid, whose toes were brutally slashed, could not even walk and she faced this harsh punishment just for a minor mistake. The rules in both society are made to create perfection in the community.
In Jonas’s society, it was against the rules to escape the community and anyone who tries to escape and were caught red-handed would be ‘released’. In the movie, when Kate and her family tried to escape, they were caught and her husband was killed. In both society, the community seemed ‘small’. The elders knew what everyone did and kept a close eye on them. They knew when Jonas ‘crushed [his] finger in a door’ and ‘scraped [his] knees in falls on [his] bicycle’. They also knew that Jonas brought a apple home and even directed an announcement to him. This shows that the community is very ‘small’ and it is constantly under surveillance. Similarly, the people running the community knew what mistake, major or minor, a Handmaid had committed and they were quick in carrying out punishments. The community was also under constant surveillance as they knew when and where someone was trying to escape.
This poem is about the characteristics of truth, for example “Truth is harsh”. Though it is difficult to accept the truth, “Truth is vital” and it is “needed”. This poem is relevant to The Giver where Jonas learns the whole truth of his community.
“Truth is Hard”. Jonas was utterly shocked when he saw the video of the releasing of one of the baby twins. He finally realized the meaning of ‘released’. He was under the impression that ‘released’ was a joyful occasion to celebrate, but now that he knows the real meaning behind it, Jonas had a hard time accepting the fact. This shows that truth is distressing and heavy; it is not an easy thing to learn about the truth.
“Truth is harsh”. When Jonas found out the real reason of having a Receiver, which is to bear all the memories, happy or painful, of the world so that the community would not be bothered by the memories, he felt so angry and that the previous Givers were being unfairly treated. He hated the Elders and his community. This shows that the truth is unpleasant and bitter. Jonas lived in his community since he was born and it took him 12 years to realize the wicked truth of his community. Of course, the truth would be bitter to him.
“Truth is cutting”. When Jonas learnt about ‘love’ and asked his parents if they love him, they just laughed it off and corrected him about the precision of language. Jonas was hurt. This shows that the truth is wounding and piercing. Jonas was upset about the way his parents answered him and their response had wounded him, straight to the heart.
However, the outcome of knowing the truth is usually good.
“Truth is rewarding”. When Jonas received the joyful memories, he felt how it is like to be loved and he also felt the warmth love and happiness can bring. He learnt about the truth and went in search of such love and happiness. In the end, he achieved his goal. This shows that the truth is satisfying and worthwhile. He got better things after learning about the truth.
“Truth is liberating”. When Jonas learnt about the horrid truth of his community, and made his escape, he obtained freedom and pleasure! This shows that the truth “can set us free” from the clutches of the cunning ones.
Though truth may be hard, harsh and cutting, truth is always needed and vital in our lives.
