Backwards helps Forwards

"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."

This quote tells that Theodore Roosevelt believes that is more important than to try then to do nothing. In the book "The Giver" Lois Lowry shows that memory is important, meaning that we do not do the same mistakes over and over again. Memories and Knowledge keeps us from going forward.

What is worth fighting for? Knowledge is worth fighting for. In the past, I see that man makes mistakes and never repeat them in future, but if knowledge is limited, the mistakes we make, will be the the same mistakes in our mind. In the book, Jonas leaves the community because the "Sameness" in the community, he seeks curiosity and a better "life". I feel that "Sameness" meaning the society never moves forward and nothing but the same thing.

In the book "The giver" the community does not keep the emotions such as poverty, hatred, etc. This causing a utopian society, 'Sameness" where there is nothing bad happen, only good, but I see a utopian society is something I feel that we should not accomplish, because in Jonas's community is already "perfect" and no new knowledge is being sparked. A utopian society is a society that is perfect but if its perfect, why not stay as it is, the major flaw of a utopian society. So both knowledge of the poverty, hatred, etc. will make not a utopian society but a excellent society, a society that moves forward and not move backwards. Jonas when he escaped the community, he feels more knowledge, he has the feeling of pain and finally feels hunger, this shows that bad memories come in and at the same time, we try to avoid these dangerous times, so when he starves, he finds a solution, a new idea, to hunt for fish to eat.

The book "The Giver" shows that knowledge in the community is important to make decisions. In the book, as the Receiver of Memories, Jonas sees the past and understands why its taken out of the community, but as the Receiver of Memories, his job is to use memories to control what to do in the community. Like when the air plane passed by, they were ordered to take it down, but as the Receiver, the Giver makes an order to wait before taking the plane down. When the Giver make the decision to not take the plane down, instead of following the opinion of the elders who don't have the same knowledge as the giver. The giver compared to the elders, he is more wise in decisions/action when facing troubles, the elders do not have the memories in the past like giving a person sometime to fly back. Even though the bad memories come, it helps our decision making. To me, I now think that the reason we remember the bad memories more than the good memories is because we do not learn from them. Bad memories shows the mistakes we done and how we can improve better and better. The memories the Giver gives to Jonas are the ones which is important and will help in decision making, not the happy slide through the snow ones.

Knowledge is key to success and decisions, we can not forget the pass but we have to live with it, living with it will makes ourselves a better person and better knowledge. To overcome the future we must overcome the past, the mistakes we have done and how we can make it better in future, knowledge is key to keep moving on.








http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/giver/themes.html

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/giver/themes.html