The Giver- Conflict

The entire book up until the last couple chapters is Jonas learning about how the society he lives in is a lie. In the last chapters this turns into a conflict that must be resolved by him and The Giver. The problem is that the people in the community do not know how to think for themselves or make their own choices becuase they don't have choice. "Well...' Jonas had to stop to think it through. ' If everything's the same, then there aren't any chaices! I want to wake up in the morning and decide things! A blue tunic, or a red one?" (pg. 97) The Giver and Jonas plan to resolve this problem by giving the memories back to the community and The Giver helps them cope with them. "When we lost Rosemary ten years ago, and her memories returned to the people, they panicked. And those were such few memories, compared to yours. When your memories return, they'll need help. Remember how I helped you in the beginning, when the receiving of memories was new to you?... You needed me then. And now they will." (pg. 156) So their plan is to send Jonas off to Elsewheres, where ever that is, and then once he gets to Elsewheres his memories that he received from The Giver will return to the society. When the people start to receive these memories, they too will know how to feel strong emotional feelings, and be able to see colour, feel love and pain, and understand that they are living a lie. Then The Giver will help them cope with these feelings just like he had done with Jonas. That way the people in the community could be less 'robot'-like and make their own desicions and choose whether or not they want to wear a blue tunic, or a red one, and many other choices that will be given to them.

In the last chapters of the book, they set out and they carry out their plan. Jonas leaves, with Gabe, and he finds Elsewheres. In my blog about Literary Ddevices--> Endings, I talked about how I believed that he had actually returned to the community. He had returned to a changed community though because their plan had succeded and they had brought all the memories back becuase there was now snow and Christmas lights, and music. I believe that they had resolved the conflict in the community by showing that they love the people in the community and pretty much setting them free of all the 'chains' that they had been bound to by rules, directions, and a life with no choices given to them by little speaker and a book of rules that told them how to live their lives.