The Giver: Chapter 24
Jonas could hardly bear it anymore. He thought for a second that his stomach would collapse, as the absence of food and water was excruciating. Seconds from outright collapse, a man ran up to Jonas. "The changed one is here!" the bizarre man shouted excitedly. He bent down, still exploding with joy, and handed Jonas a piece of what looked like over-seasoned chicken. "Have some gourmet poultry. Jonas, puzzled, looked around. The singing had stopped, and in the vast distance was a crowd sitting by a stage, listening to a tall, elderly man in a suit speak. Three other men quickly accompanied the crazy man that had given Jonas the delicious food. They wore helmets that matched the surrounding land, and matching suits. They picked Jonas up, and put him into what looked like a shiny metal box with doors and wheels. There was a matching man in the front of the inside. The metal box started moving towards the crowd in the distance. Jonas was already feeling better. The word came to him without warning: "car".
The door opened, and Jonas walked up onto the stage by the old man in the suit. He asked the man, " Who are these men beside you? They look angry." Jonas knew rudeness was allowed to the receiver, so he asked. The Elderly man finally spoke, "They are the presidential body guards. Do not worry about them. You aren't hostile, right?" "No! I come in absolute peace," Jonas immediately responded. "Good. We don't want trouble. So… how do I start? Our satellites spotted you coming here. We are very glad as a country that a man of the Forbidden Land decided to leave. We were waiting for someone to change. Are more coming?"
Jonas was puzzled. "The Forbidden Land"? What does "presidential" mean? He amazingly knew the complete definition right away. But then what was this "Forbidden Land"? Why was it forbidden?
"No. I'm the only one." "Then… I guess… New Idaho's senator's cousin wants a child. Would you like to live with him? It's either that or the adoption center.
Jonas didn't like the sound of it, so he went to live with the senator's cousin.
"
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Hey there little dude! You're a heavy sleeper!" the man yelled with a slight chuckle. I'm James Berdington, but you, my friend, can call me "Jimmy-B." Jonas laughed. "How about Jim?" Jonas responded, "Yeah, that's good too. So what's your name?" "Jonas." "How did you get that name? Did it mean something to your parents?" Jonas was confused again. "I didn't ever get to meet my parents." Jim gulped, "Oh, I'm so sorry! They died, didn't they?" "No. I couldn't meet them, because it was against the rules." Jim was very startled, "No wonder you left! That's terrible!" Then, Jonas, not wanting to cause Jim any trouble, let the topic wander off onto something different. "So where's Gabriel?" Jonas blurted out hastily. "The little dude? He's on the bed in the next room." Jonas then continued, "Did you two get along?" Jonas paused. "Get along"? This was not precision of language. "Wow," He thought, "I'm already speaking like them!" He thought to himself about his special ability to absorb memories. Did it…somehow evolve? He was changing so quickly! Jonas must have somehow gotten the memory of this casual, imprecise language through the air.
Jonas went to see Gabriel. Gabriel quietly said to Jonas, "Bro- Bro- Bro- Brother." Jonas smiled, but was not completely sure whether or not he should be happy. It didn't really matter, but Jonas was still somehow worried. "I guess he can be called my adopted little bro. I'm hungry. When is the next meal?" Jim offered, "Right now if ya' want. I don't feel like cooking, so we can get some Burger World." Jonas was confused at the language, but he went along with it.
Jim said to Jonas slowly, "Now, I don't want to mistreat your brother, but he can't come. This is a bad neighborhood. I'm going to put him in the play-pen I bought while you were asleep, and our neighbors will watch him." Jonas replied calmly, "That's fine." Jonas waited for a minute, and then Jim came back with a jacket and a small leather sack the size of his hand, and got out some miniscule green papers imprinted with an old man's face. He walked outside with Jonas, and rain was falling from the sky. This astonished Jonas. He stuck out his tongue, and drank. "Dude, don't do that. It's unhealthy." As Jonas walked to the car, he blushed embarrassedly. When the two got to Burger World, Jonas was startled at the greasy, food-covered floor. They approached a man in an amusing uniform and a hat. "May I take your order", the man said in a monotone voice. "I'll have the Super Double Meaty Meat Bomb Burger, and a Youngster Meal." Jim said. The exhausted-looking man replied, "Here's your meal. $12.00 for this garbage." Jim chuckled, and said, "Here you go sir." They had been speaking nonsense to Jonas. Jonas felt like an alien. He thought about returning to home, but decided against the idea. For one thing, he almost died on the way to elsewhere. Second, he knew that returning would cause him to absorb all of the memories of the community. Jonas thought, "Jim is my friend. I'll feel better after I get to know him." The two sat down, and Jim folded his hands and closed his eyes. "Thank you Lord for this meal," Jim chanted. Jonas asked Jim whom he was talking to. Jim then stated, "I was talking to God. He made us all, and you can talk to him if you want too. At least that's what I believe." Jonas replied with curiosity, "I never thought about that! I wonder why we do exist! Let me think," Jonas paused, "Ahh! It makes my head hurt!" Jim chuckled.
