On Monday, Ms Li guided us through a worksheet whereby we discovered the characteristics of Jonas and the minor characters from the first five chapters of The Giver. I found this worksheet very helpful, as through the discussion with the class, I found out many characteristics of these characters which I would never have been able to do so on my own. This is because although all the evidence can be found in the book, sometimes, I am just not observant enough to identify those as a characteristic. Hence, this worksheet really helped me with my analysis of the characters.

Through this worksheet and the discussion with the class, I also learnt about the similarities between Jonas and the other characters, as well as their differences. Even though Jonas had a lot in common with the other characters (Lily, Asher, Mother and Father), he had certain aspects that made him stand out among the rest of them and the community.

For example, Jonas was questioning while the other characters were not. Although Jonas obeyed the rules of the community, he always wondered why there were such rules. This is evident from the fact that when Jonas had experienced his first Stirrings and had taken the pill, he had tried to ‘grasp [the dreams of Stirrings] back’ on his way to school. He had found the dream to be ‘pleasurable’ and ‘liked the feelings’ of it. This brings across the idea that Jonas had a hint of doubt and puzzlement as to why he had to take the pills to make the Stirrings go away. He did not understand why he had to make the Stirrings go away as he had enjoyed the dream. Jonas also did not understand why there had to be a rule of not looking at each others’ nakedness. He found it ‘a nuisance to keep oneself covered while changing for games’ and found ‘the required apology if one had by mistake glimpsed at another’s body’, awkward. This shows that Jonas was curious for the answer as to why there was such a rule. Hence, we can tell that Jonas is questioning.

On the other hand, the other minor characters did not seem to be questioning like Jonas. They obeyed all the rules without ever wondering why such rules were set. They felt that as long as the rules were set by the Elders, they would be the best choice. This is because to them, all choices made by the Elders were carefully made, and that there would be no mistake, including their choice of rules. Hence, we can tell that these minor characters were different from Jonas as they were not questioning.


Through this analysis of the characters, I also learnt that this characteristic of Jonas made him quite similar to us, the children and teenagers of our country. This is because we always question about things. For example, when tasks and assignments are given to us by teachers, we wonder why we have to do them. When our parents ask us to make our beds, we don’t understand why we have to. These are just a fraction of all the questions we have in our minds. Hence, Jonas is similar to us, as he also has his questions about the rules in his community. The only difference, is that we are allowed to ask and clarify our doubts freely while Jonas is not allowed to do so.