S
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uddenly, Jonas heard someone laugh. He looked over, and saw a man and a woman cleaning a thick red sauce off of a little boy's face. The woman started to talk, "You need to be more careful, Sammy! Let's Bring your Youngster Meal home and get you cleaned up you silly little guy!" The man and woman walked out with the little boy, and leaned in towards each other, touching their lips together. They smiled and left the building. Jonas felt a feeling that he had never felt before. He wanted to be in the little boy's place so bad it made him sad. He took some of the delicious red sauce, and smeared it on his face. Jim said to Jonas, "You got ketchup on your face dude. There are napkins in the bag. Wipe it off so you don't make yourself look stupid. People are real' racist around here. Foreign people like you will get beat up if you draw too much attention, and I won't be able to save you." Jonas wiped off the "ketchup" and felt excessively sad. He wanted to have love, and getting adopted by Jim was his one and only chance.The two finished eating, and walked out to the car. Jim said to Jonas slowly and quietly, "I'm full. Let's go home so I can take a nice old nap. The neighbors aren't the smartest anyway. We should make sure Gabriel is safe."
Jim and Jonas arrived at the house. Jim went directly to Gabe, and picked him up. Jim said cheerfully, "Yo Gabe! How are my dumb old neighbors treating you? Huh? I thought so! There's milk on your cheek you silly-pie!" Jonas felt even sadder. He ran to his room and locked the door. Jonas felt a very powerful pulling feeling in his chest. He cried, and remembered when he cried after he saw the twin's "release". What does Gabe have that Jonas doesn't? Why didn't Jonas get treated like the little boy "Sammy" or like Gabriel? Jonas went back to Jim. He asked the same question he had asked his parents, hoping for a different answer, "Jim, do you love me?" Jim said back to Jonas, "Of course I do! I took you to Burger world, didn't I?" Jonas said back, "Yes, you did, don't you remember?" Jim ignored the comment, knowing Jonas didn't understand sarcasm, and hugged Jonas. Jonas felt a bit better, but he still wasn't satisfied. "What if I'm just lonely?" Jonas thought. Jonas went outside and walked around town.
It was finished raining. Jonas explored, and heard the quiet tap of his shoes on the sidewalk. The ground was wet, and there were rows of houses lining the street. Bushes of many sizes covered in red, yellow, and pink flowers surrounded the streets as well. Jonas walked, and after a while he saw a few people in this meager community. A kid Jonas's age approached him. Jonas asked nicely, "Would you like to play on the playground sometime?" The kid snickered, "Shut up Blue-Eyes." More children walked up to Jonas. Another snickered, and said, "Go to the store and get some real clothes. The tunic makes you look like you're from some kind of comedy movie." Jonas yelled back, "I just wanted a friend!" A third kid approached Jonas, "You got a funny accent man! This is my territory, though, and in my territory, Forbidden Land people have to give me fifty bucks!" Jonas said, "I just got here! I don't have any bucks!" The kid moved his hand swiftly. Jonas passed out, and the last thing he saw was the nasty kid's fist.
Jonas woke up in a large car, with a bandage on his arm. Jim was above him. Where were you? I found you in the middle of the street! Jonas got up, and Jim wrapped his arms around Jonas, crying, "I missed you so much! Don't ever do that again!" Gabe laughed, and slapped Jonas in the face cheerfully. "I love you so much, Jonas," Jim cried again. Jonas felt happy now. There were high hopes for this new family.
The Giver: Chapter 252 years later: "Dad! I got a letter!" Said Jonas happily. "It says, 'from, Luke'." "Who's Luke?" Jim said. Jonas didn't know who Luke was. He opened the letter.
It said, "Dear Jonas,
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I have been missing you very much. We all at the community have been given all of these memories. Everyone is getting used to them now. If you got this letter, you are safe. I have started a war against the Elders, because they want to extract the memories from our minds and store them in someone else's mind forcefully. There are rebels heading in your direction to start secret war bases. I don't want to have to fight, but the Elders have tanks, guns, and much, much more. We are winning. Thankfully, the USA has powerful weapons, so you'll be fine. These people (the Elders) are just learning about war, so you'll beat them easily. Don't worry about me. I'm safe now. I'm with my daughter, Rosemary.
Love,
Luke
The Giver
Jonas was definitely very sad. He had tears in his eyes. At the same time though, he felt happy and sympathetic. Jonas wrote a small message, "I'll miss you Giver, and I'll be sure to visit you sometime.
Your Friend,
Jonas"
J
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onas put the letter in an envelope, and then put it in his pocket. He took a walk with Jim. He left the community and found a river that looked very familiar. He took out the envelope, and threw it into the river with a bittersweet feeling and a tear. Jonas walked back, and remembered his old life, comparing it to the new one. He had accomplished so much by leaving the community, and lost an equal amount. It was a bold move to leave his home for a place that Jonas wasn't sure even existed, but it had amazing consequences. Gone were Asher and Fiona, Mom and Dad, and here were Gabe and Jim. Jonas made new friends eventually, and he finally had it: a real family.